Once there was a boy. He was, let us say, something like fourteen years old; long and loose jointed and towheaded. He wasn't good for much, that boy. His chief delight was to eat and sleep, and after that he liked best to make mischief.
Selma Lagerlöf in Nils Holgersson - The Wonderful Adventures of NilsYou have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.
WritingMadeleine L'EngleThe books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.
Books, Imagination, ReadingRoald Dahl in MatildaSo 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.
Books, Comforting, ReadingRoald Dahl in MatildaAll the reading she had done had given her a view of life they had never seen.
ReadingRoald Dahl in MatildaPromise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.
Farewell, ForgettingA.A. Milne in Winnie the PoohYou can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.
A.A. Milne in Winnie the Pooh"Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
Heart, Small ThingsA.A. Milne in Winnie the PoohThe things that make me different are the things that make me.
Character, Self-ConfidenceA.A. Milne in Winnie the PoohYou are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Self-ConfidenceA.A. Milne in Winnie the Pooh“How do you spell 'love'?" - "You don't spell it... you feel it."
Love, Valentine's DayA.A. Milne in Winnie the PoohCalendars and clocks exist to measure time, but that signifies little because we all know that an hour can seem as eternity or pass in a flash, according to how we spend it.
Time, Moment & PresentMichael Ende in MomoPeople never seemed to notice that, by saving time, they were losing something else. No one cared to admit that life was becoming ever poorer, bleaker and more monotonous. The ones who felt this most keenly were the children, because no one had time for them any more. But time is life itself, and life resides in the human heart. And the more people saved, the less they had.
Time, Daily RoutineMichael Ende in Momo - und die grauen Herren'What day is it?'
'It's today,' squeaked Piglet
'My favorite day,' said Pooh
If you live to be hundred, I hope i live to be hundred minus one day. So I never have to live without you.
Friendship, Love declerationsA.A. Milne in Winnie the PoohUnless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
Theodor Seuss Geisel in The LoraxChange the way things are. I know it may seem small and insignificant, but it's not about what it is, it's about what it can become.
AppearanceThe Lorax, by Once-lerPlease don't go. We'll eat you up. We love you so.
Maurice Sendak in Where the Wild Things AreA person's a person, no matter how small.
Small Things, Self-ConfidenceTheodor Seuss Geisel in Horton Hears a Who!'You see, Momo,' he told her one day, 'it's like this: Sometimes, when you've a very long street ahead of you, you think how terribly long it is and feel sure you'll never get it swept.'
He gazed silently into space before continuing. 'And then you start to hurry,' he went on. 'You work faster and faster, and every time you look up there seems to be just as much left to sweep as before, and you try even harder, and you panic, and in the end you're out of breath and have to stop - and still the street stretches away in front of you. That's not the way to do it.'
He pondered a while. Then he said, 'You must never think of the whole street at once, understand? You must only concentrate on the next step, the next breath, the next stroke of the broom, and the next, and the next. Nothing else.'
Again he paused for thought before adding, 'That way you enjoy your work, which is important, because then you make a good job of it. And that's how it ought to be.'