children fiction Quotes

“A man who apparently saw the moon’s reflection disappear from the village pond as his horse was drinking from it. Declaring that his horse had swallowed it he promptly picked up his sword and chopped the horse in two to release the moon.”

“The Black Corsair decides to sneak into the city to retrieve his brother’s body and give him an honorable burial at sea. En route to Tortuga, the pirates attack and capture a Spanish ship.”

“Didn’t the fox ever catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?′ asked the little boy the next evening. ‘He came very near it, honey, as sure as you are born, Brer Fox did.’ One day after Brer Fox had fooled him with the calamus root, Brer Fox went to work and got some tar.”

“A compelling story in which orphaned Remi gets hired out to a traveling street entertainer when his foster parents fall on hard times.”

“It describes the gruesome fates of children who fidget at table, suck their thumbs or refuse to eat their soup.”

“The black in Emilio Salgari’s The Black Corsair refers to a mysterious—and mighty teed-off—Italian swashbuckler obsessed with a noxious gripe against his mortal ...”

“Uncle Remus is a compilation of Br’er Rabbit storytellers whom Harris had encountered during his time at the Turnwold Plantation. ”

“They show extreme punishments that are often much more shocking than the ‘crimes’ themselves.”

“The stories are written in an eye dialect devised by Harris to represent a Deep South Black dialect.”

“By and by, one day, after Brer Fox had been doing all that he could to catch Brer Rabbit, and Brer Rabbit had been doing all that he could to keep him from it, Brer Fox said to himself that he could play a trick upon Brer Rabbit, and he hadn’t more than got the words out of his mouth when Brer Rabbit came bounding up the big road, looking just as plump, and as fat, and as sauce as a pig in a clover-field.”

“Of course Brer Fox wanted to hurt Brer Rabbit as much as he could, so he caught by the hind-legs and slug him right in the middle of the brier-patch. There was a considerable flutter where Brer Rabbit struck the bushes, and Brer Fox hung around so as to see what would happen.”

“His foe: an old Flemish army officer named Van Guld, now the Governor of Maracaibo. The Black Corsair is relentless, vowing never to rest until he has killed the traitor and all those that bear his name.”

“One evening recently, the lady whom Uncle Remus calls ‘Miss Sally’ missed her little seven-year-old. Making search for him through through the yard, she heard the sound of voices in the old man’s cabin, and, looking through the window, saw the child sitting by Uncle Remus.”

“Unfortunately the governor escapes and the Black Corsair and his companions must track him through the jungles of Venezuela. There they encounter savage beasts, quick sand, and cannibals.”

“But good dog Tray is happy now; He has 110 time to say “bow-wow!”′ He seats himself in Frederick’s chair and laughs to see the nice things there. The soup he swallows, sup by sup, — And eats the pies and puddings.”

“But Harriet would not take advice, She lit a match, it was so nice! It crackled so, it burn’d so clear, - Exactly like the picture here. She jump’d for joy and ran about and was too pleas’d to put it out.”

″ A strange boy called September takes him on a hunt for a lost ball, meeting lots of folk along the way.”

“Cowboy Ned and Andy are sweet, caring friends and the desert is a nice locale - a good change of pace from the usual farm animal stories.”

“From rock to rock, snag to snag, tumbling slowly. And as he crashed and crashed and crashed. His iron legs fell off. HIs iron arms broke off, and the hands broke off the arms. His great iron ears fell off and his eyes fell out.”

“Cowboy Ned and his horse Andy are the very best of friends. Life on the range can be lonely, but they always have each other. ”

“Andy walked on. He was far from camp now, and I seemed that dawn was close at hand. ‘Oh, how I wish I had a birthday cake for my friend Cowboy Ned so he could have cake on his birthday,’ said Andy. ”

“Pelle has a lamb whose coat grows longer and longer, while Pelle’s Sunday suit grows shorter!”

“Pelle lived on a farm with his mother and father in the country. His grandmother and grandfather lived near him.”

“Even when her three thousand, three hundred thirty-three fellow inmates in the old hen house laugh at her ambitions, Henrietta holds fast, practicing day and night.

“And while she’s honing her talents, she’s also getting ready to move on to the bigger, brighter world she can see through the tiny hole in the hen house wall.”

“It is a must-have for children who are fascinated by dinosaurs and for parents who want to introduce them to chapter books. It’s imaginative, witty and holds their attention.”

“The truth has to come out sometime. My suspicion was right. What had worked its way out of my Easter egg there on my window still was not a bird. It wasn’t a lizard and it wasn’t a snake.”

“Until now I had only see his top half. But there was no doubt about it. I hadn’t read all those books about dinosaurs for nothing. He had no spikes, no horns, no crest, no large armor plates, he had only wrinkles. ”

“Tomorrow is my birthday, Andy. I’ll be another year older, and no one is around to celebrate. I miss my sister, Nedna; my brother, Nedrick; and my mother -we just call her Ma. Well, I’m glad you’re here. Good night.”

