But try as I might, I never got to eat any of her pastries, and do you know, she never even offered me one.

Being his real brother I could feel I live in his shadows, but I never have and I do not now. I live in his glow.

Books that kids read should be about what is going on in the world.

Perhaps it is partly that we need to love books ourselves as parents, grandparents and teachers in order to pass on that passion for stories to our children. It's not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children.

We all know that the great memories of our childhood are the little triumphs - it doesn't really matter whether that was in writing, art, on the hockey field or on the football field. It's something that makes you feel - 'I can do this stuff'.

It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.

It's what I'll be singing in the morning. It won't be God Save the Ruddy King or All Things bleeding Bright and Beautiful. It'll be Orange and Lemons for Big Joe, for all of us.