What do you like better--writing novels or picture books?
Oooh, that's like asking which of my three children I like better, and of course, I love them all equally but in different ways. I like writing novels because there's room in them for me, as the author, to roam around; in a novel, you can take more time to make a character seem real or to make the setting seem interesting. You can get into trouble in the pages of a novel, then figure a way to get out. But a novel is a really big project, and you have to make sure you have the patience and interest to hang out with the characters you invent. I love writing picture books because they're so precise, and because I've always been as interested in art/illustration as I am in words. To me, a picture book is a lot like a poem: Everything counts--every word, every comma, every page-turn! Picture books may seem simple because the text is usually short and clear, but writing a picture book is as hard as putting together a really difficult jigsaw puzzle. The magic comes from creating something simple that you want to hear or read again and again.

What's it like to work for a publishing company?
I feel fortunate to not only write and publish books for children but also to work for a company that publishes terrific books for kids of all ages. It takes many, many smart and committed people to publish a book: There's the author, who writes the story, and the editor, who buys the book, shapes it, and then figures out who might illustrate it well. There's the managing editor, who keeps each book on track, and the copy editor, who helps make sure the spelling and grammar and all the facts are right. There's the book designer, who figures out just what type to use and how the text and the art will work together--and the jacket designer, who creates a cover that makes you want to pick up the book. There's the production manager, who thinks about how big the book should be, what kind of paper it should be printed on, which printer should manufacture the book--and whether there should be glitter or shiny foil or other fancy flourishes on the front cover. Then there are all the people in the marketing and sales departments, who make sure everyone knows about your book and want to buy it! Plus, the people in the inventory, warehouse, and reprint departments who make sure your book is available for the people who want to buy it! And the people in the finance department keep a close eye on the important business details as each book is developed and sent into the world. Everyone involved in publishing hopes (and sometimes prays!) that every book will be successful. With so many people involved--and so many people to try to please--sometimes it seems remarkable that publishers are still committed to turning ideas into books.

What are your favorite children's books?
Oooh, that's another hard question. The answer depends a lot on my mood at any given moment. If I had to pick a few favorites, they'd include some of the books I've already mentioned, plus Charlotte's Web, the Madeleine books, anything written and or illustrated by Kevin Henkes, the Frog and Toad books, the Maisy books by Lucy Cousins, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and The Araboolies of Liberty Street, one of my all-time faves by Sam Swope and illustrated by Barry Root. I guess I'm sort of old-fashioned when it comes to picture books, but that's okay. I really don't like many of the books "written" by celebrities, or books that are supposed to be for children but aren't really.

Where do you get the ideas for your books?
Not long ago, a young boy asked me if I'd ever written a story about a duck in a truck. "Nope," I replied. A pig in a rig? "Nuh-uh." A brain on a train? By then, I was pretty sure that boy should be writing books for kids! There are so many terrific writers who dream up amazingly clever stories for children, and wonderfully rhythmic, rhyming texts. And there are lots of children's book authors who are extraordinarily prolific--honestly, I don't know how they write so many stories! But the more I thought about that young boy's questions, the more I realized that the stories I write have to mulch for many, many years before they actually turn into books. (Patience and persistence are really important traits for any writer who is determined to publish a book.) As for the stories I most want to share with others? They all somehow involve true experiences with the family members and friends whom I hold most dear in my heart.

What do you write?
I've written quite a few young educational texts that are used in the classroom with kids who are learning to read and write. The first "trade" books--general interest books that go into bookstores rather than schools--I wrote and published were novels for eight- to twelve-year-olds. More recently, I've published a couple of warmly received picture books: Little Mama Forgets, illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen, and Only You, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Margaret Chodos-Irvine.

How did you learn to be a writer?
By reading a lot. I have three kids who are now young adults, and they all make fun of me for being such a bookworm. (They thought it was hilarious when I was working to promote a new central library in downtown San Diego and turned up on the nightly news with a label that described me as: LIBRARY LOVER!) I love my Macintosh computer and my iPod Shuffle and contemporary music and movies--I love movies! But I love reading and writing best of all. I've always liked to make up stories, and to write them down. Sometimes I keep a journal. Sometimes I just write down bits of conversation or interesting facts or things I think are strange or funny. I was a newspaper reporter in Denver, Colorado, for almost ten years--and that was excellent training for me as a writer in lots of important ways: I learned to snoop around, and to really hear what people were saying. I learned a lot about doing research. And I learned to be precise, accurate--and to write and revise really, really quickly. Those are important skills that I use when I write books for young readers.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Now that's a BIG question! From the time I was six years old and wrote my name on my first library card, I knew that I loved both reading and writing. I grew up in Virginia, and the weather there was often miserable: scorching in the summer and slushy in the winter. I spent a lot of time at the library, and even more time holed up at home, reading. My mother was Italian and my father was Irish, so there was always lots of vivid storytelling--and drama (not to mention good food)--in my house! Plus, there were five children in my family--including me and my twin brother, the youngest of the lot--and we all lived in a tiny house, and I really, really liked disappearing into books when there was too much hubbub all around me. I loved books that are still popular today--books by E. B. White, Beverly Cleary (Henry Huggins and Ramona), Betty MacDonald and Hilary Knight (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle), Edward Eager (Half Magic), Scott O'Dell, T. H. White, and P. L. Travers. Who wouldn't want a baby-sitter like Mary Poppins?!