It was so sad when their little area of books (in the younger classrooms) were wet and droopy.

Our old pecan trees that had been in the playground forever are gone. The nuns used to pick up pecans and make cookies for the kids.

Everybody who could help, did.

This is wonderful! They'll be so excited.

I feel sometimes that [in children's books] there are more and more grim problems, but I don't know that I want to burden third- and fourth-graders with them. I feel it's important to get children to enjoy reading.

Books are like friends to me. Words come alive on the page.