I take my ideas from my experiences.

The Polar Express began with the idea of a train standing alone in the woods. I asked myself, What if a boy gets on that train? Where does he go?

I write for what's left of the eight-year-old still rattling around inside my head

its not bad to be different. Sometimes it's the mark of being very very talented.

The idea of the extraordinary happening in the context of the ordinary is what's fascinating to me

Following my muse has worked out pretty well so far. I can't see any reason to change the formula now.

I don't think ordinary things are very interesting, so I try to imagine a world that is less ordinary.

The opportunity to create a small world between two pieces of cardboard, where time exists yet stands still, where people talk and I tell them what to say, is exciting and rewarding.

I pore over every word on the cereal box at breakfast, often more than once. You can ask me anything about shredded wheat.

Santa is our culture's only mythic figure truly believed in by a large percentage of the population. It's a fact that most of the true believers are under eight years old, and that's a pity.

Certain peer pressures encourage little fingers to learn how to hold a football instead of a crayon. I confess to having yielded to these pressures.

All the drain leads to the ocean...So chill out and enjoy the motion!

The “Boxes” are the walls in your mind.

Look for joy in your life; it's not always easy to find.

The spoken word is nothing. It hardly lives longer than an insect! Only the written word is eternal. - Balbulus

There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.

A disciplined mind brings happiness.

Many intelligent people, when about to write . . . , force on their minds a certain notion about style, just as they screw up their faces when they sit for their portraits.

Nothing's a joke with me. It just all comes out like one.

I never get my creativity flowing. I'm a pro, this is how I earn my living. If it don't flow, I don't eat.

There's nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you're trying to be twenty-five.