I read my books aloud before they were published.

With twins, reading aloud to them was the only chance I could get to sit down. I read them picture books until they were reading on their own.

My mother always kept library books in the house, and one rainy Sunday afternoon - this was before television, and we didn't even have a radio - I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered I was reading and enjoying what I read.

I feel sometimes that [in children's books] there are more and more grim problems, but I don't know that I want to burden third- and fourth-graders with them. I feel it's important to get children to enjoy reading.

I know that when I was a children's librarian, that was about 1940, boys particularly asked where were the books about kids like us, and there weren't any at that time.

I like to read, walk, cook, and travel to cities. We live in the country, so we miss museums and the bustle of city life.