The whole idea of being mesmerized and not in control of your own actions is fascinating and a little spooky. I remember hearing about someone who'd gone to a magic act, and a person in the audience had become hypnotized by observing too closely what magician was doing on stage, and thought it was spooky to lose your consciousness that way.

As the years went by I became a writer and illustrator, although exclusively of fantasies.

It did occur to me that certainly African-Americans are not underserved in picture books, but those books are almost all about specifically black experiences.

Chris Van Allsburg Quotes