A Bit More Simmons Stuff

Some favorite moments from the Simmons Summer Institute: "Some books need to be spanked." -- Vicky Smith, Children's Book Review Editor for Kirkus Reviews "Cool and I have never met upon the high road of life." -- M.T. Anderson It was like someone squirted lemon on my brain. -- My paraphrasing of Blue Balliett , describing a moment of literary inspiration. When I stand next to Kevin Henkes , I feel ashamed. If you cut open his brain, niceness would come out. What would come out if you cut open my brain? Centerfolds? -- My paraphrasing of the very funny and accidentally sweet Jack Gantos . :o) So, I just want to say that there was a moment in my speech on Friday when I tried to express how grateful I was to Cathie Mercier, Susan Bloom, and everyone else at Simmons College's Center for the Study of Children's Literature , for the education they gave me and the path they sent me shooting down. I bumbled a little bit, and then I began to cry; and