I wrote stories as a kid just for myself. One day, some of the kids in my class found some of my stories in my bag, and I was deeply embarrassed until I realised they enjoyed reading them. Morris Gleitzman bagclassday Change image and share on social
If we get caught up in a story, it's because we've started to care about the characters, and that can only happen if we've moved beneath the surface. Morris Gleitzman beneathcarecatch Change image and share on social
I discovered you can get closer to a character's thoughts and feelings in a book than in a film. Morris Gleitzman bookcharacterclose Change image and share on social
My capacity for humour may have come largely from my father - he liked to entertain people, make people laugh. Morris Gleitzman capacityentertainfather Change image and share on social
I want to help children develop strengths that allow them to feel they don't have to push things away mentally... If we 'cotton-ball' kids, it produces adults who are too scared to think for themselves and are easily manipulated. Morris Gleitzman adultballchild share on social
Kids who are nine, 10 and 11 are pretty sophisticated readers; they know that there isn't always a good outcome every time and that problems don't always have solutions. Morris Gleitzman goodkidoutcome Change image and share on social
Because kids are physically smaller, there's an assumption by people who haven't read a kids' book for a long time that their ideas and themes and problems and ambitions must be commensurately smaller and less important. I would venture that sometimes the opposite is true. Morris Gleitzman ambitionassumptionbook share on social
I've always been interested in setting my stories against a big event, the importance of which my younger readers are slowly becoming aware of as they move into their teens. Morris Gleitzman awarebigevent Change image and share on social
Although my stories are all very different on the surface, I like to write stories about characters struggling with big problems. I'm always reminded, no matter how different from me one of my characters is from me on the surface, how we're all pretty much the same underneath. Morris Gleitzman bigcharactermatter share on social
The type of stories I write are about young people grappling with the biggest problems in their lives, often problems that are bigger than they're actually capable of solving. Morris Gleitzman bigcapablegrapple Change image and share on social
