Kidlit Quotes

Junk?" Lina repeated, incredulous. Oh, she wasn't about to let that pass. ~ Jaleigh Johnson

While they read these stories, moreover - and this is a comforting thought for those who believe that the best way for anyone to become a lover of real literature is to be exposed to it early and often - boys and girls are not only gratifying their love for a
stirring tale, they are making the acquaintance of the great story-tellers of the past, taking them into their lives as companions. This early contact gives children an experience which will keep their horizon in after life from being entirely circumscribed by the mediocre and ephemeral. If a boy has sailed the wine dark Aegean, or climbed a height whence he could watch Roland's last heroic stand in the Pass of Roncevaux, some gleam remains, and there is far less likelihood that his adult reading will be entirely commonplace. ~ Anne Thaxter Eaton

They came generally from people writing theses on fantasy or on the Dark Is Rising books. They were full of questions I'd never thought about and false assumptions that I didn't want to think about. They would ask me in great detail for, say, the specific local and mythical derivations of my Greenwitch, a leaf-figure thrown over a Cornish cliff as a fertility sacrifice, and I would have to write back and say, "I'm terribly sorry; I made it all up." They told me I echoed Hassidic myth, which I hadn't read, and the Mormon suprastructure, which I'd never even heard of. They saw symbols and buried meanings and allegories everywhere. I'd thought I was making a clear soup, but for them it was a thick mysterious stew.

from "In Defense of the the Artist" in Signposts to Criticism of Children's Literature (1983) ~ Susan Cooper

Books are like ice cream; there is a flavor for everyone! ~ K. Lamb

You'll see," Mother assured her. "The fish will be just as friendly and the waves just as fresh in the new world the door makers find for us. ~ Melanie Crowder

It was a serious offense to invite a Deep Witch to cross the border of the Five Kingdoms. They had been banished many years before, together with werewolves and sorcerers. ~ Vivian French

Polly had a gift for baking pies, and she poured her heart and soul into every one she made. ~ Sarah Weeks

As a rule, she didn't like boys very much, but she had to admit, Charlie was actually pretty nice. ~ Sarah Weeks

I do believe losing your head has made you more intelligent. ~ Vivian French

Another danger is that - as is already happening to some extent - authors and editors run scared and go to absurd lengths to avoid giving offence. (An American editor rejected Polar, a picture book about a toy polar bear which is published in England by Andre Deutsch, on the ground that the text, written by Elaine Moss, states explicitly that the bear is white). A demand to avoid stereotypes can easily become in effect a demand for a different stereotype: for instance that girls should always be shown as strong, brave and resourceful, and that mothers should always have jobs and never, never wear an apron. And books written to an approved formula, or with deliberate didactic aim, do not often have the breath of life. Some members of women's groups in North America have published their own anti-sexist books, featuring such characters as fire-fighting girls or boys who learn to crochet. Good luck to them; but those I have seen are far below professional standard.

("Are Children's Books Racist and Sexist?" from Only Connect, 2nd ed., 1980) ~ John Rowe Townsend

A child's imagination can be found in the heart of a good book. ~ K. Lamb

Reading to younger children has come to be more or less an accepted thing, but reading to older children or to a family group is done less today with all the other attractions taking the time. Reading to a group provides a unity, a cohesion, that is wonderful. It is common bond of interest. It brings up plenty of things for family talk and discussion. A child who has been read to shows results in his speech and wider experience with languages. And definitely, if the reading is of good books, it is the beginning of good taste in literature. ~ Phyllis R. Fenner

That was the moment when Alice knew for sure that she and Charlie Erdling would be friends for the rest of their lives. ~ Sarah Weeks

This was the kind of woman she understood, a woman after her own cold heart. ~ Vivian French

Kiddo - here's a problem. We've got witches, we've got Evil, we've got an orphan, and we've got a kidnapping. What's the deal? ~ Vivian French

Dad has shamelessly played the Mom card. Against which there is no defense. ~ Denis Markell

Benny pushed a slow breath through his teeth. "Is it so terrible to believe in something? ~ Melanie Crowder

Food tastes better when you wear it! ~ Erin Dealey

I turn back to the Archers, who don't look like the same species as us. Do they even sweat, these people? ~ Denis Markell

Trust me, there are things in this mountain that will make your jaw bounce off the floor. ~ Jaleigh Johnson

The smile on his face said, pure and simple, those honey cakes came with a price. And his price was answers. ~ Melanie Crowder

At this moment, I know that the answer has to be yes. I am defeated. By my own father. How Darth Vader. ~ Denis Markell

Of course, that's how life is. A turn of events may seem very small at the time it's happening, but you never really know, do you? How can you? ~ Tom Xavier

We are flooded with books; books come pouring out of the publishing meat grinder. And, the quality has dropped severely. We may be able to print a book better, but intrinsically the book, perhaps, is not better than it was. We have a backlist of books, superb books, by Margaret Wise Brown, by Ruth Krauss, by lots of people. I'd much rather we just took a year off, a moratorium: no more books. For a year, maybe two - just stop publishing. And get those old books back, let the children see them! Books don't go out of fashion with children; they only go out of fashion with adults. So that kids are deprived of the works of art which are no longer around simply because new ones keep coming out.

from The Openhearted Audience (1980) ~ Maurice Sendak

I can't believe I thought this was going to be boring. This is great! ~ Denis Markell

So you're a reader," My mom sighs, as if somehow this elevates Isabel to yet another realm of perfection. ~ Denis Markell

Alice wondered if her mother was aware that she wasn't the only one in town who'd come down with a bad case of Blueberry Fever. ~ Sarah Weeks

Wait. Is a real, live adult person actually asking me details about the games I play? This is unheard of. ~ Denis Markell

Our lives are woven together like these threads yet the beauty is fragile. ~ Suzy Davies