“In the early '70s - a very good time for children's books and their authors - editors and publishers were willing to take a chance on a new writer. They were willing and able to invest their time in nurturing writers with promise, encouraging them.”

“Librarians save lives: by handing the right book, at the right time, to a kid in need”

“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the school library would be close to empty.”

“Ideas seem to come from everywhere - my life, everything I see, hear, and read, and most of all, from my imagination. I have a lot of imagination.”

“I love to watch movies.”

“I am a big defender of 'Harry Potter,' and I think any book that gets kids to read are books that we should cherish, we should be thankful for them.”

“In the early '70s - a very good time for children's books and their authors - editors and publishers were willing to take a chance on a new writer. They were willing and able to invest their time in nurturing writers with promise, encouraging them.”

“What I remember when I started to write was how I couldn't wait to get up in the morning to get to my characters.”

“I loved to read, and I think any child who loves to read will read anything, including the back of the cereal box, which I did every morning.”

“I can't relate to people who treat me as a 'famous person.' I only like to hang around with people who treat me as a regular person because that's what I am. All people are really just regular.”

“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.”