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I always love writing about children.

What I do as best I can is out of a deep respect for children, for how difficult their world is.

Writing for children is bloody difficult; books for children are as complex as their adult counterparts, and they should therefore be accorded the same respect.

I like children; I like 'em, and I respect 'em. Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by them.

I must confess that although I am quite passionate about the books I create for children, I am not the best oral storyteller. In fact, I stink at it.

We write not only for children but also for their parents. They, too, are serious children.

I like writing for children. It seems to me that most people underestimate their understanding and the strength of their feelings and in my books for them I try to put this right.

I loved writing for kids, I loved talking to children about what I'd written, I don't want to leave that behind.

I love developing children as characters. Children rarely have important roles in literary fiction - they are usually defined as cute or precious, or they create a plot by being kidnapped or dying.