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You Are The Ever-expanding Universe To Me
-Kate DiCamillo
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You Are The Ever-expanding

Kate DiCamillo
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You Are The Ever-expanding Universe To Me

Understanding the Quote: "you are the ever-expanding universe to me..."

This quote by Kate DiCamillo reflects deeply on the theme of expanding universe. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Expanding Universe, Expanding, Universe, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Kate DiCamillo interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Kate DiCamillo

Kate DiCamillo is celebrated for insightful thoughts on expanding universe and expanding. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Expanding Universe
Expanding
Universe
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Writing Is Seeing. It Is Paying Attention.
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I Think, Oh My God, Kids Are Reading, And They Care About A Book Enough To Come Over And Talk To Me About A Book That They Care About. If I Think About It As Being A Celebrity, It Would Freak Me Out. But I Just Think, Lucky Me, That I Get To Be A Part Of This Whole Thing.
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There Are Hearts, Reader, That Never Mend Again Once They Are Broken. Or If They Do Mend, They Heal Themselves In A Crooked And Lopsided Way, As If Sewn Together By A Careless Craftsman.
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... Every Time You Look At The World And The People In It Closely, Lovingly, Imaginatively, It Changes You. The World, Under The Microscope Of Your Attention, Opens Up Like A Beautiful, Strange Flower And Gives Itself Back To You In Ways You Could Never Imagine.
Beautiful
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I Have Been Loved Said Edward To The Stars
Stars
Said
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I Read Whatever The Publisher Sends Me.
Publishers
If The World Held Magic Powerful Enough To Make The Elephant Appear, Then There Must Exist, Too, Magic In Equal Measure, Magic Powerful Enough To Undo What Had Been Done.
Powerful
Elephants
Magic
Reader, You May Ask This Queston. In Fact, You Must Ask This Question. Is It Ridiculous For A Very Small, Sickly, Big-eared Mouse To Fall In Love With A Beautiful Princess Named Pea? The Answer Is... Yes. Of Course It's Ridiculous. Love Is Ridiculous. But Love Is Also Wonderful. And Powerful.
Beautiful
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Powerful
As Far As Books Getting Turned Into Movies, I Fared Very, Very Well.
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Rats Have A Sense Of Humor. Rats, In Fact Think The World Is Very Funny. And They Are Right, Dear Reader. They Are Right.
Thinking
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Rats
It Is Truly Excellent To Have Someone Believe In You And Your Ability To Write. But I Think It Is Just As Helpful To Have People Who Don't Believe In You, People Who Mock You, People Who Doubt You, People Who Enrage You. Fortunately, There Is Never A Shortage Of This Type Of Person In The World ... Write For Yourself. Write For The Story. And Write, Also, For All Of The People Who Doubt You. Write For All Those People Who Are Not Brave Enough To Do This Grand And Wondrous Thing Themselves. Let Them Motivate You.
Believe
Writing
Thinking
Every Morning For, I Don't Know How Long, I Came Over To Alison's [mcghee] House And We Sat In Her Office And Wrote The Stories "out Loud" Together. We Yelled At Each Other And Made Each Other Laugh. It Was A Lot Of Fun.
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Fun
Laughing
I Grew Up In Florida, And I Wanted To Go Home And I Couldn't. I Didn't Have The Money. The Book [the Tiger Rising] Was A Way To Go Home.
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What Would Make Me Happiest Is If Kids Read These Books [bink & Gollie] And Think: There Is So Much To Love In The World; And Words Are So Much Fun.
Fun
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I Hate To Cook And Love To Eat.
Hate
And Love
I Hate
There Is No Right Or Wrong Way To Tell A Story. You Have To Find Your Own Way. You Can Get Your Idea From Listening, Looking, Or Imagining. Stories Are Everywhere. All You Have To Do Is Pay Attention.
Ideas
Listening
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It Is A Bad Thing To Have Love And Nowhere To Put It.
Bad Things
I Have Done Quite A Few Signings At Bookstores, Libraries And Conferences. I Have Received Phone Calls And Letters From People Who Liked The Book.
Book
Phones
People
In A Dark Time, Doors Will Sometimes Magically Open And Let Us Step Inside To The Warmth And Light Of A Community.
Dark
Light
Doors
If There Is Anything That I Think I Might Use Later, I Underline It.
Thinking
Might Use
Ifs
We Were 15 Minutes Into It And Nothing Was Happening; I Thought, Well, That's Not Going To Work. Then All Of A Sudden Everything Clicked. I Don't Know How Long It Took Us, But I Would Just Show Up At Alison's [mcghee] Office. She Would Type And We'd Just Kick It Back And Forth. Writing Is So Scary For Me, Such A Lonely Endeavor, And It Became A Wonderful Thing To Show Up And Have Somebody Else Go Through It With Me. It Was Actually A Wonderful Experience.
Lonely
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Go Home And Read To Your Adult. We Forget How Much We Love To Be Read To.
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Adults
Forget
[a Businessmen In Plane After 911] Asked Me, "what Are You Working On Now?" And I Said I Was Writing A Story About A Mouse Who Tries To Save A Princess. I Was Mortified. Here The World Is Falling Down Around Us, And I'm Trying To Tell The Story About A Mouse Who Saves A Princess. I Said "it Doesn't Matter At All Now."
