Quote Archive of the
fun and inspiring books I've read:
compiled by Amy N.
Thomas
May 19, 2007
“When friends go to the playground with Penguin, they should run so
fast that the knock each other down. WATCH OUT! Is that right?" Cuyler,
Margery. Please Play Safe! Penguin's Guide to Playground Safety. New York: Scholastic Press, 2006.
May 5,
2007
“He did not want to think of those bitter, brutal days when he rowed the
boat, hour after hour, day after day, rowing with a sullen resignation, all
sense of time forgotten, even all sense of motion." L'Amour, Louis. "Survival,"
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour The
Adventure Stories: Volume Four. New York: Bantam, 2006.
April 23,
2007
“When I was a student at Beechwood School, everyone in my class knew a
soldier or sailor in uniform. The U.S. Serviceman that I knew was Lieutenant Ted
Walker, my next-door neighbor on Orchard Road..." Borden, Louise. Across the Blue Pacific. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
April 14,
2007
“Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and
watch [Joshua Bell play his violin in the Metro]. And every single time, a
parent scooted the child away." Weingarten, Gene. "Pearls
Before Breakfast." The Washington
Post Magazine 08 April 2007:17.
March 29,
2007
“I blessed this house because of all those beautiful books…but I cursed
it, too, for what it stood for.” Polacco, Patricia. Pink
and Say.
“Maria wanted
so much to make a quilt, too.” Tenorio-Coscarelli, Jane. The Tortilla
Quilt.
“Aunt
Rachel’s idea was sewin’ – and she started teachin’ me the very next night.”
Hopkinson, Deborah. Sweet
Clara and the Freedom Quilt.
“We run and
hide,
run and hide.”
Hopkinson, Deborah. Under
the Quilt of Night.
March 18,
2007
“Yes, three heroic men went to the moon; but it was a team of four
hundred thousand people that put them there.” Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Moon.
“Cars in
yellow sunlight,
buses in cloud colors,
a fire truck in a glassy candle
apple cape,
buildings like wrinkled accordions all in a row –
some stand
to one side, soft and powdery,
as if they were made out of colored
chalk.”
Herrera, Juan Felipe. Downtown Boy.
March 10,
2007
"Algae can
look like colorful jewels, pieces of green-colored hair, or glass balls floating
in space." Anderson, Rodney P. The Invisible ABCs: Exploring the World of
Microbes. Washington, DC: ASM Press, 2006.
March 4, 2007
"Mercy
narrows her eyes. She loves hot buttered toast. She also loves extra
helpings."
DiCamillo, Kate. Mercy Watson Goes for a
Ride. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006.
February 28,
2007
"Day after
day, a steady supply of ducks rolled off the assembly line at the Colossal Duck
Factory."
Bedard, Michael. Sitting Ducks.
New York: Puffin Books, 1998.
February 21,
2007
"Already
trying to catch the hail in his hands, Brent asks, 'Can you hear how loud it is?
Do you see it bounce?'"
Miller, Susan A., Ed.D. "In Search of Answers."
Scholastic Parent & Child. October 2006.
February 9,
2007
"My mind is
made up. Tomorrow, I flee."
Weathorford, Carole Boston. Moses: When
Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. New York:
Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2006.
January 22,
2007
This week, the ALA announced their awards:
Newbery Medal
The Higher Power of Lucky by
Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard
Jackson)
Newbery Honor Books
Penny
from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House)
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
(Delacorte Press)
Rules by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)
Caldecott Medal
Flotsam by David Wiesner
(Clarion)
Caldecott Honor
Books
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans
(Walker)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by
Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Hyperion/Jump at the
Sun)
January 19,
2007
"The unknown can be a scary place for a squirrel."
Watt, Melanie. Scaredy Squirrel. Toronto: Kids
Can Press, 2006.
January 6,
2007
"SWING A gibbon swings through jungle trees."
Page, Robin and Steve
Jenkins. Move! New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
And all the rest from 2006:
“We haven’t
studied fractions yet, so I take 12 carrot sticks 3 at a time and eat them 2 at
a time.” Scieszka, Jon. Math
Curse.
“It’s hard to
be five. It takes superman skill. Sitting in circles. Sitting so still.” Curtis,
Jamie Lee. It’s Hard
to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel.
“Writing a
book takes courage, but your belief in your future and the value of your books
will sustain you.” Levinson, Jay Conrad, Rick Frishman and Michael Larsen. Guerrilla Marketing for
Writers: 101 Weapons for Selling Your Work.
“At
“Even though
our country was occupied by the Germans, skating was not forbidden.” Borden,
Louise. The Great Skating Race.
“Grandma said
she came/from the sun from the sun/that Freedom was music/and her heart was a
drum.” Hamanaka, Sheila. Grandparents
Song.
“And the
parents woke up. (One eye at a time.)” Campbell, Lisa Ernst. Wake
Up, It’s Spring!
