Anthony Browne

Most people lose their natural creativity at about five or six - but not me. ”

Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader's imagination, adding so much to the excitement of reading a book. ”

Inspiring passion in children for books, and the world of imagination and creativity fuelled by them, is a fundamental reason for why the Children's Laureate post exists. ”

Something happens to our creativity as we go through the education process; most of us lose touch with it. ”

When I was a boy, I was a worrier, and so was my son, Joe. I used to tell him that worrying meant he had an imagination and that one day he'd be pleased. ”

Most of the day I work standing up, as I once read somewhere that it's the best position for the back. ”

Although I have two good Anglepoise lights, I much prefer to work by daylight. ”

Having a memoir and a retrospective of your work running almost simultaneously when you're still alive does feel a bit posthumous. ”

I've always felt that I was a bit of an outsider to the British children's-book illustration scene, because I don't work in line and wash. ”