Childhood Quotes

Remember when Redwall was at its height? Twelve years ago, nine out of ten bookish eleven year-olds were carrying around some book from the Redwall series. Die hard fans requested scones with meadowcream and…

Once, when my daughter was about six or seven, I took her to the tide flats at low tide, just after dawn. For the longest time, we sat on our haunches with our eyes closed, listening to the beach breathe. It was one…

“Even if I could live forever,” she said to the baby, “I still don’t know which way I would teach you. I was once so free and innocent. I too laughed for no reason.

“But later I threw away my foolish innocence to protect myself. And then I taught my daughter, your mother, to..”.

“I don’t want ever to be a man,” he said with passion. “I want always to be a little boy and to have fun. So I ran away to Kensington Gardens and lived a long long time among the fairies.”

She gave him a look of the most intense admiration, and…

And a third brightly lit express train thundered past.

“Are they chasing the first travelers?” asked the little prince.

“They’re not chasing anything,” the switchman said. “They’re sleeping in there, or…”

When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun.

From the state of the Uncarved Block comes the ability to…

Hit a tripwire of smell, and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.

Though I’ve always had a healthy sense of self, I knew this lecture needed more than just bravado. I asked myself: “What do I, alone, truly have to offer?”

And then, there in that waiting room, I suddenly knew…

I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawing frightened them.

But they answered: “Frightened? Why should anyone be frightened by a hat?”