K. A. Applegate Quotes
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As a species, we can at times be dimwitted and cruel. But we're also capable of learning.
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When I was a child, going to a circus with wild animal acts was a rite of passage. These days, it's an act of complicit cruelty.
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I tend to write short, brief snippets - I lean toward the chamber music end as opposed to the symphony end of things.
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I think having imaginary friends is an amazing coping mechanism. It's pretty wonderful, and it makes a lot of sense to me.
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One of the reasons I love writing for middle graders, besides their voracious appetite for books, is their deep concern for fairness and morality.
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I've got to believe I'm the first person to win the Newbery who has written a Harlequin romance!
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I hope kids feel gratitude for what they do have.
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I love any excuse to come to New York - when it's not February.
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I hate to witness animals in captivity - or see circus elephants paraded down the streets. When animals are caged, it's a loss of what they are.
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I think all writers write from the time they're really young, and you just start asking the question, 'What if?'
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At the end of the day, I'd love to see children stop begging their parents to go to the circus. That's what would make me most happy.
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I was writing at a really young age, but it took me a long time to be brave enough to become a published writer, or to try to become a published writer. It's a very public way to fail. And I was kind of scared, so I started out as a ghost writer, and I wrote for other series, like Disney 'Aladdin' and 'Sweet Valley' and books like that.
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I grew up in an affluent suburban world and never worried about money until I'd grown up and found wonderfully original ways to screw up my life.
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We know about the socially complex lives of elephants: how they communicate, how they bond, how they even seem to grieve. We have ethologists in the field and activists on the ground to thank for that knowledge.
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I think we have a real obligation when we do have animals in captivity to understand their needs and to care for them as well as we can.
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Hunger and homelessness aren't things we always want to talk about.
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Stan is a rescue Chihuahua mix. He was the role model for Bob, the dog in 'Ivan.' The drawings in the book look precisely like Stan.
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That penetrating gaze, that intelligence; it's hard not to be anthropomorphic when you're looking at a great ape - at any primate - but especially with gorillas. They're just so magnificent.
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I think most writers will say that at the start of each book they think, 'I'm not sure I can do this.' But eventually, you reach a magical point where the story suddenly becomes real to you, and you become totally invested in it.
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I grew up with a menagerie of dogs, cats, gerbils - not to mention three younger siblings.
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I think younger readers connect so readily to animal characters because they share a certain vulnerability, particularly when it comes to adult humans, who can be a rather unpredictable lot.
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I was sure I wanted to grow up to be either a veterinarian or a writer. In fact, I worked for a vet during high school, doing everything from cleaning cages to assisting in surgery.
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When we have financial struggles, kids are so much more aware of things than we want them to be.
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I really love writing, but I am very easily distracted: my two cats fighting, a rainbow, a TV show... I have to use every trick to keep myself at the computer.