Quotes from Jarrett J. Krosoczka

As somebody who visits countless schools, I see firsthand the dire situation our educational system faces.

I was raised by my grandparents, and they always made sure that I had a pencil and some paper, whether we were in the car or at a restaurant. While they were enjoying a nice meal, I would be sitting there drawing funny pictures of the waitress.

What's funny is that an old Web site of mine just had one fake bio, and everyone went crazy for it. So when I made the new Web site, I thought, 'I just need to make this one even more absurd.'

On my 14th birthday, my grandfather and my grandmother gave me the best birthday present ever: a drafting table that I have worked on ever since.

Librarians are teaching the next generation how to use digital media responsibly.

Now when I was a teenager, I was angsty as any teenager was, but after 17 years of having a mother who was in and out of my life like a yo-yo and a father who was faceless, I was angry.

When I was in sixth grade, they slashed the budgets for all of our school art programs, so my grandparents enrolled me in art classes at Worcester Art Museum, which I attended from sixth to 12th grade.

When I look back at my career as an author, I don't look at the first book that was ever published as to where my career began - I look to the first book that I ever wrote.

It is an awfully sad misconception that librarians simply check books in and out. The library is the heart of a school, and without a librarian, it is but an empty shell.

Every single item that we come into contact with on a daily basis has been designed by an artist. From the toothbrush we use in the morning, to the defibrillator that could save our lives, an artist is behind the design.

My name is Jarrett Krosoczka, and I write and illustrate books for children for a living. So I use my imagination as my full-time job.

An author is somebody who writes a story. It doesn't matter if you're a kid or if you're a grown-up, it doesn't matter if the book gets published and lots of people get to read it, or if you make just one copy and you share that book with one friend.

When I was a kid... if I couldn't get a ride to the comic book store, I would walk a mile and a half each way to get the latest issues of 'Batman' and 'Spider-Man' and 'X-Men.' I could not choose one over the other.

It is said that books save lives, but I also say that empty sketchbooks save lives too. I filled up many, and there is no doubt they saved mine.

Stories keep memories alive and people real to us.

I AM WHO I AM IN SPITE OF MY MOTHER, BUT I ALSO AM WHO I AM BECAUSE OF HER.

When you're a kid and a teen, you're not in control of your circumstances. But the beautiful thing about growing up is that you get to create your own reality and your own family. That family might be a group of tight-knit friends, that family might be a spouse and children of your own. But ultimately, your childhood realities do not have to perpetuate themselves into adulthood, not if you don't let them. It for sure takes work.

Seriously. Books like these, they want you to conform to their style. You don't want to have to go make comics for a company that will control your work.

I NOW KNOW WHAT JOE MEANT WHEN HE ALWAYS SAID THAT HIS PARENTS WOULD'VE LOVED ME.

Moreover, the air and water here by the Dome are clean and safe. I don't know where Mr. Pandini is finding these scientists of his, but I sure hope that it isn't from the same place where he's hiring his restaurant employees." Burn, thought Zengo, remembering his first case, when the Platypus Police Squad discovered one of Pandini's barbacks at Bamboo was selling illegal fish.

On this voyage, you will witness the marvels that this city has brought the world. It

Well, your timing is impressive," said Zengo as he fumbled to secure his safety bar into place. "How did you do that, anyhow?" "Simple physics!

I AM NOW LIVING OUT MY CHILDHOOD DREAMS OF MAKING A LIVING AS AN AUTHOR AND AN ARTIST, BUT IT IS A GREATER TRIUMPH FOR ME TO HAVE CREATED A STABLE, LOVING HOME WITH MY WIFE.

That would be the last thing Professor Hopkins saw on the pier that night.