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Poetry is the key to the hieroglyphics of nature.

I once looked over the shoulder of a friend on Facebook and it looked like hieroglyphs to me. There's merit online, of course, but social media gets super freaky. Imagine if three generations from now, people online have forgotten what date or day of the week it is.

The illustrations in picture books are the first paintings most children see, and because of that, they are incredibly important. What we see and share at that age stays with us for life.

When I was a kid, I never felt that what I was drawing really represented me; it was just something I enjoyed.

I loved the idea of seeing the world through a boy's eyes.

I was always drawing eyes, even as a child. Eyes fascinated me.

I think picture books should stretch children. I think they should be full of wonderful, amazing words.

The images from the book you make in your head are always going to be the best images.

I didn't have picture books - there weren't many around when I was a child.

As a kid I read Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and a few others. As an adult have admired Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and notebooks.