I've been lucky enough to have made enough of these types of children's books that while I don't necessarily know what works, I know what doesn't work. I've got a sense of the rhythm and the form. With this series, I get to play with ideas that I would never have myself.

I always say, 'Books beat boredom,' said Amanda wisely.

Kids are super-independent. This is the time when you don't need your parents for a story anymore. You have a great degree of agency and independence.

An artist is waiting for the audience to understand the work. A craftsman is working to understand the audience.

Writing for children is as easy as describing the history of the Byzantium in three words.

When you make a decision, you don't have to be locked into it. One of the ways that you grow is by starting over.

A book, being a physical object, engenders a certain respect that zipping electrons cannot. Because you cannot turn a book off, because you have to hold it in your hands, because a book sits there, waiting for you, whether you think you want it or not, because of all these things, a book is a friend. It’s not just the content, but the physical being of a book that is there for you always and unconditionally.