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It was surreal to step out of my own existence and see how most American children experience things.

For me, personally, I grew up watching American heroes and American movies and TV.

I was a very happy child, so to speak. But, since we didn't have video games or television, and very little radio, in terms of a form of entertainment, I used to read a lot and I would draw a lot, and those two things used to occupy my time.

My parents found what I was interested in and encouraged me. They didn't put me in front of a television and buy lots of toys, the way some American parents do.

When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for entertainment.

Nothing has ever touched on what fun childhood was. Summer holidays were bliss. We made home movies, with real stories in them. My father had such charm and charisma, and made everything so funny.

I took my children to see 'Son of Rambow,' about two boys who make a home movie with a video camera. When you have children, culturally you become involved in their life.

Although I could read before I went to school, and I won the school reading prize at five years old, my early children's stories came from the radio and watching films at a cinema on Saturday mornings in Australia. It wasn't until I was nine years old on a ship returning from Australia that I was introduced to children's books.