Given a chance, most children will do the right thing. I was hoping to — R. J. Palacio

"Little did I know — I mean the "choose kind" quote was not mine. Its one that I heard a couple years ago, by [author and motivational speaker] Wayne Dyer, and I put it in there because I think its such a beautiful quote, and its so true. And its something that really resonates with kids, because they kind of get it right away. You know, sometimes because especially at that age, youre in an argument with a friend and you know youre right, [but] you need reminding that ultimately the important thing is to choose to be kind, not choose to be right."

"If you tell stories about a really cool kid that you can relate to, and then you hear about kids being mean to that kid, then you feel what it is like to walk in his shoes. And you think, that is not right. I think the best way to write is to want to build empathy for your characters. You want the readers to feel the things they are feeling."