Reading for writers is like training for athletes.

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!

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.

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.

You have first flown with your mind to every goal you have ever achieved.

Blaming others doesn't certify your goodness.

Nobody understood what it was like to be black and Jewish... being different from everyone else just made me a lot stronger.

[Human beings] will begin to recover the moment we take art as seriously as physics, chemistry or money.

I've never known about anyone being helped by being told how wretched, miserable, sinful, and evil they are.

I try to surf everyday or at least go for a walk on the beach if the waves are flat. The more I travel, the more I appreciate where I live and the ocean.

Good intentions are not enough; commitment and sacrifice are necessary.

My path is exactly where I want it to be. I'm doing my thing. I'm getting better with every album.

Money can't replace friendship, I'd rather have no money than losing you.

Every time I work on something, fun comes first. Whatever it is I think if you have fun doing it, the other things will follow. Albums sales or ranking on charts aren't important.