Keith Gessen Quotes

I read a lot of books to my children, and they all seem really good. I think people have gotten really good at children's books.

I didn't have picture books - there weren't many around when I was a child.

I have three kids, so children's literature is a big part of my life.

I have a lot of respect and love for children's books.

Every parent knows this moment in a child's age when he or she needs your attention in a very specific way because it's the beginning and ending of the early life of imagination. It's such a responsibility.

My first children's book, 'Tickle Monster,' was inspired by tickling my son one evening.

The spark for 'In Praise of Slowness' came when I began reading to my children. Every parent knows that kids like their bedtime stories read at a gentle, meandering pace. But I used to be too fast to slow down with the Brothers Grimm. I would zoom through the classic fairy tales, skipping lines, paragraphs, whole pages.

There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.

But, for instance, when I was awfully young, I read all the Oz books. They were an enormous influence on me.

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

Reading with my children is incredibly important to me and a wonderful way to spend time together as a family, exploring magical worlds through books and stories.

I did have a child, and I was reading a lot of picture books to her, but at the same time writing a children's book was something that I'd been wanting to do for many years, pretty much since the start of my career.

We write not only for children but also for their parents. They, too, are serious children.

I have very happy memories of fairy tales. My mother used to take me to the library in Toronto to check out the fairy tales. And she was an actress, so she used to act out for me the different characters in all these fairy tales.

I want to write a book of poetry, as well as children's stories.

I didn't start working on children's books until I got a job at a book warehouse on the children's floor. When I started reading some of the books, I was so impressed.

When I was really little, my favorite book was 'The BFG'. I read it - my teacher in, like, first grade read it to us. I love that book.

Once you've got a child to the point that they've discovered books, they're safe. There's a world of the imagination that when they're hurt or upset, they can move into, and it is wonderful.

If you are a kid, reading is really important stuff.

Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is, you need to talk with children, to teachers, and make sure they get poetry in the curriculum early.

I surrendered to a world of my imagination, reenacting all those wonderful tales my father would read aloud to me. I became a very active reader, especially history and Shakespeare.

If I ever have children of my own, they will read 'Matilda.' They will watch the movie. And you can bet they will see 'Matilda: The Musical.'

It's funny: I don't know if she babysat, but I spent time with Judy Blume when I was little.

I loved the idea of a book of fairytales meant especially for peculiar children, and I love even more the idea of making that fictional book real.

I have two young children, and they both adore books. Reading together at bedtime is one of our favorite nightly rituals. 'Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site' by Sherri Duskey Rinker, 'The Giving Tree' by Shel Silverstein, and 'On The Night You Were Born' by Nancy Tillman are always on our list.