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

I'm still not sure I want to be a writer. I think of myself as a storyteller more.

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.

There is the myth that writing books for children is easier than writing books for grownups, whereas we know that truly great books for children are works of genius, whether it's 'Alice in Wonderland' or the 'Gruffalo' or 'Northern Lights.' When it's a great book, it's a great book, whether it's for children or not.

I got married young, far too young, but it is fine. We are still married 48 years later. I got married at 19.

Genuinely good people are like that. The sun shines out of them. They warm you right through.

If it is possible to be happy in the middle of a nightmare, then Topthorn and I were happy that summer.