Santa is our culture's only mythic figure truly believed in by a large percentage of the population. It's a fact that most of the true believers are under eight years old, and that's a pity.

The Polar Express began with the idea of a train standing alone in the woods. I asked myself, What if a boy gets on that train? Where does he go?

I write for what's left of the eight-year-old still rattling around inside my head

its not bad to be different. Sometimes it's the mark of being very very talented.

The idea of the extraordinary happening in the context of the ordinary is what's fascinating to me

Following my muse has worked out pretty well so far. I can't see any reason to change the formula now.

I don't think ordinary things are very interesting, so I try to imagine a world that is less ordinary.

The opportunity to create a small world between two pieces of cardboard, where time exists yet stands still, where people talk and I tell them what to say, is exciting and rewarding.

I pore over every word on the cereal box at breakfast, often more than once. You can ask me anything about shredded wheat.

Certain peer pressures encourage little fingers to learn how to hold a football instead of a crayon. I confess to having yielded to these pressures.

An award does not change the quality of a book.

The idea of giving someone something that I got, that makes me feel sad.

I met a woman who photographed celebrity dogs for a book, and she told me that Ralph Lauren's dog is named Rugby. I said, Yeah, but his real name is Stickball.

if some folks have buried their racial prejudices, the chances are that they've got the graves marked and will have no trouble disinterring their pet hates.

You have not learned to live until you have learned to give

While we were at rest, Christ was in rescue mode. While we were doing nothing, He was doing EVERYTHING. He was down in the depths of the earth fighting for our freedom.

To act, no matter how the character is, you have to love and have compassion for the character you're playing.

It doesn't matter how much you learn in school; it's whether you learn how to go on and do things by yourself. And that can be done at any level.

Yeah, it seems like it, right? It definitely was one of the best matches that I've played.

I get happier every day. I have a sense of accomplishment every day of my life.

The PC is the LSD of the '90s.