My greatest fear is being somewhere without a book.

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

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

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.

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

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