Quotes from Emma Walton Hamilton

When I was three years old, a nanny took me shopping and I saw large cut-outs of Mary Poppins in the store and yelled, 'That's mummy!' These women walked by and said, 'Oh how cute. That little girl thinks that Mary Poppins is her mum.'

The arts give kids the building blocks with which to then play.

Yeah, I think the arts and literature have always been irrevocably connected. Because if you think about it, every film script, every play, every song starts as words on the page before it is ever performed or filmed or sung.

So often we think, well, kids learn to read at school, I don't have to be responsible for that. But in fact they learn to love reading at home, and therefore it's really important that we as parents preserve the joy of reading by supporting them and reading things that speak to their hearts, books that they love.

My mom's coping mechanism was to be strong and resilient. She is very compassionate and nonjudgmental.

If you wait until you're an adult to be exposed to the arts, it could seem elitist, it could seem out of reach, it could seem scary.

At a time when there is so much tension in the world - between cultures, and nations, and so forth - there is nothing that levels the playing field more than the arts.

Netflix is so amazing because they take chances. They'll take a risk, be edgy, be quirky.

Sometime in my 20s, a wise mentor said something that dramatically changed my outlook and that has stayed with me ever since. She told me to 'wear the mantle with dignity and pride.'

We certainly had our moments when I was growing up. But the great thing was, if Mom was working on a night shoot, she'd be up making breakfast before school.

I think that teachers have the hardest job in the world, and they are the most unsung heroes so much of the time.

Young children especially are receiving so much of the world through their ears and their eyes, particularly if they're pre-literate. So engaging them with sound, particularly sound that stirs them emotionally because of the sequence of notes, will make them pay attention.

Although the spoken word is over six million years old

Stay strong. Stay true to yourself and to who you are because there is community out there. It may not be in your town or perhaps even in your family, but you are wanted and you are loved and there are places in the world where you will be safe and supported.

I think that at a certain point in our lives we should have to interview our parents.

Stereotypes have their roots in truth.

If the arts are in peril, we must do our small part to to fight the good fight and protect and preserve.

With my mother, Julie Andrews Edwards, I've authored such children's books as the 'Dumpy the Dump Truck' series, 'Dragon: Hound of Honor,' 'The Great American Mousical,' 'Simeon's Gift' and 'Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother and Child.'

My work in the theater began to shift more towards young audience type of work and education programs for children, arts education programs.

My background is in arts education and we know, absolutely for a fact, that there is no better way for kids to learn critical thinking skills, communication skills, things like empathy and tolerance. This is true across every boundary, across cultural boundaries, across socioeconomic, it's a great leveler in terms of unifying our world.

Stony Brook is a phenomenal university and I am proud to be affiliated with it, so it is gratifying to be able to support this wonderful institution in whatever way I can.

My husband, Steve Hamilton - an actor/producer and co-Director of the Southampton Playwriting Conference - and I had been working in the theatre in New York for many years.

I have a picture of me sitting on the step of a brownstone stoop with my mom and all the Muppets around us. And Perry Como, for some reason.

I was able to hide a lot behind 'Walton,' and found that to be quite useful.