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Everything When I Was A Kid Was Illustrated.
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I'm Not Exactly Sure How Old The Girls Are [in Bink & Gollie], But I Can Pretty Much Guarantee That Their Parents Will Never Show Up. That Would Mess Up The Fun. I Do, However, Very Much Like Kate's Idea Of Having Tony [fucile] Draw Their Portraits.
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When I Do It [writing] By Myself, There's A Lot More Terror And Uncertainty.
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I Love Adventurous Travel. I Also Love Pancakes, And Making Pancakes For Other People. You Would Definitely Find Me In The Airy Treetop As Opposed To Below Ground.
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I'm Predisposed To Think That As A People, We're Hardwired To Understand Things Through The Telling Of Stories. I Think That As Human Beings It's Part Of Who We Are.
Thinking
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The Shapes Arranged Themselves Into Words, And The Words Spelled Out A Delicious And Wonderful Phrase: Once Upon A Time.
Once Upon A Time
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Shapes
Love, As We Have Already Discussed, Is A Powerful, Wonderful, Ridiculous Thing, Capable Of Moving Mountains. And Spools Of Thread.
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For Children: I'm Writing A Picture Book About The Big Dipper And A Novel About A Cricket, A Firefly And A Vole. For Grownups: I'm Writing Poems.
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Did You Think That Rats Do Not Have Hearts? Wrong. All Living Things Have A Heart. And The Heart Of Any Living Thing Can Be Broken.
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And So He Was Reading The Story As If It Were A Spell And The Words Of It, Spoken Aloud, Could Make Magic Happen.
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It Seems To Be That Way With Most Things. No One To Do The Really Disagreeable Jobs Except Oneself.
Jobs
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When I Get To A Point In My Book Writing When I Don't Know What I'm Going To Do Next, I'll Come Back Look At Underlined Passages And See If The Images I Wrote Still Have A Certain Amount Of Resonance For Me.
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Perhaps," Said The Man, "you Would Like To Be Lost With Us. I Have Found It Much More Agreeable To Be Lost In The Company Of Others.
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Despereaux Marveled At His Own Bravery. He Admired His Own Defiance. And Then, Reader, He Fainted.
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I Thought I Was Going Nowhere. Now I Can See There Was A Pattern.
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Like Most Hearts, It Was Complicated, Shaded With Dark And Dappled With Light.
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Minnesota Has Been So Good To Me And So Pleased That I Love Minnesota.
Minnesota
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Forgiveness, Reader, Is, I Think, Something Very Much Like Hope And Love - A Powerful, Wonderful Thing. And A Ridiculous Thing, Too.
Powerful
Thinking
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Take This Squirrel, For Instance. Ulysses. Do I Believe He Can Type Poetry? Sure, I Do Believe It. There Is Much More Beauty In The World If I Believe Such A Thing Is Possible.
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Farewell” Is Not The Word That You Would Like To Hear From Your Mother As You Are Being Led To The Dungeon By 2 Oversize Mice In Black Hoods. Words That You Would Like To Hear Are “take Me Instead, I Will Go To The Dungeon In My Sons Place.” There Is A Great Deal Of Comfort In Those Words.
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One, We [with Alison Mcghee] Laugh A Lot - That Was Great. Two, I Enjoy Writing, But It's A Lonely Undertaking. To Have Someone In The Room With Me Is An Absolute Delight And Makes It Seem Less Impossible. It Became A Kind Of Comforting, Joyful Process.
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I Loved School; I Loved The Rules, And I Liked There Being Right Answers, Wrong Answers, And Being Able To Give The Right Answer All The Time. And That Goes Against Who Many Would Predict Is Going To Go Out And Break Rules And Tell Stories For A Living.
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I Need To Write, And I Can't Write When I'm On The Road.
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When You Are A King, You May Make As Many Ridiculous Laws As You Like. That Is What Being A King Is All About.
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I Don't Think About Being A Celebrity.
Thinking
I Write Two Pages - That's All I Write. It Takes Me About An Hour. I've Learned That's All I'm Capable Of And To Push Myself Beyond That Is Foolhardy. It's A Very Delicate Thing, And I Will Not Abuse It. So I Write Two Pages, Then I Get Up From The Computer.
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The Closest I Can Get To Describing What Happens Is That Voices Come To Me. I Feel Like I'm Accessing Something That Is Deeper And Richer Than Me.
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I Am Busier Now Than I Ever Imagined I Would Be, But I Feel Blessed In That I Have Found What I Am Supposed To Be Doing With My Life. It's Wonderful To Tell Stories And Have People Listen To Them.
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People
Would Be
Allow Me To Congratulate You On Your Very Astute Powers Of Observation.
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In The Tale Of Despereaux, There Is A Lot Of Darkness, A Lot Of Despair. There's Also A Lot Of Light, Redemption, Hope. There's Forgiveness, There's Friendship, There's Love. But The World In All Of Its Potential Craziness Is Also There.
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This Is A Wonderful Joke To Play Upon A Prisoner, To Promise Forgiveness.
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Nobody Ever Learns Anything.