December 2,
2006
"The stakes are great for both the living and the dead of your
planet."
Coville, Bruce. The Monsters of Morley Manor. Syracuse: Full Cast Audio,
2002.
November
18, 2006 (GO BUCKS!)
This week I read the titles on The New York Times Book
Review list of the best illustrated books of the
year:
Pinkney, Jerry. The Little Red Hen. New York: Dial, 2006.
Smith, Lane. John, Paul, George and Ben. New York: Hyperion,
2006.
Staake, Bob. The Red Lemon. New York: Golden Books, 2006.
Voake,
Charlotte. Hello, Twins. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press,
2006.
Shulevitz, Uri. So Sleepy Story. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
2006.
McClintock, Barbara. Adèle & Simon. New York:
Frances Foster Books, 2006.
Sendak, Maurice, Arthur Yorinks, Matthew Reinhart
. Mommy? New York: Michael di Capua Books/Scholastic,
2006.
Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. Move! Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Weisner, David. Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books, 2006.
McLimans, David. Gone Wild. New York: Walker Books for Young Readers,
2006.
“Let us celebrate the children
Let us spin mysteries
for their minds
and wonders for their hearts"
Myers, Walter Dean. Glorious Angels.
November 5,
2006
“One day, Mama Jumbo put on her 'Go-to-town,
knock-'em-down, ding-dong" hat.” Daly, Niki. Welcome to Zanzibar
Road.
October 28,
2006
“'I know everything,' said Fireflyer. 'What's Tinker
Bell?'” McCaughrean, Geraldine. Peter Pan in Scarlet.
October 23,
2006
“When a hippo sits down for dinner, she should put her
napkin on her head. HOW PRETTY! Is that right?” Cuyler, Margery. Please Say Please! Penguin’s Guide to Manners.
October 9,
2006
“Geniuses often built on details many can spot but can't connect.” Naisbitt, John. Mind Set!
October
2, 2006
"Something in the hall went Honk. A little boy whispered, 'Hush.'" Briant, Ed. Seven Stories.
September 15,
2006
“’Maybe my favorite was the giant tyrannosaurus squirrel on the
playground at school.’” Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. Favorite
Things.
September 8,
2006
“’You’ve been
sneaky and finicky and plenty of trouble,’ Mrs. Crump reminded the cat.” Smith,
Linda. Mrs. Crump’s Cat.
August 26,
2006
“Patience and restraint are valuable traits in an author, and they’ll be
recognized.” Walsh, Pat. 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published & 14 Reasons
Why It Just Might.
August 18,
2006
“All summer Nate danced…He danced on the rough hot driveway.” Bradley,
Kimberly Brubaker. Ballerino Nate.
August 11,
2006
“When Mortimer was getting washed, he dropped his bar of soap in the
toilet.” Sutton, Jane. The Trouble With Cauliflower.
July 28,
2006
“Tessa would try to stop with every ounce of her be-boppin, hip-hoppin
heart.” Crimi, Carolyn. Tessa’s Tip-Tapping Toes.
July
22, 2006
“Maybe somebody else could catch the loons, and he could
watch.” Cooper, Elisha. Magic Thinks Big.
July 4,
2006
“Inside his house, a kid gets one name, but on the other side of the
door, it's whatever the rest of the world wants to call him.” Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee.
June 24, 2006
“’It’s a good thing
to make things difficult for yourself,’ he says, ‘because in order to undo those
knots, you’re forced to be original.”” Quoted from a profile of David Mitchell
discussing Black Swan Green (Random House, 2006). Murphy, Jessica.
“Expect the Unexpected.” Poets & Writers May/June 2006:
45-49.
June
17, 2006 "Captain Flinn could see his huge, sharp yellow teeth and his tonsils
wobbling ferociously at the back of his throat." Andreae, Giles and Russell
Ayto. Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs.
June
2, 2006 "Then Presto did his tricks. He was not a great magician. He was not a
bad magician. Presto was a pretty good magician." Dubowski, Cathy East. Pretty Good Magic.
May
27, 2006 "Writing Armegeddon Summer with Bruce Coville was an interesting
adventure. He is a writer who wants to know his plot before beginning. Like my
husband, he reads maps. I, on the other hand, prefer letting the plot grow out
of the characters, following their lead." Yolen, Jane. Take Joy.
May 14, 2006 "Nobody's cowlick stands up like mine/Nobody's
freckles are this divine." Appelt, Kathi. Incredible Me!
May
4, 2006 "But wet dog shook with his ears flying fast, and his wet fur
spray-spray-spraying." Broach, Elise. Wet Dog!
April 7,
2006 "Thunder comes CRASHing./Raindrops pelt down./Lightning is frightening!/A
hug goes around." Melmed,
Laura Krauss. A Hug Goes Around.
March 16,
2006 "Forty
thousand dollars’ worth of MFA debt and I can say only this: I learned an awful
lot about art from bearing witness to the creation of ‘Bob, the Zombie Goat,’
and the only thing it required of me was giving my time." Feitell, Merrill.
