In The Tale Of Despereaux, There Is

The Tale Of Despereaux Came At The Request Of Luke, My Friend's Then-eight-year-old Son, Who Asked, "write For Me The Story Of An Unlikely Hero With Exceptionally Large Ears."

I Was A Kid Who Lived To Read. It Was The Primary Pleasure Of My Existence. It's Still One Of The Primary Pleasures Of My Existence. It's Where I Draw My Sustenance.

In Luggage Claim At The Minneapolis Airport, The Guy Came Up To Me And Said, "maybe You're Wrong, Maybe Stories Do Matter." I Wrote That On A Scrap Of Paper And Put It Above My Desk. That Was The Thing That Pushed Me Through To The End Of Telling Despereaux, That Comment, "maybe They Do...maybe Stories Matter."

We [me And Alison Mcghee] Probably Wouldn't Have Said That When We Were Writing The Stories, But It Is So Apparent To Me In The Finished Product. For Me, Looking At Bink, It's Like Looking At Myself On The Page In A Way That I've Never Experienced With Any Other Book That I've Written.

Like Most Hearts, It Was Complicated, Shaded With Dark And Dappled With Light.