Quotes from Chris Van Allsburg

Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see.

its not bad to be different. Sometimes it's the mark of being very very talented.

The bell still rings for all who truly believe

I don't think ordinary things are very interesting, so I try to imagine a world that is less ordinary.

If you don't know where you're going, stop racing to get there. -- from Just Desert by M. T. Anderson

Book lovers love books!" her mother announced. "There's romance about the books- even having them seems to have a kind of excitement." from Mr. Linden's Library by Walter Dean Myers

when the girl disappeared among the

I try to satisfy the desires that people have to have their books personalized. That's a value, or feature, of bibliophilia that may vanish. How do you get your e-book signed? The idea of people standing in line to get my signature in their book, it's hard to turn them away.

The crudest thing I've done as a teacher was to require students to write a national anthem for their country and sing it themselves.

I don't know if what kids really want is a hamster. What they want is a dog. So the hamster ends up being a substitute: 'Well, would you accept this?'

Authors of books are not given very much control over the films that are made from their books.

I think, for the most part, our culture embraces that artists are born, not made.

As long as I can remember, I've always loved to draw. But my interest in drawing wasn't encouraged very much.

The general effect of viewing 'Jumanji' is thrilling. I was able to see on film a thing that at one point had only existed in my imagination. I got to see the images from my book come alive.

Brainstorming, for me, takes place in my bed at night between the time I turn out my lights and I finally fall asleep. It is not a very violent storm, but what's happening is I am just thinking about different ideas and maybe things I've seen that day that I think might make a good story.

There's definitely a value in being literate.