What I think of sometimes, as I read the new books - do kids really need to see such a seamy side of life? I'm in the minority, such an old woman, perhaps. I love the books that have given kids joy, that give them hope at the end. Sometimes it seems to me the books right now are very depressive.

Sometimes when I visit schools, kids will interview me for the school newspaper. They ask me questions and my answers tend to go on and on, and they try to write down everything I'm saying as quickly as they can. And one day, a kid holds up her hand and said, 'Do you think you could just answer 'yes' or 'no?' Aren't kids wonderful?

I myself was terrified during the Second World War. The war started when I was six, and I was so sure that we were going to be bombed and killed. My imagination is my biggest plus and my worst minus.

To me, family is everything. I want children to realize how important their families are and what a support system a family is.

Everything in my life affects my writing. There are no separate parts of my life.

Revision is the heart of writing. Every page I do is done over seven or eight times.

All of my books are based in some way on my personal experiences, or the experiences of members of my family, or the stories kids would tell me in school.