Artist

My work is not great, but it's respectable.

I'm still as enamored and turned on by work as I was when I was young.

Kids don't know about best sellers. They go for what they enjoy. They aren't star chasers and they don't suck up. It's why I like them.

Parents shouldn't assume children are made out of sugar candy and will break and collapse instantly. Kids don't. We do.

My work is not great, but it's respectable. I have no false illusions.

There's something in this country that is so opposed to understanding the complexity of children.

I adored Mickey Mouse when I was a child. He was the emblem of happiness and funniness.

I hate those e-books. They cannot be the future. They may well be.

My life in Brooklyn was in constant danger because of my bad health.

You don't want to do something that's all terrifying.

To get a child's trust - you may know or not - is a very hard thing to do. They're so used to not believing adults - because adults tell tales and lies all the time.

'Hansel and Gretel' is one of the scariest stories ever written! Psychotic mother; stupid, inane father.

I hate those e-books. They can not be the future... they may well be... I will be dead.

Do parents sit down and tell their kids everything? I don't know. I don't know. I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.

I didn't have much confidence in myself... never.

I became a set designer for opera. I'm a great opera buff, I love classical music, and I needed a time-out.

All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy.

You can't write masterpieces in your 80s and be happy too.

I wanted to be acknowledged as an artist, not just some kiddie-book artist.

I write books that seem more suitable for children, and that's OK with me. They are a better audience and tougher critics. Kids tell you what they think, not what they think they should think.