The draft that finally goes to my editor doesn't get into her hands until I have read it out loud innumerable times - sometimes into a tape recorder - to make sure that it sounds right.

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.

Sorry doesn’t make anything better. It’s just a word to fill the space of a loss of words.

Why nowadays there's a new fashion every day.

I have a social life. But I don't discuss it.

When the Reich could no longer pay its obligations, Germany would go bankrupt.

I'm not as good a swimmer as I used to be - thanks to evolution.

Losses are inevitable, but excuses are optional.

Mary had Joseph. Esther had Mordecai. Ruth had Boaz. We will not become the women God intends us to be without the guidance, counsel, wisdom, strength, and love of good men in our lives.

The continuous work of our life is to build death.

It's not enough that [the photograph] is beautiful. If it doesn't move my heart, it won't move anyone else's heart.

There is a time when even justice brings harm.