That You Can Go Anywhere In America And Get A Book From A Library Is Just The Most Amazing Thing In The World. It's Not A Duty; It's A Privilege And It's A Joy. That Joy Is Doubled And Tripled And Quadrupled If You Read With Other People.
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I Didn't Know At The Time I Was Writing Because Of Winn-dixie Where The Story Came From, But In Retrospect I Can See That It Was A Response To A Terribly Harsh Winter Here In Minnesota.
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It's A Book [bink & Gollie] About Shortness And Tallness, So I Think It's Appropriate To Discuss The Virtues Of Shortness.
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We Must Ask Ourselves These Questions As Often As We Dare. How Will The World Change If We Do Not Question It?
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Dare
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Reader, You Must Know That An Interesting Fate (sometimes Involving Rats, Sometimes Not) Awaits Almost Everyone, Mouse Or Man, Who Does Not Conform.
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Men
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While We Were Working, We Were Writing About A Tall Girl And A Short Girl, Which We Thought Was Funny, Because Alison's [mcghee] Tall And I'm Short.
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There's Nothing More Fabulous Than An Adult Saying To You, "i Think That You Might Like This One [book]." So I'm Grateful Every Time That Happens. It's An Amazing Thing That People Care That Passionately.
Book
Grateful
Thinking
We Appreciate The Complicated And Wonderful Gifts You Give Us In Each Other. And We Appreciate The Task You Put Down Before Us, Of Loving Each Other The Best We Can, Even As You Love Us.
Appreciate
Giving
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All Of God's Creatures Have Names, Every Last One Of Them. Of That I Am Sure: Of That I Have No Doubt At All.
Names
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Lasts
As A Kid Books Changed How I Looked At The World And Helped Me Understand Things. Books Still Deepen Me And Open My Heart.
Book
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I Actually Do Like Traveling.
Hands Down, The Biggest Thrill Is To Get A Letter From A Kid Saying, I Loved Your Book. Will You Write Me Another One?
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Kids
Writing
I'm Just Doing What I've Done My Whole Life, Which Is Talking To People About Books And Making Them Read. It's What I Do In My Friendships. "here, You Have To Read This, You Have To Read This."
Book
Talking
People
Say It, Reader. Say The Word 'quest' Out Loud. It Is An Extraordinary Word, Isn't It? So Small And Yet So Full Of Wonder, So Full Of Hope.
Quests
Wonder
Loud
I Have Been Loved, Edward Told The Stars. So? Said The Stars. What Difference Does That Make When You Are All Alone Now?
Stars
Differences
Doe
I Have Not Googled Myself. I Have Not Looked At Myself On Amazon. It Could Drive You Wild.
Amazon
As Elmore Leonard Says, I Write To Find Out What Happens.
Writing
Happens
There Is Nothing Sweeter In This Sad World Than The Sound Of Someone You Love Calling Your Name.
Sadness
Names
Sound
All Of That Loneliness And Longing In My Heart Got Transferred Into The Book Because Of Winn-dixie, I Guess.
Loneliness
Book
Heart
I Have A Bachelor Of Arts In English, Which Means I Had A Lot Of Formal Training In Reading.
Art
Reading
Mean
On The Return Flight From My Mother In Florida , I Sat Next To A Businessman Who Asked Me What I Did For A Living. I Said, "i Write," And It Seemed Totally Ridiculous In The Face Of What Had Just Happened. I Mean, I Couldn't Think Of Anything More Pointless Than Telling Stories. He Asked, "what Do You Write?" I Said, "i Write Children Books."
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Children
Book
We [me And Alison Mcghee] Probably Wouldn't Have Said That When We Were Writing The Stories, But It Is So Apparent To Me In The Finished Product. For Me, Looking At Bink, It's Like Looking At Myself On The Page In A Way That I've Never Experienced With Any Other Book That I've Written.
Book
Writing
Stories
There Can Be A Lot Of Longevity In The Repetition Of Things Being Told Again And Again In A Variety Of Ways.
Way
Repetition
Longevity
He Was Weeping. Although 'weeping' Really Is To Small A Word For The Activity The Kind Had Undertaken. Tears Were Cascading From His Eyes. A Small Puddle Had Formed At His Feet. I Am Not Exaggerating. The King, It Seemed, Was Intent On Crying Himself A River.
Kings
Eye
Rivers
There's A Notion Of Art In This Country That You Have To Be Nutty Or Special Or "called" In Order To Be An Artist. I Believe The Questions Everyone Should Ask Themselves Are, "do You Want To Do It? Are You Willing To Do It Poorly? Are You Willing To Do The Work Of Doing It? Are You Willing To Persist When Everybody Tells You It's Silly?" If You're Willing To Do That, Then You Can Do It.
Country
Art
Believe
So, Yes, At Least From My End. You Could Say There's A Lot Of Alison [mcghee] In Gollie Too.
Ends
The Story Is Not A Pretty One. There Is Violence In It. And Cruelty. But Stories That Are Not Pretty Have A Certain Value, Too, I Suppose. Everything, As You Well Know (having Lived In This World Long Enough To Have Figured Out A Thing Or Two For Yourself), Cannont Always Be Sweetness And Light.
