My first publication was a haiku in a children's magazine when I was 9 years old. I received one dollar for it! I gave the check to my dad for Christmas, and he framed it and hung it over his desk.

A mistake made with good in your heart is still a mistake, but it is one for which you must forgive yourself.

Libraries hold the wisdom of the world and the stories of the ages - available to everyone, free of charge!

Reading for writers is like training for athletes.

I can give advice to anyone interested in writing in one word: Read! I think it's much more important to be a reader than to be a writer!

Why was it that pride and foolishness were so often close companions?

I want all my books to provoke some kind of response in the reader, to make them think something or feel something or both, and for that to become a part of them and work into their own lives.

I do think that part of literature's job is to comment on and participate in the social issues of the time.

Most writers adore their editors, and I'm no exception.

I used to sit home with my computer and write. After the Newbery, I probably spend more than half my time on the road.

God bless Interlibrary Loan. I pay a lot of library fines. In the case of 'A Single Shard,' I was using books that hadn't been checked out in 30 years, so I didn't feel too bad.

Don’t waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.

You're different, you know.""Only different from you, " he said. "Not different from me.

If you wouldn't get up early for it, you shouldn't stay up late to do it.

I think more things are becoming socially acceptable. I think that just by having more media, whether that's TV or Internet, we're able to see more things.

Strengthening our identity is one way or reinforcing people's confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.

When you depend on another's perceptions to match your expectations, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

Do you want me to ride you like a rented mule, or do you prefer to be Mr. Missionary Position? I'm fine with wither, so it doesn't matter to me.

I am decidedly unfriendly during a golf game, from the first hole to the last.

No family is sane, is it?

The only thing better than "hands-on" experience is hands-off experience - enough experience to understand that some things will turn out better if left alone.