Reading has been one of the biggest influences in my life—not only in my profession, but my thoughts, actions, values. Knowing I’ve opened this door for others will always be my most rewarding accomplishment.

I believe if we are to survive on this planet it is essential that we accept each other and respect our differences as well as our similarities. Reading enables us to explore each other's cultures. Being equal is seeing equal

I owe everything I am and everything that I will ever be to books.

One day, middle grade students will be in charge of our world. In the meantime, I write to celebrate their intellectual and spiritual resourcefulness, and to remind them that they are unique and wonderful.

Books can stir us, move us, grab us, own us. Books can tap into our deepest, most secret feelings. They can mirror, confirm, and legitimize our personal experiences, reminding us that, yes, I’ve felt that way too, that the very same thing has happened to me.

That’s what reading provides: a place to go that is yours alone, available at no cost from your local library, and carried with you wherever you may go.

We cannot really know another person until we honor that person’s story.

Books can build bridges of compassion and break walls of ignorance and hatred.

There is, I believe, no such thing as someone who doesn’t enjoy books. There are only people who haven’t yet discovered the kind of books they love.