Light
Two
Long
At Least Lester Had The Decency To Weep At His Act Of Perfidy. Reader, Do You Know What 'perfidy' Means? I Have A Feeling You Do, Based On The Scene That Unfolded Here. But You Should Look Up The Word In Your Dictionary, Just To Be Sure.
Mean
Feelings
Looks
I Was A Kid Who Lived To Read. It Was The Primary Pleasure Of My Existence. It's Still One Of The Primary Pleasures Of My Existence. It's Where I Draw My Sustenance.
Kids
Pleasure
Existence
There Is Nothing Worse Than War In The Summetime.
War
No One Cared What She Wanted. No One Had Ever Cared. And Perhaps, Worst Of All, No One Ever Would Care.
Care
Worst
Wanted
Most Of My Books Begin With An Image Or A Voice - One Small Thing - And I Don't Know What It Is Going To Become.
Book
Voice
Knows
Love Is Ridiculous. But Love Is Also Wonderful. And Powerful. And Despereaux's Love For The Princess Pea Would Prove, In Time, To Be All Of These Things: Powerful, Wonderful, And Ridiculous.
Powerful
Princess
Love Is
Never In His Life Had Edward Been Cradled Like A Baby. Abilene Had Not Done It. Nor Had Nellie. And Most Certainly, Bull Had Not. It Was A Singular Sensation To Be Held So Gently And Yet So Fiercely, To Be Stared Down At With So Much Love. Edward Felt The Whole Of His China Body Flood With Warmth. (page 128)
Baby
Done
Bulls
Look At Me, He Said To Her. His Arms And Legs Jerked. Look At Me. You Got Your Wish. I Have Learned How To Love. And It’s A Terrible Thing. I’m Broken. My Heart Is Broken. Help Me. The Old Woman Turned And Hobbled Away. Come Back, Thought Edward. Fix Me
Heart
Broken
Wish
I Was Over At Alison's [mcghee], I Think We Were Playing Scrabble. I Remember We Were Both Complaining - Yeah, We Sound Like Whiners - About How Hard Writing Is, And How We Didn't Have A Story To Work On. Alison Said, 'why Don't We Work On Writing Something Together,' And I Said, 'eh, I Don't Know If I Could Work That Way.' She Said, 'well, Just Show Up Here And We'll See,' And I Said, 'well, What Would It Be About?' She Said, 'duh, It'd Be About A Tall Girl And A Short Girl.' So I Agreed To Come And Try It For A Day.
Girl
Writing
Thinking
I Always Write With Music. It Takes Me A While To Figure Out The Right Piece Of Music For What I'm Working On. Once I Figure It Out, That's The Only Thing I'll Play.
Writing
Play
Pieces
My Father Leaving The Family Shaped Who I Was And How I Looked At The World. By The Same Token, My Father Telling Me Fairy Tales That He Had Made Up Shaped Me Profoundly, Too.
Father
Leaving
World
I Want To Remind People Of The Great And Profound Joy That Can Be Found In Stories, And That Stories Can Connect Us To Each Other, And That Reading Together Changes Everybody Involved.
Reading
People
Profound
I'm In Trouble If They Can't, Because Everyone's Taller Than Me, And If That's True, That Means I Can't Have Any Friends! Alison [mcghee] And I Look Very Much Like, I Was Going To Say Bink And Gollie, But I Meant Mutt And Jeff. We Look Ridiculous When We Walk Down The Street Together, Because She's So Tall And I'm So Short. But Yes, Tall People And Short People Can, And Should Be, Friends. I, Personally, Like Being Short. I Think It Makes Things Easier.
Mean
Thinking
People
If You Have No Intention Of Loving Or Being Loved, The Whole Journey Is Pointless.
Journey
Intention
Whole
Love Is In All Of The Books, And That's The Connective Tissue Between Them. There's A Lot Of Hope In Me; I Can Feel It. These Stories Are Balls Of Light For Me.
Book
Love Is
Light
I Never Want To Be A Role Model.
Role Models
Roles
Want
You Don't Realize What You're Going To Get, And You Can't Prepare Yourself For It.
Realizing
There Ain't A Body, Be It Mouse Or Man, That Ain't Made Better By A Little Soup.
Men
Body
Soup
Life Is Hard. Life Is Beautiful. Life Is Difficult. Life Is Wonderful.
Beautiful
Life Is Hard
Hard Life
Reader, Do You Think It Is A Terrible Thing To Hope When There Is Really No Reason To Hope At All? Or Is It (as The Soldier Said About Happiness) Something That You Might Just As Well Do, Since,in The End, It Really Makes No Difference To Anyone But You?
Thinking
Differences
Soldier
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.
Powerful
Darkness
Once Upon A Time
Longing Is Not Always A Reciprocal Thing.
Longing
Reciprocal
This Is The Danger Of Loving: No Matter How Powerful You Are, No Matter How Many Kingdoms You Rule, You Cannot Stop Those You Love From Dying.
Powerful
Dying
Kingdoms
Mercy Watson Is Pure Fun For Me As A Writer, Because I Think Of Her As Kind Of Sorbet - A Palate Cleanser - Between Larger Works. It's Always A Relief To Come Back To Her.
Fun
Thinking
Relief
I Feel Like I've Been Blessed. I See The World Through Stories.
