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

Live an interesting life. Meet people. Read a lot and widely, learn from the great writers.

Something I learn every time I stand in front of a bunch of children, I learn never, never to underestimate them or patronise them.

Reading was a joy, a desperately needed escape -- I didn't read to learn, I was reading to read.

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.

If we taught children to speak, they'd never learn.