Avi

“Everybody has ideas. The vital question is, what do you do with them? My rock musician sons shape their ideas into music. My sister takes her ideas and fashions them into poems. My brother uses his ideas to help him understand science. I take my ideas and turn them into stories.”

“Then the silence came back, that awful silence that seemed to just take over.In that silence I kept hearing what I had said--heard it repeating itself over and over again like a stuck record. I wanted it to stop. I didn't want to say things like that anymore. I was sick of that kind of lying. I wished I could say something real.But the silence was too big.”

“The greater a man's - or boy's - ignorance of the world, the more certain he is that he sits in the center of that world.”

“Don't assume that because everyone believes a thing, that it is right or wrong. Reason things out for yourself. Work to get answers on your own. Understand why you believe things.”

“In another corner Nathaniel murmured to Maura, "You must know, Miss O'Connell, I . . . I loved you even before I saw you. It was your father's way of talking."Maura shook her head. "You mustn't say that. It's not my dear da's words that should do the wooing," she said gently. "I'd rather be cared for . . . for what I am myself."Nathaniel nodded. "I'll not say more. But I will tell you what I think I'm going to do."And what is thatI'm going to California to search for gold."And do you think, Nathaniel Brewster, you'll find it?"I do. But it won't be as fine as what's here," Nathaniel said with a shy smile. "Maura O'Connell . . . will . . . will you . . . wait for me to come back?"Maura was silent.Will you?"You're a fine young man, Mr. Brewster. I can only say I'll not forget you.”

“I was born in New York City, along with a twin sister. I am five minutes older than Emily. It was Emily, for reasons no one knows - she certainly doesn't - who called me Avi. It stuck. It's the only name I use now.”

“For some 25 years, I worked as a librarian, first at the New York Public Library, then at Trenton State College in New Jersey. My life has always been with, around, and for books.”

“My mind has become somewhat like a book. What I mean by that is that when I look at the world, I see it as a story.”

“I want my readers to feel, to think, sometimes to laugh. But most of all I want them to enjoy a good read.”

“A sailor chooses the wind that takes the ship from a safe port. Ah, yes, but once you're abroad, as you have seen, winds have a mind of their own. Be careful, Charlotte, careful of the wind you choose.”

“I took a deep breath. 'For you I've got something better than love.'What's that?'I...trust you.'Why?'You'll never hurt me.'Thank you.'But...'But, what?'I said, 'That means I'll hurt you.'Why?' 'Cause, like I said, you'll never hurt me back.”

“Writing is my profession. Photography is my hobby.”

“Writers don't write writing, they write reading. When I was a kid, I read four or five books a week. And that is how I became a writer.”

“I think you become a writer when you stop writing for yourself or your teachers and start thinking about readers.”

“Writing takes a lot of patience. It usually takes me a year to write a book. One time, it took me 14 years to write a book, not that I worked on it every day.”

“A lot of people think inspiration means magic. But really, inspiration means to put life into something.”

“Every night, I was read to. Every Friday, we were taken to the library. I always received at least one book for my birthday. I have a few of them yet. Early on, I had my own collection of books. I loved to read. Still do.”

“In my books I try to tell a good story, not give messages.”

“It makes it harder to write if I watch a lot of television, because television is not like a written story.”

“I don't like the idea of a book being a test or being used for a test. The way - in my opinion - to make good readers is to let kids choose their own books and not test them.”