Quote

I was a loner as a child and happiest at home, launching toy rockets and aeroplanes. When I started causing trouble in my third year at grammar school, Mum was really surprised. My parents sent me to a child psychologist, who suggested I might have Asperger's syndrome.

I'm obsessed with books.

I've always been interested in a certain kind of sophistication in children's literature. I loved Roald Dahl; I loved the underlying nastiness of some of his - darkness of his tales.

What is it about our society where anyone who does not have Asperger's gets talked out of their heterodox ideas?

I think I had a mild case of Asperger's as a younger guy, but that typically just wears off after a while. For some people, anyway.

I consume an enormous number of books, but they're always on a particular subject because I'm obsessive.

I'm just trying to get kids motivated to be readers by connecting them with a book they like.

Many of the books I loved as a kid, that even my mother read as a child, are very slow going. Today's children are not as patient. The best example of this is 'The Secret Garden,' which I adored as a child.