Oh, please don't go—we'll eat you up—we love you so!
And the walls became the world all around.
As a kid, all I thought about was death. But you can't tell your parents that.
I would infinitely prefer a daughter.
I'm scared of watching a TV show about vampires. I can't fall asleep.
I'm writing a poem right now about a nose. I've always wanted to write a poem about a nose. But it's a ludicrous subject. That's why, when I was younger, I was afraid of something that didn't make a lot of sense. But now I'm not. I have nothing to worry about. It doesn't matter.
I will lead you by a shorter way. You will be with your mother soon, but you will find the going hard.
I hate those e-books. They cannot be the future. They may well be.
I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.
We're animals. We're violent. We're criminal.
My therapies went on forever.
I'm not a religious person.
'Hansel and Gretel' is one of the scariest stories ever written! Psychotic mother; stupid, inane father.
I refuse to lie to children.
I have this idiot name tag which says 'controversial.'
I'm still as enamored and turned on by work as I was when I was young.
I've always loved pigs: the shape of them, the look of them, and the fact that they are so intelligent.
I became a set designer for opera. I'm a great opera buff, I love classical music, and I needed a time-out.
I grew up in a house that was in a constant state of mourning.
When Mozart is playing in my room, I am in conjunction with something I can't explain... I don't need to. I know that if there's a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.
When I did 'Bumble-ardy,' I was so intensely aware of death. Eugene, my friend and partner, was dying here in the house when I did 'Bumble-ardy'. I did 'Bumble-ardy' to save myself. I did not want to die with him. I wanted to live, as any human being does.
It's only adults who read the top layers most of the time. I think children read the internal meanings of everything.
Yes, there have to be places for safe wonderful stories.
You know who my gods are, who I believe in fervently? Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson - she's probably the top - Mozart, Shakespeare, Keats. These are wonderful gods who have gotten me through the narrow straits of life.
It dawned on me that art was the way I could survive.
You cannot write for children. They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.
I don't write for children. I write. And somebody says, that's for children.
Certainly we want to protect our children from new and painful experiences that are beyond their emotional comprehension and that intensify anxiety; and to a point we can prevent premature exposure to such experiences.
My being gay was something of not great interest to me.
I think people should be given a test much like driver's tests as to whether they're capable of being parents! It's an art form. I talk a lot. And I think a lot. And I draw a lot. But never in a million years would I have been a parent. That's just work that's too hard.
I'm sick of 'Wild Things.'
I don't have kids at all and I thank God that I never did.
I feel like I don't have a lot of time left.
Kids are so shrewd.
My life in Brooklyn was in constant danger because of my bad health.
That always seemed to be the most critical test that a child was confronted with - loss of parents, loss of direction, loss of love. Can you live without a mother and a father?
I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more...
All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy. They never, never, never knew.
He's just a boy, pretending to be a wolf, pretending to be king.
My work is not great, but it's respectable.
I said anything I wanted because I don't believe in children I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true you tell them.
A book is a book is a book.
There's so much more to book than just reading.
I remember how much - when I was a small boy I was taken to see a version of 'Peter Pan.' I detested it. I mean, the sentimental idea that anybody would want to remain a boy.
I do not remember any proper children's books in my childhood. I was not exposed to them.
Emeralds,' said the rabbit. 'Emeralds make a lovely gift.
It is sometimes hard to be a family.
I'll eat you up I love you so.
And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.
