A good picture book should have events that are visually arresting - the pictures should call attention to what is happening in the story.
As much as I'd like to meet the tooth fairy on an evening walk, I don't really believe it can happen.
'The Polar Express' began with the idea of a train standing alone in the woods. I asked myself, 'What if a boy gets on that train? Where does he go?'
I write for what's left of the eight-year-old still rattling around inside my head.
I sculpted for four or five years. Mostly for my own amusement, I decided to do a picture book, and that was kind of a turning point.
Santa is our culture's only mythic figure truly believed in by a large percentage of the population. It's a fact that most of the true believers are under eight years old, and that's a pity.
