We have this thing as human beings: we have a profound need for story. That’s what kids need. Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
When I was a kid, it never occurred to me that human beings wrote books. It was a kind of cognitive dissonance for me… I just didn’t think it was something that people did. Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
I don’t know what my mother was thinking, but she entered me in a Little Miss contest – Little Miss Orange Blossom, I think it was. And I don’t remember anything about that, except I have one flash-bulb memory of standing on the stage and thinking, ‘This is not where I should be.’ Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
My father – he was an orthodontist – was supposed to sell his practice and move down to Florida, but that never happened… I would sometimes spend the summer with him and visit him, but he never lived with us. Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
I have no talents. But I do have hope. And wonder. And love. Maybe those are talents? Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
If you sit down and read with your kid, either having your child read to you or you reading to your child at a regular time each day, it deepens the relationship. You don’t have to talk about stuff; the story will do that work for you. Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
When I was 5 years old, I moved with my mother and brother from Philadelphia to a small town in Florida. People talked more slowly there and said words I had never heard before, like ‘ain’t’ and ‘y’all’ and ‘ma’am.’ Everybody knew everybody else. Even if they didn’t, they acted like they did. Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart. Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
How do I feel when I look back at prior work? Hmmm. I think, ‘I tried to do the best I could do. It’s not perfect. It will never be perfect.’ And then I think, ‘I want to try again.’ Kate DiCamillo Read Quote
