Drawing is what you see of the world, truly see...And sometimes what you see is so deep in your head you're not even sure of what you're seeing. But when it's down there on paper, and you look at it, really look, you'll see the way things are...that's the world, isn't it? You have to keep looking to find the truth.
Outside of family, writing is essential. To me, it's like breathing.
I want to see children curled up with books, finding an awareness of themselves as they discover other people's thoughts. I want them to make the connection that books are people's stories, that writing is talking on paper, and I want them to write their own stories. I'd like my books to provide that connection for them.
Many times in my life I've been upset about something and said to myself, "Will this matter in two years?" Not even in two months.
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.
The reasons kids get into trouble in one way or another is because - Who ever told them they were special?
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'm still writing in my old age. And still loving it. It fills my days. Writing is my salvation. I just get up in the morning, and I'm in this world that I scratch out and begin again and write over - and then suddenly it's lunchtime, and I'm back.
To me, family is everything. I want children to realize how important their families are and what a support system a family is.
I cannot outline. I do not know what the next thing is going to happen in the book until it comes out of my fingers.
Anyone who has problems, or worries, anyone who laughs and cries, anyone who feels can write. It's only talking on paper... talking about the things that matter to us.
Everything in my life affects my writing. There are no separate parts of my life.
When I sit and talk with a person, I'm not always paying attention. I'm looking at the person and saying, 'What is it about his or her life that appeals to me?'
What inspired me to become an author? I think it was the snow in New York. I looked out the window and I said, 'Well, I have to get dressed every morning to go to teach, but if I write a book, I can stay home in my bathrobe, eat candy corn.'
I have no special talent, you know. I never took a writing course before I began to write.
If you have a friend, things are better than if you didn't have a friend.
Do you all have a living room floor or a bedroom floor? Then you can write a book.
Revision is the heart of writing. Every page I do is done over seven or eight times.
I loved teaching. It was my world. I only left because I was overwhelmed with three careers - teaching, writing, and my family.
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.
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.
Awards: Newbery Honor Book 1998
