Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right.

In Any Event, Parents Never Underestimated The Abilities Of Their Own Children. Quite The Reverse. Sometimes It Was Well Nigh Impossible For A Teacher To Convince The Proud Father Or Mother That Their Beloved Offspring Was A Complete Nitwit.

A Message To Children Who Have Read This Book - When You Grow Up And Have Children Of Your Own, Do Please Remember Something Important: A Stodgy Parent Is No Fun At All. What A Child Wants And Deserves Is A Parent Who Is Sparky.

I Am Only 8 Years Old, I Told Myself. No Little Boy Of 8 Has Ever Murdered Anyone. It's Not Possible.

The Writer Walks Out Of His Workroom In A Daze. He Wants A Drink. He Needs It. It Happens To Be A Fact That Nearly Every Writer Of Fiction In The World Drinks More Whisky Than Is Good For Him. He Does It To Give Himself Faith Hope And Courage. A Person Is A Fool To Become A Writer. His Only Compensation Is Absolute Freedom. He Has No Master Except His Own Soul And That I Am Sure Is Why He Does It.

The Prime Function Of The Children's Book Writer Is To Write A Book That Is So Absorbing, Exciting, Funny, Fast And Beautiful That The Child Will Fall In Love With It. And That First Love Affair Between The Young Child And The Young Book Will Lead Hopefully To Other Loves For Other Books And When That Happens The Battle Is Probably Won. The Child Will Have Found A Crock Of Gold. He Will Also Have Gained Something That Will Help To Carry Him Most Marvelously Through The Tangles Of His Later Years. Roald Dahl