Blessed
Stories
World
Do You Think Everybody Misses Somebody? Like I Miss My Mama?” “mmmm-hmmm,” Said Gloria. She Closed Her Eyes. “i Believe, Sometimes, That The Whole World Has An Aching Heart.
Believe
Heart
Eye
The Only Control You Have Over A Movie Is Whether Or Not You Decide To Sell The Rights.
Rights
Sells
There Is A Lot Of Love In Him, A Lot Of Love In His Heart...and He Is Up There With No One And Nothing To Love. It Is A Bad Thing To Have Love And No Where To Put It.
Heart
Bad Things
Life Was So Short; So Many Beautiful Things Slipped Away.
Beautiful
Beautiful Things
It Distresses Me That Parents Insist That Their Children Read Or Make Them Read. I Think The Best Way For Children To Treasure Reading Is For Them To See The Adults In Their Lives Reading For Their Own Pleasure.
Children
Reading
Thinking
So Many Miracles Have Not Yet Happened.
Miracle
Happened
Her Sister, Holly Mcghee, Is An Agent, And She's My Agent In New York. She's Alison's Agent Too. Even Though Alison Lives Here In Minneapolis, I Met Alison Through Holly, When Holly Came To Minneapolis To Visit Alison.
New York
Hollies
Agents
What's My Weirdest Adventure? Yikes, There've Been So Very Many. Perhaps The Pig+vegetable+taiwanese-army-guys Boat Ride To The Island Off The Coast Of Taiwan Qualifies As The Weirdest. Or At Least The Most Seasick.
Adventure
Army
Islands
Every Well-written Book Is A Light For Me. When You Write, You Use Other Writers And Their Books As Guides In The Wilderness.
Book
Writing
Light
Rob Horton, The Main Character Of The Tiger Rising, Was A Secondary Character In An Adult Short Story I Wrote, And He Wouldn't Go Away After I'd Finished The Short Story. I Couldn't Figure Out What He Wanted, So I Wrote To Find Out.
Character
Going Away
Adults
This Is The Great Thing About Writing For Kids. Adults Might Not Do Anything If They Recognized Me. But If They Do See Me, And They're With A Kid, They'll Tell The Kid Who I Am. They Think They Should Give That To The Kid. So Generally That Sends The Kid Over.
Writing
Kids
Thinking
Wayne Wang, The Director Of Because Of Winn-dixie The Movie, Understood The Book And Transferred As Much Of The Feeling Of The Book Onto Film As Humanly Possible. I Think He Did A Fabulous Job. And Also I'm Thrilled Because The Movie Brings People To The Book - People That Wouldn't Know About The Book - And That's A Great Thing.
Jobs
Book
Thinking
The Tiger Rising Is, Again, About A Motherless Child. His Name Is Rob Horton. He Is Dealing With The Death Of His Mother, When He And His Father Move To A New Town. And Two Things Happen The Same Day That Rob Gets Sent Home. One Is He Meets A Girl Named Sistine Bailey, Who Is What My Mother Would Call "a Piece Of Work," And He Finds A Real Tiger In A Cage In The Woods Behind The Motel Where He Lives With His Dad. And That's The Story: What Happens With The Sistine Tiger, The Real Tiger And Rob's Grief.
Girl
Mother
Children
To Me The Book Is Like Having A Kid. I Have To Let It Go Out In The World, And Great Things Will Happen. Maybe They Won't, But It Has To Keep On Moving.
Moving
Book
Kids
Stories Are Light. Light Is Precious In A World So Dark. Begin At The Beginning. Tell Gregory A Story. Make Some Light.
Dark
Light
Stories
I've Never Worked With A Co-author Before [alison Mcghee]. Writing For Me Is A Pretty Scary Thing, So It Was A Huge Comfort To Have Someone In The Room Working With Me. It Became Less Like Work And More Like Play.
Writing
Play
Scary
A Typical Day For Me Is I Get Up At 6:00, The Coffeemaker Goes On Automatically And The Computer Gets Turned On. I Pour A Cup Of Coffee, Listen To Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac, And Then I Write.
Coffee
Writing
Typical
So Here I Am, Sending A Two-ounce Mouse Down Into A Dungeon With A Sewing Needle To Save A Human Princess, And I Don't Know How In The World He's Going To Do It. I Have No Idea. That Was The First Time It Occurred To Me That Writing The Story Was Roughly Equivalent To Despereaux's Descent Into The Dungeon. I Was Tremendously Aware Of That As I Was Writing. I Thought, "i Have To Be Brave Or Else I'm Not Going To Be Able To Tell It." But It's The Only Way That I Can Write. If I Know What's Going To Happen, I'm Not Interested In Telling The Story.
Princess
Writing
Here I Am
Everything, As You Well Know . . . Cannot Always Be Sweetness And Light.
Light
Sweetness
Wells
Sometimes Strange And Wonderful Things Will Pop Into My Head. And Sometimes I Will See Something In The World That Is The Beginning Of A Story. I Always Have A Notebook With Me So That I Can Write Down What I See And Hear.
Notebook
Writing
Stories
I Have Learned How To Love. And It's A Terrible Thing. I'm Broken. My Heart Is Broken. Help Me.
