I didn't start out writing to give children hope, but I'm glad some of them found it.

I hope children will be happy with the books I've written, and go on to be readers all of their lives.

I haven't been very enthusiastic about the commercialization of children's literature. Kids should borrow books from the library and not necessarily be buying them.

I don't think children themselves have changed that much. It's the world that has changed.

I think the best teachers had a real interest in the subject they were teaching and a love for children. Some of the teachers were just doing their job, but others had that little extra. They really cared about children and they wore pretty dresses.

I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my imagination and work forward and backward from there.