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Well, the first memory I have
of going to the library getting my library card,
which was now,
thirty-nine years ago.
I got my very first library card. It was the first thing that I had
with my name on it and meant I could
take stuff from the library
and
I've had a library card ever since. I have one on me right now.
[Which library is it?]
The New York Public Library.
It was both the library and my father
who had tons of books in the house,
but most of his books were
on clinical chemistry and toxicology, so for me,
I had to get my books from the library. I loved it. I loved going there.
It was an experience where you could go in and
find what you love and take it home with you.
My daughter and I try to go to the library often.
I have her library card somewhere here, too.
And she loves that experience.
She will sift through many, many, many books, so I think the last time I went to
the library with her,
I had to read about twenty-five books to her,
and then we decided on five.
My very first librarian was Mrs. Burkhardt,
and she was the librarian
in Barrington Public Library,
where I grew up in Rhode Island,
and later,
I realized that I went to school with her daughter, and I thought that was
really cool that her Mom was a librarian.
And so she was kind of a celebrity in our class. I do research
in the library, and the New York Public Library has a
gigantic picture collection,
which is phenomenal,
and so
you can go in there
and look up a subject. Say you want pictures
of Irish Setters running.
You will find a whole folder of
pictures of Irish Setters running.
And so, as an illustrator, it's great to be able to have access to that kind of
thing, which is
not the same kind of stuff you'll find on the Internet.
Although they're putting it all on the Internet, which is
great if I ever leave New York.
Well I think it's extremely important to preserve the libraries, because they
provide a place where
kids and adults,
but I'm more focused on the children, and getting
books in their hands.
And so that's the
first place that they can go and get books in their hands for free.
That's such an important thing.
It's, like,
more important than a passport or a
driver's license or anything like that,
because you can
take that card and you can go places in your mind. [On censorship] I can only hope to have a
banned book some day. [laughs] You know, I think banned books explore ideas
that
that make people...that move people.
And they move some people in the right way, and they move some
people in the wrong way.
And I think that
this country as a whole
is not going to
hide that, but obviously
anything
worth fighting for
is usually a good thing.
We have to fight for the right
to read those books.
Well, my latest project, I have two books coming out.
One that just came out called "Blackout."
And it's a picture book
loosely based on the blackout
that was experienced on the Eastern seaboard
in 2003.
And
I also have a book that I illustrated with Catherine Patterson.
It's a middle-grade novel called "The Flint heart."
And that's that's what's going on.