Heart
Broken
How To Love
I Think For Everybody Reading Can Be A Solace, Illumination, Education.
Reading
Thinking
Illumination
My Goal Is Two Pages A Day, Five Days A Week. I Never Want To Write, But I'm Always Glad That I Have Done It. After I Write, I Go To Work At The Bookstore.
Writing
Two
Goal
In Luggage Claim At The Minneapolis Airport, The Guy Came Up To Me And Said, "maybe You're Wrong, Maybe Stories Do Matter." I Wrote That On A Scrap Of Paper And Put It Above My Desk. That Was The Thing That Pushed Me Through To The End Of Telling Despereaux, That Comment, "maybe They Do...maybe Stories Matter."
Airports
Guy
Matter
Mercy Watson Is A Pig. She Lives With Mr. And Mrs. Watson, Who Are Not Pigs. I Had That Basic Premise, But I Couldn't Make It Work. I Would Come Back To It, Try It, See That I Was Failing, And Put It Aside.
Pigs
Trying
Failing
I Like Going To Schools And Telling Classes That When I Was A Child, I Failed Every "will This Kid Become A Writer" Test.
Children
School
Kids
There Are Those Hearts, Reader, That Never Mend Again Once They Are Broken. Or If They Do Mend, They Heal Themselves In A Crooked And Lopsided Way, As If Sewn Together By A Careless Craftsman. Such Was The Fate Of Chiaroscuro. His Heart Was Broken. Picking Up The Spoon And Placing It On His Head, Speaking Of Revenge, These Things Helped Him To Put His Heart Together Again. But It Was, Alas, Put Together Wrong.
Revenge
Heart
Fate
There Ain't No Point In Making Soup Unless Others Eat It. Soup Needs Another Mouth To Taste It, Another Heart To Be Warmed By It.
Heart
Needs
Mouths
Normally, Edward Would Have Found Intrusive, Clingy Behavior Of This Sort Very Annoying, But There Was Something About Sarah Ruth. He Wanted To Take Care Of Her. He Wanted To Protect Her. He Wanted To Do More For Her. (page 135)
Ruth
Care
Pages
When I Journal, I Write About Images That I've Seen That I Think Might Make Good Stories. I Write About Things That I Hear That I Think I Can Turn Into A Story. I Write About The Story That I'm Working On And Where I Think It Might Go.
Writing
Thinking
Stories
I Don't Know What Alison [mcghee] Thinks, But I Very Strongly Doubt That We Will Ever See The Parents Of Bink Or Gollie. However, I Do Think It Would Be Fun To Make Tony Fucile Draw Portraits Of The Parental Units And Have Those Portraits Sitting On Bink's Mantel Or In Gollie's Kitchen. Glowering. A Little.
Fun
Thinking
Parent
You Are Down There Alone, The Stars Seemed To Say To Him. And We Are Up Here, In Our Constellations, Together.
Stars
Together
Constellations
I Will Be Brave, Thought Despereaux. I Will Try To Be Brave Like A Knight In Shining Armour. I Will Be Brave For The Princess Pea.
Princess
Knights
Shining
You Can't Always Judge People By The Things They Done. You Got To Judge Them By What They Are Doing Now.
People
Judging
Done
Stories Are Light. Light Is Precious In A World So Dark.
Dark
Light
Stories
Besides, Who Ever Asked You What You Wanted In This World, Girl? The Answer To That Question, Reader, As You Well Know, Was Absolutely No One.
Girl
Answers
World
I Remember Wanting To Write A Book With Someone, The Someone Being Kate [dicamillo], And We Decided To Write About Two Friends. We Had No Idea How To Begin This Project - Neither Of Us Had Ever Collaborated With Another Writer - And I'm Pretty Sure That We Began By Giving Our Two Friends A Sock, Just To See What They'd Do With It. And It Went From There.
Book
Writing
Two Friends
At The Thought Of Being Eaten By Rats, Despereaux Forgot About Being Brave. He Forgot About Not Being A Disappointment. He Felt Himself Heading Into Another Faint. But His Mother, Who Had An Excellent Sense Of Dramatic Timing, Beat Him To It; She Executed A Beautiful, Flawless Swoon, Landing Right At Despereaux's Feet.
Beautiful
Mother
Disappointment
It Is Our Duty And Our Joy To Communicate Our Hearts To Each Other. Words Assist Us In This Task.
Heart
Joy
Tasks
I Think Of Myself As An Enormously Lucky Person.
Thinking
Lucky
Persons
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.
Hands
Editors
Sound
I Would Hesitate To Say The Characters [ In Bink & Gollie] Are Too Related To Either To Us [me And Alison Mcghee], But They Certainly Draw On Our Physical Traits And Personality Traits And Then Exaggerate Them To The Nth Degree.
Character
Personality
Degrees
Mr. And Mrs. Mr. And Mrs. Watson Love Mercy [watson]. Eugenia Hates Mercy. Baby Likes Mercy. Mercy Loves Toast. And The Plot, If You Want To Be So Generous As To Call It A Plot, Turns On Those Elements. Love Mercy. Eugenia Hates Mercy. Baby Likes Mercy. Mercy Loves Toast. And The Plot, If You Want To Be So Generous As To Call It A Plot, Turns On Those Elements.
