Life was so short; so many beautiful things slipped away.

I was born in Philadelphia and currently live in Minneapolis. I write for both children and adults.

There ain't no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.

Once upon a time," he said out loud to the darkness. He said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him.

There is nothing sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.

When we read together, we connect. Together, we see the world. Together, we see one another.

Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.

The undoing is almost always more difficult than the doing.

You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope. You must wonder who will love you, whom you will love next.

It is important that you say what you mean to say. Time is too short. You must speak the words that matter.

The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.

Yesterday Allison bought me nail polish in the annoying shade of mauve. How can anyone look at me and think mauve?

We don't rise to the level of our abilities, we fall to the level of our excuses

A wounding tongue. I'm working on it. Perhaps its the Celt in me.

There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman.

I've got a long list of books I wish I'd never written-and I've kept them all out of print for the past 20 years.

Hip-hop is the people. What the people are moving toward is what hip-hop is. I think people are moving toward a freer way of thinking. Openness.

It's a common perception that science and religion are mutually exclusive. But there are many scientists who would consider themselves to be spiritual people.

If smoking cigars is not permitted in heaven, I won''t go.

There's a lot of Kenya that's not like me. I like Birkenstocks, granola, my dog Pops.

Until time and space exist... I vow to come back for the benefit of other beings.