"Writing Lesson at 826NYC." Poets
& Writers March/April 2006: 29-33.
March 4, 2006
"'The turkey is a good part,' Ms. Willow says. 'Without the turkey we could not
have Thanksgiving.'" Spirn,
Michele Sobel. I Am the
February 20,
2006 "His grandmother only watched Masterpiece Theatre on Tuesday nights
at nine. The rest of the time, the doors on the TV cabinet stayed closed."
Fenner,
Carol. Snowed
in with Grandmother Silk.
February 4, 2006,
"On his first day of school, J.C.'s teacher asked him his name. He replied,
'J.C.,' in his southern accent. To the teacher, it sounded like 'Jesse.' J.C.
was too shy to correct her." Sutcliffe, Jane. Jesse Owens.
January 23,
2006 The ALA's Association for Library Service to Children announced their annual book awards today. Among them were the following
titles:
Newbery
Award: Criss
Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
Honor Books: Whittington by Alan Armstrong,
Hitler Youth by Susan
Campbell Bartoletti, Princess
Academy by Shannon Hale, and Show Way by Jacqueline
Woodson
Caldecott
Award: The Hello-Goodbye
Window by Norton Juster, Chris Raschka
(Illustrator)
Honor
Books: Rosa
by Nikki Giovanni, Bryan Collier (Illustrator), Zen Shorts by Jon J Muth (Illustrator),
Hot Air by Marjorie Priceman
(Illustrator), Song of the
Waterboatman by Joyce Sidman, Beckie Prange
(Illustrator)
January 3, 2006 "Many high-ability learners have a natural
interest in Egyptian pyramids, roller coasters, castles, cathedrals, and Greek
and Roman architecture." Henshon, Ph.D., Suzanna E. "Above and Beyond:
Architectural Investigations and Design with Your High-Ability Child." Parenting for
High Potential December 2005: 5-9.
December 15,
2005 "She suddenly knew what dignified meant, too; it meant acting calm, even
when what you wanted to do was stamp your feet and yell." Greene, Stephanie.
Queen Sophie Hartley.
December 3,
2005 "Two and three-year-olds may prefer stories with simple plots and no
digressions. Six year-olds may read and invent stories that depict emotional
responses and changes in the character." "Character Development Age by Age."
Early Childhood Today October 2004.
November 9, 2005 "The night I
met you, you'd just run across the whole city in bedroom slippers. If a girl can
do that, what crazy thing won't she do?" Spiegler, Louise. The
October 29,
2005 “Truly this occasion is most of all a chance to celebrate our collective
treasury of stories, wonderful stories from all our families. Things to save.
Things to keep. Things to share." Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald. Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab
Cakes Later).
October 20,
2005 “The main way I get ideas is from writing every day. The more I write, the
more ideas I get." Book Signing with author Gene Fehler.
October 5,
2005 “Two cicadas singing/“Air kiln-hot, lead heavy/“Five cicadas humming” Fleischman, Paul. "Cicadas." Joyful Noise: Poems for Two
Voices.
September 21,
2005 "Clementine shouted, 'Don't call me "pumpkin"! You heard my name. I'm
CLEMENTINE SWEET. I'm gonna STOMP your feet!'" Griffin, Kitty, and Kathy Combs. The Foot Stomping
Adventures of Clementine Sweet.
September 14, 2005 "Among
the topics that most teens say they wish they could honestly discuss with their
parents over dinner are religious matters and curfews. A substantial number of
teens also would like to talk
with their parents about peer pressure, dating and substance abuse." The
September 5,
2005 "I think authors really need to keep track of the business. If they were in
any other business, they would read the trade magazines. They should subscribe
to Publisher's Lunch and read
Publisher's Weekly. You see
what's selling and, just as importantly, what's not selling." Matt Bialer,
Literary Agent. Hill, Brian, and Dee Power. The Making of a Bestseller.
August 24,
2005 "It's possible to get published; it's very hard not to get published if
you're really good." Howard, Richard. "Submission Tracker." Poets &
Writers September/October
2005: center
pull-out.
August 12,
2005 "But how could he go wrong selling little books? School was all about
books and reading." Clements, Andrew. Lunch Money.
August 5,
2005 "For years, whenever I hit the frustration stage, it seemed to be proof
positive that I had a bad idea...It took me a long time to realize that
frustration didn't mean I was doing something wrong. It simply meant my project
had gone to the next stage." Suen, Anastasia. Picture Writing.
August 1,
2005 "The question 'What should I wear to school?' gets more complicated when
you move to a new planet."
Coville, Bruce. I Was a Sixth Grade Alien.
July
25, 2005 "'I feel different' came slowly into her head. She sat digesting that
thought like a Thanksgiving dinner." Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy.
© Amy N. Thomas 2004-2006