It's a very nice interview and Perkins seems very sensible about her writing. Grant asks, for example, "'When did you decide you wanted to write children's books?'" Perkins replies:
- "In college and grad school, I studied art. When I started out I thought I would do children's book illustrations. . . . I was showing my work to [an art director] who asked me if I also wrote. I went home and wrote down a story, and they published it! But I have no formal writing training. . . . Whatever I know comes from being a reader."
The interview concludes with the following question, "'What advice do you have for kids who want to be writers or illustrators?'" Perkins' advice?
- "I think that the most important thing for writers is to read and to pay attention to life. I didn't really start writing until I was in my mid-thirties. It's important to live life a little bit to be a writer."
- "[To be] an artist, just do it, and keep doing it."
