So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone. – Roald Dahl, from Matilda

Second Story Press posted this quote on Facebook today, as I was contemplating my night’s agenda for the Writing for Children course I’m facilitating through Acadia’s Lifelong Learning program. Kids do look to their books, expecting to find things relevant to their own lives – as adults writing for children, we need to somehow summon the child inside to the surface -to help us remember how it felt to be young.

Thank you, Roald Dahl – for this, and also for making me laugh out loud so many times:)