From a cognitive standpoint, I'm very aware that you have no room for error in a picture book. Every word counts. Kate DiCamillo More Quotes by Kate DiCamillo More Quotes From Kate DiCamillo It is our duty and our joy to communicate our hearts to each other. Words assist us in this task. Kate DiCamillo tasks heart joy I journal for about half an hour, and by the time that's done, the business day on the East Coast has begun. The phone starts to ring, and the rest of the day is spent dealing with the business of writing. My workday is done at about 3:00. Kate DiCamillo east phones writing It seems to be that way with most things. No one to do the really disagreeable jobs except oneself. Kate DiCamillo oneself jobs way No one cared what she wanted. No one had ever cared. And perhaps, worst of all, no one ever would care. Kate DiCamillo worst care wanted She was working to remind herself of who she was. She was working to remember that somewhere in another place entirely she was known and loved. Kate DiCamillo known remember Mercy Watson was a character that had been in my head for a long time. Kate DiCamillo mercy character long Love is ridiculous. But love is also wonderful. And powerful. And Despereaux's love for the Princess Pea would prove, in time, to be all of these things: powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous. Kate DiCamillo princess powerful love-is Rats have a sense of humor. Rats, in fact think the world is very funny. And they are right, dear reader. They are right. Kate DiCamillo rats world thinking Perhaps," said the man, "you would like to be lost with us. I have found it much more agreeable to be lost in the company of others. Kate DiCamillo found lost men I think of Mercy Watson like a superball; there's a bouncy kind of optimism to her stories. She allows me to play, and she makes me laugh. Hopefully readers feel the same way. Kate DiCamillo play laughing thinking Reader, you may ask this queston. In fact, you must ask this question. Is it ridiculous for a very small, sickly, big-eared mouse to fall in love with a beautiful princess named Pea? The answer is... Yes. Of course it's ridiculous. Love is ridiculous. But love is also wonderful. And powerful. Kate DiCamillo falling-in-love powerful beautiful Everything, as you well know . . . cannot always be sweetness and light. Kate DiCamillo sweetness wells light Reader, do you think it is a terrible thing to hope when there is really no reason to hope at all? Or is it (as the soldier said about happiness) something that you might just as well do, since,in the end, it really makes no difference to anyone but you? Kate DiCamillo differences soldier thinking the story is not a pretty one. there is violence in it. And cruelty. But stories that are not pretty have a certain value, too, I suppose. Everything, as you well know (having lived in this world long enough to have figured out a thing or two for yourself), cannont always be sweetness and light. Kate DiCamillo light two long Open your heart. Someone will come. Someone will come for you. But first you must open your heart. (Old Doll) Kate DiCamillo dolls heart firsts And so he was reading the story as if it were a spell and the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen. Kate DiCamillo magic reading stories We must ask ourselves these questions as often as we dare. How will the world change if we do not question it? Kate DiCamillo dare asks world Allow me to congratulate you on your very astute powers of observation. Kate DiCamillo astute observation Mercy Watson is pure fun for me as a writer, because I think of her as kind of sorbet - a palate cleanser - between larger works. It's always a relief to come back to her. Kate DiCamillo relief fun thinking Pea was aware suddenly of how fragile her heart was, how much darkness was inside it, fighting, always, with the light. She did not like the rat. She would neverlike the rat, but she knew what she must do to save her own heart. Kate DiCamillo fighting light heart
