Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the intelligence and emotional capacity of animals, suggesting we have a responsibility to care for them.
Michael Morpurgo's quote highlights the perspective that animals possess qualities such as sentience and intelligence, similar to those we recognize in children. He calls upon humans to acknowledge their duty to care for animals with the same gravity as that for vulnerable beings, emphasizing the ethical obligation we have to ensure their well-being and treat them with respect.
In practice
During a speech on animal rights, I could use this quote to emphasize our responsibility to protect vulnerable beings.
There is the myth that writing books for children is easier than writing books for grownups, whereas we know that truly great books for children are works of genius, whether it's 'Alice in Wonderland' or the 'Gruffalo' or 'Northern Lights.' When it's a great book, it's a great book, whether it's for children or not.
Strange questions are the more interesting ones. Children by and large don't try to trip you up... they want to find out how you do this funny thing that you do... if they've loved a story they love to know how it started.
Write because you love it and not because it is something that you think you should do. Always write about something or somebody you know about - something that you feel deeply and passionately about. Never try and force it.
It is really important that focusing on things such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting doesn't inhibit the creative flow. When I was at school there was a huge focus on copying and testing and it put me off words and stories for years.
The most important thing is to live an interesting life. Keep your eyes, ears and heart open. Talk to people and visit interesting places, and don't forget to ask questions. To be a writer you need to drink in the world around you so it's always there in your head.
Recently my fingers have developed a prejudice against comparatives. They all follow this pattern: a squirrel is smaller than a tree; a bird is more musical than a tree. Each of us is the strongest one in his or her own skin. Characteristics should take off their hats to one another, instead of spitting in each other's faces.
If Heaven and Earth are unable to persist, how could man?
War is the father and king of all: some he has made gods, and some men; some slaves and some free.
The sense of responsibility in the financial community for the community as a whole is not small. It is nearly nil.
The rule of law means that law and justice are upheld by an independent judiciary. The judgments of the European Court of Justice have to be respected by all. To undermine them, or to undermine the independence of national courts, is to strip citizens of their fundamental rights. The rule of law is not optional in the European Union. It is a must.
But then, I suppose, when with the benefit of hindsight one begins to search one's past for such 'turning points', one is apt to start seeing them everywhere.
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