But let's not speak of what might have been. Let us speak instead of what is. You are whole. Kate DiCamillo More Quotes by Kate DiCamillo More Quotes From Kate DiCamillo All of that loneliness and longing in my heart got transferred into the book Because of Winn-Dixie, I guess. Kate DiCamillo lonelinessheartbook I feel like I've been blessed. I see the world through stories. Kate DiCamillo blessedstoriesworld 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. Kate DiCamillo storiespeoplethinking There's a Buddhist precept that the only thing you deserve is the chance to do the work, and I've been given the chance to do the work. Kate DiCamillo buddhistgivenchance 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. Kate DiCamillo girlsummertalking In the beginning of the book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Edward is more enamored of himself than he is of anybody else. He's a very fine rabbit; he's been constructed incredibly well, and he has a wardrobe of amazing clothing. He's arrogant, and he doesn't care whether Abilene loves him or not. As the journey progresses, as he gets passed from hand to hand, he learns what it means to love. He gets more and more bedraggled, and his clothing is lost; yet he becomes finer in soul and heart than he was at the beginning of the journey. Kate DiCamillo heartmeanbook Life is hard. Life is beautiful. Life is difficult. Life is wonderful. Kate DiCamillo hard-lifelife-is-hardbeautiful When it is my editor telling me how to rewrite a story, I listen and do what she asks because I have learned that I get a better book in the end. I can't say I'm happy when I read that editorial letter. It is always a little painful and scary. But I have learned that - bit by bit - I can make the changes and do the work. Kate DiCamillo editorsscarybook Anybody who puts a book into someone else's hands inspires me - teachers, librarians, booksellers, parents. Kate DiCamillo teacherbookhands I am just always, always paying attention - waiting for the words, or image, or name that will be the beginning of a story. Kate DiCamillo nameswaitingattention 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. Kate DiCamillo notebookstorieswriting The origin of each story is unique. Kate DiCamillo uniquestories I've been recognized in airports lots of places, but mostly getting recognized is at home. Kate DiCamillo airportshome 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. Kate DiCamillo morningfunlaughing I read whatever the publisher sends me. Kate DiCamillo publishers 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. Kate DiCamillo motherhomewriting 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. Kate DiCamillo parentfunthinking 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. Kate DiCamillo funkidsbook 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. Kate DiCamillo readingchildrenworld You don't realize what you're going to get, and you can't prepare yourself for it. Kate DiCamillo realizing