Baby
Hate
Likes
The Sound Of The King's Music Made Despereaux's Soul Grow Large And Light Inside Of Him.
Kings
Light
Soul
I Didn't Start Working On Children's Books Until I Got A Job At A Book Warehouse On The Children's Floor. When I Started Reading Some Of The Books, I Was So Impressed.
Jobs
Children
Book
Reading Might Not Be The Way That The Child Engages With The World, But It Should Be Something That They All Learn How To Do, And That They Get To Have For Themselves, As Opposed To Somebody Telling Them What To Do And How To Do It.
Children
Reading
World
I'm At The Mercy Of Whatever Character Comes Into My Head.
Character
Mercy
Open Your Heart. Someone Will Come. Someone Will Come For You. But First You Must Open Your Heart. (old Doll)
Heart
Dolls
Firsts
Love!' Said The Princess. She Stamped Her Foot. 'why Must Everyone Always Speak Of Love?
Princess
Feet
Speak
Reading Should Not Be Presented To Children As A Chore Or Duty. It Should Be Offered To Them As A Precious Gift.
Children
Reading
Literacy
I Show Up And Try, But I May Have To Ask Myself If I Need To Wait And Let Myself Regenerate And Take A Break. I Know That This Thing That Makes The Stories Has To Be Treated Gently. So Sometimes I'll Just Stop And Let The Well Fill Up. With My Work, Sometimes I Hate Doing It, But I Love Having Done It. The Key Is To Keep Doing It.
Hate
Keys
Waiting
I Think Tony Fucile, Who Did The Illustrations [for Bink & Gollie], Is An Absolute Genius. I've Never Met Him.
Thinking
Illustration
Genius
Fairy Tales Dont Tell You That Dragons Are Real, But That They Can Be Defeated!
Real
Dragons
Fairy Tale
My Favorite Six Letter Word Is Always Because It Promises So Much. My Favorite Five Letter Word Is Never Because It Insists On Contradicting The Promise. My Favorite Four Letter Word Is Once Because It Says It Happened Then. My Favorite Three Letter Word Is Yes Because I’m Just Now Learning To Say It To My Heart. My Favorite Two Letter Word Is If Because It Makes All Things Possible Like This: If Not Always If Not Never Then Once. Yes.
Heart
Two
Promise
I Was Visiting My Mother In Florida When The September 11, 2001 Attacks Happened. I Was Working On The Tale Of Despereaux At That Point. I Had Already Gone Into Writing It With A Great Deal Of Trepidation And Fear, And Then This God-awful Thing Happens And It Was Really Hard To Even Get Back Home To Minneapolis.
Mother
Home
Writing
I Like To Think Of Myself As A Storyteller.
Thinking
Storyteller
We All Live In Fear Of Getting Blocked No Matter What Kind Of Art We're Trying To Do. It Happens All The Time, But I Prefer To Think Of It As A Bad Day.
Art
Bad Day
Thinking
I Work Full-time In A Used Bookstore. I Get Up. I Drink A Cup Of Coffee. I Think, The Last Thing I Want To Do Is Write. Then I Go To The Computer And Write.
Coffee
Writing
Thinking
It Is Important That You Say What You Mean To Say. Time Is Too Short. You Must Speak The Words That Matter.
Mean
Important
Matter
The Tale Of Despereaux Is The Story Of An Unlikely Hero, A Mouse, Who Falls In Love With A Princess And Then Must Save Her. It's A Triumph Of The Human Spirit, Via A Mouse.
Falling In Love
Princess
Hero
The World Is Dark, And Light Is Precious. Come Closer, Dear Reader. You Must Trust Me. I Am Telling You A Story.
Dark
Light
Stories
Miracles And Magic Pervade The Things That I've Written, But Yet There Are No Miracles And There Is No Magic.
Miracle
Magic
Written
I Think We Sent Tony Fucile Pictures Of Ourselves, Photos From Like When We Were Seven Years Old. That's What He Worked From. He Captured Exactly What We Looked Like. I'd Love To Do Another One With Alison, Not Just For The Joy Of Writing, But Also For The Joy Of Watching Tony Bring It To Life With His Illustrations. I'm Hoping At Bea, Or Ala, I'll Get To Meet Tony And Shake His Hand And Thank Him.
Writing
Thinking
Illustration
I Love Words; I Love The Way They Sound. Once I've Worked On Everything Else, The Last Drafts Of My Books Come Down To How They Sound.
Book
Sound
Way
You Are The Ever-expanding Universe To Me
Expanding Universe
Expanding
Universe
Reading Is My Passion.
Reading
Passion
My Passion
The Watsons Have Lost Sight Of The Fact That Mercy Watson Is A Pig, And They Love Her Truly, Madly, Deeply. They Live Next Door To Two Elderly Sisters, Eugenia Lincoln And Baby Lincoln. Eugenia Lincoln Is Horrified That A Pig Is Living In The House Next Door. Baby Lincoln Secretly Likes Mercy A Great Deal.
