Literary Birthday – 14 July – Brian Selznick

Happy Birthday, Brian Selznick, born 14 July 1966.

Quotes

I’ve been taking art lessons since I was little, and I’ve always drawn. I think in pictures.
Since I spend such a long time making each book, I only choose books that I’m really interested in and that I really love.
Well, everything surprises me about the writing process because illustrating comes much more naturally to me than writing does.
A lot of people who don’t write for kids think it’s easy, because they think kids aren’t as smart as they are, or that you have to dumb down what you would normally write for kids. But I think you have to work harder when you write for kids, to make sure every word is right, that it’s there for the right reason.
The orphan in children’s literature allows the child protagonist to move the story forward themselves. I think that, however happy a family, every intelligent child thinks: ‘How did I come to be born to these parents?’ – it is about finding your place in the world.