I love to talk to children about making mistakes. Its important that I tell them about how I dont get it right the first time. We live in such a perfectionist society, and they see so many finished products and polished performances.

What is perfect? Journey, a thing doesn't have to be perfect to be fine. That goes for a picture. That goes for life....Things can be good enough.

I never work from an outline, and often I dont know how the story will end.

Sometimes poetry--words--give us a small, lovely look at ourselves. And sometimes that is enough.

You should know that there are some things for which there are no answers, no matter how beautiful the words may be.

Im working on a bunch of things with my daughter Emily. In some ways, shes a smarter and better editor than I am.

I have to write what I can write, and writing the text of a picture book is like walking a tightrope, if you ramble off... As my friend Julius Lester says, A picture book is the essence of an experience.