Make this the golden rule, the equivalent of the Hippocratic oath: Everything we ask a child to do should be worth doing.

The way you speak of the characters in your story shows what you think of the values of conservatives‚ or evolution, for example. It shows where your moral center is. So you are in the message business whether you like it or not.

After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.

We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not, or die of despair...death will sweep through all the worlds; it will be the triumph of despair, forever. The universes will all become nothing more than interlocking machines, blind and empty of thought, feeling, life...

The first ghost to leave the world of the dead was Roger. He took a step forward, and turned to look back at Lyra, and laughed in surprise as he found himself turning into the night, the starlight, the air. . .and then he was gone, leaving behind such a vivid little burst of happiness.

True education flowers at the point when delight falls in love with responsibility.

We need to ensure that children are not forced to waste their time on barren rubbish.