I wanted to write for all children, even those kids who might see language as a threatening thing, even if English is their second language.

What I want is for people to really grab hold of language and not be nervous about it. 'The Word Spy' is all about diving in and playing with words.

There's so much that we just accept, but the reasons behind how certain rules came to be are so fascinating and funny, it just increases your affection for language.

'No' is the second shortest word in the English language, but one of the hardest to say.

I had to see and feel and be with the thing that I wanted to write about.

I have a handicap in that English is not my first language. So even though I'm a writer, I don't write anymore because it's just harder in English.