Katherine Paterson Quotations

I like to write about a lot of things, which is why my books are different. This is probably why I don't like to write sequels, but chiefly I like to write about people.

I'm a great believer in research. I have to know about a place before I write a story that is set in that place.

I love writing for young adults because they are such a wonderful audience, they are good readers, and they care about the books they read.

I'd like for the young people, and older ones, too, who don't count themselves as readers, to know the joy of reading and what it does to enrich your life in so many ways.

The best thing about being a writer is it gives you readers who understand your deepest feelings and fears.

Some say it is the elements of hope and wonder in children's books that make them special. But there are many dark young adult novels these days. Adults loved Harry Potter, though it was written for the young. In the end, it is probably up to the reader of any age to decide if this book is for him or her.

The problem with people who are afraid of imagination, of fantasy, is that their world becomes so narrow that I don't see how they can imagine beyond what their senses can verify. We know from science that there are entire worlds that our senses can't verify.

I woke up one morning and realized that what I wanted to say to everyone - children, young people, adults - was: Read for your life.

Teachers have almost stopped reading aloud to their classes because of the pressure of testing and tight curricula, but it is the books we read together and talk about together that bring us closer together.

Reading has made such a profound difference to my life. I'm sure I became a writer because of the power of literature in my own life.