In my writing I hope to have a balance between the good and bad, the hard and soft.

I teach young people how the arts can be used to stand up against injustice.

Picture books are more difficult for me because it is telling a huge story in the least amount of words.

I have always known that I wanted to work with youth through the arts and I believe the arts can help young people cope with hardship.

There are many writers who have influenced me and who I enjoy reading, but Lucille Clifton and Gwendolyn Brooks are at the top of the list.

For me, the lives of children and teens are interesting - they are always changing. There's just so much to sort through. All of this makes for good plots and complex characters.

It's possible to satisfy the needs of the inner life by an intimate communion with nature, or by knowledge of the past.

Feeling and longing are the motive forces behind all human endeavor and human creations.

I'm glad God has all the answers, 'cause I barely understand the questions.

Add in the good stuff - eventually it will crowd out the bad stuff.

The heart may think it knows better: the senses know that absence blots people out. We really have no absent friends.

I would urge all bands that say they only care about credibility and don't care about money to send Gene Simmons every dollar that they don't want. I'd be happy to take it off them.

Walt Kelly was much more interested in allegory and politics, and I'm much more interested in metaphors and myth.

There's a blush for won't, and a blush for shan't, and a blush for having done it: There's a blush for thought and a blush for naught, and a blush for just begun it.

Not so much a film as a visual essay, exquisitely directed and photographed (by Sacha Vierny)... Difficult to watch but well worthwhile for those willing to be challenged.

Children ... smile as many as 400 times per day.