My greatest fear is being somewhere without a book.

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.

I, myself, write to change my life, to make it come out the way I want it to. But other people write for other reasons: to see more closely what it is they are thinking about, what they may be afraid of. Sometimes writers write to solve a problem, to answer their own question. All these reasons are good reasons. And that is the most important thing I'll ever tell you. Maybe it is the most important thing you'll ever hear. Ever.

There is always something to miss, no matter where you are.

Fact and fiction are different truths.

I have great respect for children. And I have great respect for their ability as writers.