Those Who Don't Believe In Magic Will

If My Books Can Help Children Become Readers Then I Feel I Have Accomplished Something Important.

I Asked My Mum, Who's A Very Clever Psychotherapist, And She Says That Kids Love Stories About Death; They Need It, They Need To Have Stories That Deal With Death And Explain It, As A Place To Put Their Fears.

Nobody Gets A Nervous Breakdown Or A Heart Attack From Selling Kerosene To Gentle Country Folk From The Back Of A Tanker In Somerset.

I Was A Fighter Pilot, Flying Hurricanes All Round The Mediterranean. I Flew In The Western Desert Of Libya, In Greece, In Syria, In Iraq And In Egypt.

I Was Glad My Father Was An Eye-smiler. It Meant He Never Gave Me A Fake Smile, Because It's Impossible To Make Your Eyes Twinkle If You Aren't Feeling Twinkly Yourself. A Mouth-smile Is Different. You Can Fake A Mouth-smile Any Time You Want, Simply By Moving Your Lips. I've Also Learned That A Real Mouth-smile Always Has An Eye-smile To Go With It, So Watch Out, I Say, When Someone Smiles At You With His Mouth But The Eyes Stay The Same. It's Sure To Be Bogus.