It's such a wonderful feeling to watch a child discover that reading is a marvelous adventure rather than a chore.
A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy.
I happen to think that a book is of extraordinary value if it gives the reader nothing more than a smile or two. It's perfectly okay to take a book, read it, have a good time, giggle and laugh - and turn off the TV. I love that.
A library book, I imagine, is a happy book.
What I hope is that the book [Bink & Gollie] delights children. What I hope is that they laugh and laugh and laugh, just as we did when we wrote them.
Many adults feel that every children's book has to teach them something.... My theory is a children's book... can be just for fun.
I love weird or funny or beautiful sentences; Joy Williams could write a microwave-oven manual and I'm sure I'd love it, because the sentences would be tuned up like music.
Like beautiful homes, cute babies, or noble careers helping others, books can make us feel like we mean something positive, and in gratitude, we truly love them.
I feel no obligation to teach my readers anything, to impart any sort of wisdom, to teach any sort of lesson, to instill any sort of morality. All I'm trying to do is make them and their parents laugh.
To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight.
My favorite books are the ones that make me smile for hours after reading them. I want that for my readers, for the sweetness to linger. Sort of like chocolate, but without the calories.
The happiest and most glorious hours of my life with books have been with German books.
Kids love to be silly, they love to laugh, so I think it was natural for my kids to like the sort of books that I write - and it's the only kinds of books I'm capable of writing.
I think of Mercy Watson like a superball; there's a bouncy kind of optimism to her stories. She allows me to play, and she makes me laugh. Hopefully readers feel the same way.
I have always been a reader; I have read at every stage of my life, and there has never been a time when reading was not my greatest joy
I am passionate about reading, for myself and for kids. Our future as a compassionate, productive, healthy society is rooted in our continuing to engage our minds and spirits. The key for me is in keeping it joyful as an activity.
You cannot be afraid, Read the book. Smile at it. It's a great book-the greatest book you've ever read.
How do you make your kids read more? It needs to be presented as a joy and a privilege to get to do it, and the kids should get to see you as a parent reading for your own pleasure. It's not something you send your kids off to do, 'Go into your room and read for 15 minutes or else.' It becomes a task then.
Graphic novels might really speak to one child who's struggling with the other kinds of reading and might help them discover that storytelling is joyful and personal and illuminating. They might find your way in auditorily by listening to audio books in the car instead of playing Game Boys or watching DVDs.
. . . she read with undifferentiated glee . . .
That I can read and be happy while I am reading, is a great blessing.
