Children’s books have a lot of complex thoughts and ideas in them, they’re just disguised as child’s play. Once you recognise the complexity of these books, you’ll realise how often they apply your own work as a writer. For more writers’ quotes on B2W, CLICK HERE, or click the pic below.
To prove it, here are a number of quotes from kids’ books that every writer should know — enjoy!
1) “We all can dance,” he said, “if we find the music that we love.” – Giraffes Can’t Dance, Giles Andreae.
This quote embraces the inner desire to follow your passions. It tells children the very thing we tell ourselves – anything is possible with the right motivation.
2) “‘What day is it?’, asked Winnie the Pooh. ‘It’s today,’ squeaked Piglet. ‘My favorite day,’ said Pooh.” —The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne.
Of course. Today is the greatest day. You’re alive. Live in the now.
3) “You’re mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”—Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Everyone is unique. Those that feel different in the world are the ones that will make a difference.
4) “Sometimes you have to lie. But to yourself you must always tell the truth.” – Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.
For a children’s book, this is very profound. When you lie to yourself, you’ll always be living in a state where you never achieve your full potential. You won’t let yourself.
5) “The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
Not only in life, but in storytelling. Don’t be afraid to go to new places, try new things. You’ll surprise yourself with the things you’ll find!
6) “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” – The Lorax, Dr. Seuss.
The modern world can use a whole lot more Dr. Seuss. Everything from political change, to the greatest ideas that will change mankind, passion is what will take us there.
7) “Who knows, my friend? Maybe the sword does have some magic. Personally, I think it’s the warrior who wields it.” —Redwall by Brian Jacques.
We all have the power inside us to do big things. It may take some type of catalyst to get us to realize it, but the power is there.
8) “There is no place like home.” – The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
Such a simple message, with so much meaning. There’s not enough room to go over all the connotations of this one quote, but many literary works have shown is there really is no place like home.
9) “Now I see! We are all just dots, together!”—Not Just a Dot by Loryn Brantz.
Such a complex theory for a child’s book. Humanity is complex. Your fellow human and you are on this shared planet doing all we can to survive. Be nice to your neighbor. They’re in this with you.
10) “Don’t you know that everybody’s got a Fairyland of their own?” —Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers.
It’s true, you know. Everyone has a happy place. We all like to visit it from time to time.
11) “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.” – Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie.
The powerful belief in yourself. Once your negativity takes over and you convince yourself you’ll never be able to do it, you won’t be able to.
12) “Believing takes practice.” – A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle.
This is a very complex issue that pops up in many narratives for people of all ages. Nothing is easy, and it all takes practice and hard work. To be able to achieve the unachievable, you must work at it.
13) “And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.” —Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Deep down, even the worst of us, just feel lonely and want to be loved. Love can change an entire outlook on life.
14) “And so for a time it looked as if all the adventures were coming to an end; but that was not to be.” – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis.
Every end is just a new beginning. For every adventure you complete, a new one is just around the corner.
15) “It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia.” – Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst.
Even though some things appear to be rosy, they’re not always what they seem.
Concluding:
If you go back and look at some of your previous work now, you might be surprised how many of these concepts have popped up in your work before, without knowing it was there. Happy writing!
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BIO: This quotes post was compiled by Luisa Brenton at The Educational Blogger. She was born in Italy, graduated from The St. Louis School of Milan and went to Chicago to pursue higher education at the Chicago’s Public Research University. Luisa is interested in modern literature and new films. She is interested in journalism as well. You can follow her as @LuBrenton and contact her via Facebook.