We’ve educated children to think that spontaneity is inappropriate. Children are willing to expose themselves to experiences. We aren’t. Grownups always say they protect their children, but they’re really protecting themselves. Besides, you can’t protect children. They know everything.

I wanted my wild things to be frightening.

If life is so critical, if Anne Frank could die, if my friend could die, children were as vulnerable as adults, and that gave me a secret purpose to my work, to make them live. Because I wanted to live. I wanted to grow up.

I want to write something so simple, so short and so silly... and I want it to be for my brother.

Venturing back further, learning is so slow. Accomplishment is so slow. Experiencing and evaluating your experience is so slow.

We're animals. We're violent. We're criminal. And if I've done anything, I've had kids express themselves as they are.

I hate those e-books. They can not be the future... they may well be... I will be dead.