Pear Drops were exciting because they had a dangerous taste. All of us were warned against eating them, and the result was that we ate them more than ever.

Prayers were held in Assembly Hall. We all perched in rows on wooden benches while teachers sat up on the platform in armchairs, facing us.

When you're writing a book, with people in it as opposed to animals, it is no good having people who are ordinary, because they are not going to interest your readers at all. Every writer in the world has to use the characters that have something interesting about them, and this is even more true in children's books.

I am only 8 years old, I told myself. No little boy of 8 has ever murdered anyone. It's not possible.

Nowadays you can go anywhere in the world in a few hours, and nothing is fabulous any more.

All Norwegian children learn to swim when they are very young because if you can't swim it is difficult to find a place to bathe.