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" Only the best books are special. Why? Because they open our eyes, touch us, excite us, extend us. "

Michael Morpurgo

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" Anything that gets children reading is fine. "

Michael Morpurgo

" A notion for a story is for me a confluence of real events, historical perhaps, or from my own memory to create an exciting fusion. "

Michael Morpurgo

" We all know that the great memories of our childhood are the little triumphs - it doesn't really matter whether that was in writing, art, on the hockey field or on the football field. It's something that makes you feel - 'I can do this stuff.' "

Michael Morpurgo

" Encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find their own voice whether it's through writing, drama or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self-worth. "

Michael Morpurgo

" It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Paying more heed to the lessons of the past might teach us to be a little more cautious about some of the political decisions taken today. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Much that is great in literature is an acquired taste, and you have to acquire it in the first place. Our job as parents is essentially to pass on the enthusiasm we had for the things we loved. That's how we'll get them to fall in love with reading in the first place and, hopefully, to stay in love with it. "

Michael Morpurgo

" It gives me confidence to know that what I'm writing has a veracity of its own without me having to invent it. When I'm writing fiction, I must believe it to be true, or I can see no point in it. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Children have to be motivated to want to learn to read. Reading must not be taught simply as a school exercise. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Always write your ideas down however silly or trivial they might seem. Keep a notebook with you at all times. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Remember to write for yourself, not for a market and give yourself time to develop your own style, your own voice. It takes a lifetime. Enjoy it! "

Michael Morpurgo

" It is really important that focusing on things such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting doesn't inhibit the creative flow. When I was at school there was a huge focus on copying and testing and it put me off words and stories for years. "

Michael Morpurgo

" The most important thing is to live an interesting life. Keep your eyes, ears and heart open. Talk to people and visit interesting places, and don't forget to ask questions. To be a writer you need to drink in the world around you so it's always there in your head. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Marry someone who flatters you. Because I've written 80 books since 'War Horse' but when my wife reads one, all she says is, 'It's quite good, but it's not as good as 'War Horse,' is it?' "

Michael Morpurgo

" When I was very little my mother would read to me in bed. She gave me a fascination for stories, and for the music in words. "

Michael Morpurgo

" The big relationships you make in your life are with those that you love and if things do go wrong then it's a source of great pain and that lasts. "

Michael Morpurgo

" When children are very young, you read them books that are positive to help them go to sleep. But there comes a moment when they begin to understand the difficulties of the world. They know there are problems and the books they read should reflect that, not gloss over them. "

Michael Morpurgo

" You know, I really wish now I'd had the nerve to become an actor. Because I'd have been Robert Redford, no question. "

Michael Morpurgo

" You get to about 65 or 70 and you lose friends and the world does seem to be an endlessly difficult place and tragic place, so it's more and more difficult for me to find the bright lights. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Books that kids read should be about what is going on in the world. "

Michael Morpurgo

" As a young child my attention span was, as I remember it, rather short. "

Michael Morpurgo

" By the time I sit down and face the blank page I am raring to go. I tell it as if I'm talking to my best friend or one of my grandchildren. "

Michael Morpurgo

" It is the child's understanding that teaches the adults the way of the future. They're still doing it today with modern technology. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Perhaps it is partly that we need to love books ourselves as parents, grandparents and teachers in order to pass on that passion for stories to our children. It's not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children. "

Michael Morpurgo

" Don't worry about writing a book or getting famous or making money. Just lead an interesting life. "

Michael Morpurgo

" I write fiction. I make things up, it's what I do. "

Michael Morpurgo

" When I write I try as far as possible to forget I'm writing it at all. I tell it down onto the page, as if I'm telling it to one person only, my best friend. "

Michael Morpurgo

" It's good to focus on the universal suffering that goes on in any war. Whatever the right and wrongs of the war, there is always universal suffering. "

Michael Morpurgo

" I was an overly young father, is the most polite way of putting it. I think I was rather immature and all I can say is that I think I've made a much better grandfather... I don't think I was ready to be a father to be honest. "

Michael Morpurgo

" One of the great failings of our education system is that we tend to focus on those who are succeeding in exams, and there are plenty of them. But what we should also be looking at, and a lot more urgently, is those who fail. "

Michael Morpurgo