I am very much interested in getting parents to read to children, and trying to get people mentoring children. If I can do both I'll be happy.

New York is my favorite city.

We need to tell kids flat out: reading is not optional.

On the streets of the city They have taken my Who-I-Am As well as my What-I-Was And now I am desperate for them both Again

Sometimes when things get hard, we tend to set our sights on what's hard, that difficult thing that keeps us upset, and we turn our back on our strengths.

It is this language of values which I hope to bring to my books. . . . I want to bring values to those who have not been valued, and I want to etch those values in terms of the ideal. Young people need ideals which identify them, and their lives, as central . . . guideposts which tell them what they can be, should be, and indeed are.

When I began to read, I began to exist