I think I was 9, and my mom ordered them for me from a catalogue. They bred like crazy, and I was selling gerbils all around Michigan. They wrote a story about me in the local newspaper.

I think we have a real obligation when we do have animals in captivity to understand their needs and to care for them as well as we can.

I think having imaginary friends is an amazing coping mechanism. It's pretty wonderful, and it makes a lot of sense to me.

I think all writers write from the time they're really young, and you just start asking the question, 'What if?'

I think younger readers connect so readily to animal characters because they share a certain vulnerability, particularly when it comes to adult humans, who can be a rather unpredictable lot.

It occurred to me that a food drive would be a natural way to talk to kids about hunger, which so many of them simply aren't aware of.