Born on April 21st

"There are many reluctant young readers who haven't yet found books that make them laugh."

"All of my characters are less than perfect."

"I'm so lazy as far as liking to get up, go to the office in my pajamas, get dressed about noon. And I hate flying. So I have this really laid-back, good lifestyle, and it's hard to nudge me out of it."

"I wasn't that over-the-top, but I got sent to the principal in first grade for talking. And my father was for a long time the president of the Board of Education. That was always a hard note to bring home."

"My senior year of high school, I was voted 'Wittiest.' So, several years later, I decided to try my hand at writing humor to see if I could be witty enough to make some money."

"I like to think that Junie B. looks at the world - and this isn't a negative comment on her - from the lowest common denominator. It's not all gray to her; it's all black and white."

"I'm not actually sure I'm grown-up enough for grown-up books."

"Ever since I began writing my Junie B. Jones series, people have been assuming that the character is based on me when I was a little girl. The fact is, though, that Junie B. and I have very little in common."

"Society just has a way of inhibiting you, which is good and bad."

"My criteria for what makes a book an official 'favorite,' is based almost entirely on how desperately I don't want the story to end."

"For 20 years I've gotten to laugh my way through my work. For me, that's a dream job."

"My own pregnancies were all about me, me, me. My aches, my pains, my swollen feet, and my body that looked like the Michelin Man."

"Of all the novels I've written, my favorite is 'Mick Harte Was Here'."

"I was a good kid, but I was just very chatty. Teachers were rarely entertained, but occasionally a child was, which was enough for me. Everything was so urgent. I needed to say it immediately."

"I find the term 'perfect child' to be an oxymoron."

"I've stopped reading about my books on the Internet because it's too hurtful."

"A job is just a job at the end of the day, and work sometimes comes from the most unlikely places."

"I'm a writer; I'm a producer. I've certainly spread myself over a lot of different careers."

"I would love to be a singer if I had the talent for it. I'd love to be a graphic designer if I had the talent for it. Those are things I've always just admired - the work of other artists."

"I was a total theater geek in high school, no question. I was cast in 'Godspell' freshman year - with Vanessa Williams, by the way. She and I are still friends. We went to high school together."

"Being multi-disciplined is always a good thing."

"Sometimes we have to take on jobs that we don't love, and I always encourage any creative person to use those as the fuel to do the things that you do love to do, even if they don't pay."

"One minute you're a slug and the next minute you're a hero, so you don't know what to think."

"I love proving people wrong."

"When one guy undermines the other, it only causes trouble, and the team isn't successful. It's very important for both of us to accept our role and help the team. One guy can get hot, and if that's Alex, I'll support him and help any way I can."

"There are a lot more shots coming at the net and guys are just shooting it at the net because they have more time and pucks are going in off legs and feet and shoulders and heads, so you might have to play out a little further on the shot and hope it hits you."

"Sometimes you can press a little bit and you're trying to do too much and you're trying too hard. You want to win so bad and you want to help the team so badly that you end up trying too much instead of letting the play come to you."

"My whole career I'm used to playing a lot of games."

"It's always discouraging when you don't have things go your way. They are frustrated just like the rest of us."

"It takes two guys on a team to do very well in the end and be successful."