What did it feel like to win the Newbery Medal and the Hans Christian Andersen Award?
Those were almost overwhelming experiences! Many years apart, but still very overwhelming. Winning the Newbery Medal and speaking at a gala of 2,000 people in San Francisco was the highlight of my career. And winning the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and flying to Berlin to accept it – that was very exciting. Do you know why your books that have won awards have won those awards? Yes, I know why they won the awards. I think it’s because they’re very good and somewhat unusual and express a lot of detail and cultural learning for young people. And they have very strong plots. I generally agree with the award-winning books – M. C. Higgins, and The House of Dies Drear. What writing tips would you give to children who want to become writers? My writing tips for anybody are to observe people. I do a lot of people watching. At a very early age I realized that what people were talking about may not be seen in the expression on their faces. I learned that what you say is not necessarily what yo
