“I don't know if it becomes literature...I just know the two added words cause me to look at the ordinary sentences differently. And quite honestly, I find that to be magical!”

“Literature is a cake with many toys baked inside--and even if you find them all, if you don't enjoy the path that leads you to them, it will be a hollow accomplishment.”

“Love ForeverIf I were the trees ...I would turn my leaves to gold and scatter them toward the sky so they would circle about your head and fall in piles at your feet...so you might know wonder.If I were the mountains ...I would crumble down and lift you up so you could see all of my secret places, where the rivers flow and the animals run wild ...so you might know freedom.If I were the ocean ...I would raise you onto my gentle waves and carry you across the seas to swim with the whales and the dolphins in the moonlit waters,so you might know peace.If I were the stars ...I would sparkle like never before and fall from the sky as gentle rain,so that you would always look towards heaven and know that you can reach the stars.If I were the moon ...I would scoop you up and sail you through the sky and show you the Earth below in all its wonder and beauty, so you might know that all the Earth is at your command.If I were the sun ...I would warm and glow like never before and light the sky with orange and pink,so you would gaze upward and always know the glory of heaven.But I am me ...and since I am the one who loves you, I will wrap you in my arms and kiss you and love you with all of my heart,and this I will do until ...the mountains crumble down ...and the oceans dry up ...and the stars fall from the sky ...and the sun and moon burn out ...And that is forever.”

“Literature has the power to change lives, minds, and hearts.”

“But as a wise and great teacher once explained so patiently, all good stories - stories that touch your soul, stories that change your nature, stories that cause you to become a better person from their telling-these stories always contain truth.”

“Child, unless you are opening a dictionary, you start at the book's opening page and you read the story through. If it's terribly dreadful, then just put it down and move on. What I will not tolerate is reading ahead. It's not fair to the reader or to the author. If they meant to have their books read backwards, they would surely have written them that way!”

“While almost everything that surrounds us in life gets old and wears out, stories, like our very souls, don't age.”