Chris Van Allsburg

I think parents generally know what's best for their children. But I suppose it's possible to be overprotective. ”

The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith. It's also about the desire to reside in a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we all believed in as children, but one that disappears as we grow older. ”

Following my muse has worked out pretty well so far. I can't see any reason to change the formula now. ”

It was the case for a number of years that I was doing a book a year, but that was back when I was part-time teaching - and since 1991, I've been a parent, so that cuts into the time! ”

The opportunity to create a small world between two pieces of cardboard, where time exists yet stands still, where people talk and I tell them what to say, is exciting and rewarding. ”

I've always thought of the book as a visual art form, and it should represent a single artistic idea, which it does if you write your own material. ”

The general effect of viewing 'Jumanji' is thrilling. I was able to see on film a thing that at one point had only existed in my imagination. I got to see the images from my book come alive. ”

If I'm not working on something, I'm eager to work on something because it's so gratifying. ”