Students need to make their own choices about reading material and writing topics.

I realized that every lesson, conference, response, and assignment I taught must lead students away from me and toward their autonomy as literate people.

I try to teach my students that books are a mirror, reflecting their own lives, and a window, giving them a peek into someone else's.

Readers enjoy talking about books almost as much as they like reading.

Books are love letters (or apologies) passed between us, adding a layer of conversation beyond our spoken words.

Although I enjoy digging through the library to help students find books, my aim is to help them develop self-confidence in choosing books for themselves.

The purpose of schools should not be to prepare students for more school. We should be seeking to have fully engaged students now

Failure is not an option, so why talk about it?

A classroom atmosphere that promotes reading does not come from the furniture and its placement as much as it comes from the teacher's expectation that students will read.

If we value all readers, we must value all reading.

When we meet and I discover that we have read and loved the same books, we are instant friends.

I did not know that history is like a blood stain that keeps on showing on the wall no matter how many new owners take possession, no matter how many times we pint over it.

He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a featherhat, walking on his hind legs.

Neither compares nor competes. Be creative.

I don't think relationships are just physicality. There are ways to show you care about someone, not just using your lips... Or any other body part.

Your attitude is everything, and it determines how you experience every aspect of your life

It's grown into a personal relationship, yeah. I'm crazy about Jerry. I think he's a unique character.

It's sort of like my past is an unfinished painting, and as the artist of that painting, I must fill in all the ugly holes and make it beautiful again.

If you're writing, you're starting in private. It can really be this amazing, private, freeing experience. Forget that it's for other people - that comes in later.

The single most instinctive evil is discrimination