Baby
Sight
Pigs
The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane Began With A Friend Giving Me A Rabbit Doll - Forgive Me, Edward, For Using That Word; He Doesn't Like "doll" - For Christmas. I Said, "oh, He's Lovely, What's His Name?" And She Said, "edward." And A Few Days After I Received The Rabbit, Who Was Dressed Very Handsomely In Edwardian Kind Of Clothes, I Saw Him Stripped Of His Finery And Face Down On The Bottom Of The Ocean Floor. Why? I Don't Know. But That's Where His Story Began In My Head.
Ocean
Journey
Names
Don't Drop Him," Said Peter's Mother To His Father. "don't You Dare Drop Him." She Was Laughing. "i Will Not," Said His Father. "i Could Not." For He Is Peter Augustus Duchene, And He Will Always Return To Me. Again And Again, Peter's Father Threw Him Up In The Air. Again And Again, Peter Felt Himself Suspended In Nothingness For A Moment, Just A Moment, And Then He Was Pulled Back, Returned To The Sweetness Of The Earth And The Warmth Of His Father's Waiting Arms. "see?" Said His Father To His Mother. "do You See How He Always Comes Back To Me?
Mother
Father
Air
I Am Single And Childless, But I Have Lots Of Friends And I Am An Aunt To Three Lovely Children.
Children
Aunt
Lovely
I Didn't Know Anything About Writing A Screenplay, But Somehow I Ended Up Rewriting A Screenplay.
Writing
Rewriting
Screenplays
Pea Was Aware Suddenly Of How Fragile Her Heart Was, How Much Darkness Was Inside It, Fighting, Always, With The Light. She Did Not Like The Rat. She Would Neverlike The Rat, But She Knew What She Must Do To Save Her Own Heart.
Heart
Fighting
Light
Things Are Not At All What They Seem To Be: Oh No, Not At All.
Seems
We Forget That The Simple Gesture Of Putting A Book In Someone's Hands Can Change A Life. I Want To Remind You That It Can. I Want To Thank You Because It Did. - 2010 Indies Choice Award
Book
Simple
Awards
May God Strike Me Down With A Hammer On The Head Before I Write A Book With A Teach-y Goal!
Book
Writing
Goal
They Were Always On The Move.but In Truth Said Bull We Are All Going Nowhere
Moving
Bulls
Said
Nothing New Ever Happens In The Books. It's The Same Old Theme.
Book
Theme
Happens
But Still, Here Are The Words Despereaux Tilling Spoke To His Father. He Said, "i Forgive You, Pa!" And He Said Those Words Because He Sensed That It Was The Only Way To Save His Heart, To Stop It From Breaking In Two. Despereaux, Reader, Spoke Those Words To Save Himself.
Father
Heart
Two
What I Hope Is That The Book [bink & Gollie] Delights Children. What I Hope Is That They Laugh And Laugh And Laugh, Just As We Did When We Wrote Them.
Children
Book
Laughing
If I Am Just Home And Writing, I Become Very Strange.
Home
Writing
Strange
During The Night, While Bull And Lucy Slept, Edward, With Ever-open Eyes, Stared Up At The Constellations. He Said Their Names, And Then He Said The Names Of The People Who Loved Him. He Started With Abilene, And Then Went On To Nellie And Lawrence And From There To Bull And Lucy, And Then He Ended Again With Abilene: Abilene, Nellie, Lawrence, Bull, Lucy, Abilene. See? Edward Told Pellegrina. I Am Not Like The Princess. I Know About Love.
Princess
Eye
Night
That Is Surely The Truth, At Least For Now. But Perhaps You Have Not Noticed: The Truth Is Forever Changing.
Forever
Truth Is
I've Been Recognized In Airports Lots Of Places, But Mostly Getting Recognized Is At Home.
Home
Airports
And Hope Is Like Love...a Ridiculous, Wonderful, Powerful Thing.
Powerful
Like Love
Ridiculous
Alison [mcghee] And I Have Known Each Other Since The Summer Of 2001. One Evening We Were Sitting Around Talking About How We Wished We Had A Good Story To Work On. Alison Said: Why Don't We Work On A Story Together? I Said: A Story About What? And Alison Said: A Story About A Short Girl And A Tall Girl.
Girl
Summer
Talking
I Am Just Always, Always Paying Attention - Waiting For The Words, Or Image, Or Name That Will Be The Beginning Of A Story.
Names
Waiting
Attention
I Read My Books Out Loud To Myself Because Of The Demands Of The Story And Demands Of Language.
Book
Stories
Demand
[he] Had The Soul Of A Poet, And Because Of This, He Liked Very Much To Consider Questions That Had No Answers.
Soul
Answers
Poet
There Are So Many Difficult Things And Stories Can Make Them Palatable. That's The Way I Have Always Felt.
Stories
Way
Difficult
I Journal For About Half An Hour, And By The Time That's Done, The Business Day On The East Coast Has Begun. The Phone Starts To Ring, And The Rest Of The Day Is Spent Dealing With The Business Of Writing. My Workday Is Done At About 3:00.
Writing
Phones
East
The Tale Of Despereaux Came At The Request Of Luke, My Friend's Then-eight-year-old Son, Who Asked, "write For Me The Story Of An Unlikely Hero With Exceptionally Large Ears."
Hero
Writing
Son
But Let's Not Speak Of What Might Have Been. Let Us Speak Instead Of What Is. You Are Whole.
Might
Speak
Whole
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