“That can’t be, I though. Easter eggs don’t crackle, and Easter eggs don’t speak. Easter eggs are stone-dead, because they’re boiled. Perhaps the egg wasn’t boiled after all? For a couple of weeks, it had been lying in the hot April sun that shone through the window.”

“It’s my birthday! I’m having a party. All my friend have brought presents...shall we open them?”

“The tree trunk began to creak and groan, then it rose up into the air, grunting and growling. The children held on tight so they didn’t fall off, and the dragon asked them, ‘Where shall we go?”

“And she’s not above causing a little havoc along the way ― once the other three thousand, three hundred thirty-three chickens find her escape route, chaos reigns in the barnyard, by the pond, and among the wheat fields.”

“She lays a brown egg and the other chickens say ‘look that egg isn’t golden after all’ and Henrietta says ‘did you really believe a chicken could lay golden.”

“This story is about a royal pain, dog-sized Compsognathus who sleeps in the room of his young owner, Zawinul. The boy tries to tame the dinosaur by putting him on a leash and, ultimately, unloading him.”

“I had had too much to eat for lunch and the food didn’t agree with me. But is that a reason to doubt my common sense? Maybe. I counted what was left of my Easter eggs: one, two, three. Very good I was satisfied with myself, because if I could count to three, I hadn’t lost my common sense.”

“Mathilda’s unwavering quest for color in a black-and-white world inspires the hope that anything is possible.”

“Henrietta has big dreams for a little chicken: learning to sing, to swim, to fly, and, most important of all, to lay golden eggs.”

“A headstrong, inventive fox who is having trouble catching rabbits for his family discovers that the cleverest way to feed a hungry family is for the mother and father to do what each does best. ”

“Will you be by bedtime?′ asked Elsie. ‘To tuck us in.’ ‘And to play games and tell us stories,’ Arnold added. ‘We can eat supper together,’ said Maurice. ‘I will be home before bedtime,’ Mr. Tod promised.”

“Mr. Tod wen to the bridge. It was cold and wet. Mr. Tod shivered until dusk. ‘It’s the cubs’ bedtime now.′ He sniffed, ′ I must go home before it gets dark.”

“With charming line-and-watercolor illustrations, as effervescent as an orange balloon…[kids] will get the idea that imagination can take them right up in the air.”

“Joey gave me some..... they are all different colors. I like building with them!”

“Weasel was there already. ′ It’s so cold here.′ moaned Mr. Tod. ‘I keep warm by chasing rabbits,’ Weasel told him. Mr. Tod smirked. ‘I use clever ideas to catch rabbits,’ Mr. Tod said.”

“She ignores him, until the chef gets sick, and her friends have to make a super supper—which includes tracking down truffles, spinning sugar stars, and looking for quail eggs.”

“Three children and their mother live in a cottage shaped like a hat on a little island in a lake. One day their mother goes to the mainland to find yarn to ...”

“One day, their mother went to the mainland to find yarn to make new clothes for the children.”

“Ben gave me a. . . It has a little brush. I like making pictures with it!”

“But will the old tree dragon stay alive long enough to bring them home again?”

“They moved in a long train over the dusty earth. At noon they drank from a cool river. When night came, they were one day farther from home. Cowboy Ned wrapped his poncho tight in the evening cool. ”

“One day a mischievous gnome makes the tree trunk come to life, and the children are whisked off to the Land of Long Ago on the back of the old tree dragon.”

“Good evening,′ said Andy. ‘And would you have such as thing as a birthday cake about? I need one for my friend Cowboy Ned so he can have a cake on his birthday.”

″...Out jumped a little red chicken, and she said, ‘Don’t talk to strangers!’ so Little Riding Hood didn’t. The End.′ ‘Chicken.’ ‘Yes, Papa?’ ‘You did it again. You interrupted two stories, and you’re not even sleepy!”

“Little Red Chicken is portrayed to be quite young, very enthusiastic and energetic considering this book is based at night. ”

“She is very involved with the stories and wants what is best for the characters. She is unable to rest while being read to but does seem to appreciate her father. In the animated series, her name is Piper.”

“It’s bedtime for the little red chicken and Papa is going to read her a story. ‘You’re not going to interrupt the story tonight, are you?’ asks Papa. ‘Oh no, Papa. I’ll be good,’ says the little Red Chicken.”

“I’m my own dog. Nobody owns me. I own myself.”

″... she made shadow puppets with Dadmouse during a blackout - and just like that, the events of the past few days come to vivid life in her letter, as does her love for Grandmouse.”

“A fantasy picture book, about a city mouse who moves out to the country. To his surprise, the country mice require him to complete a field test to live among ...”

“A favorite joke inspires this charming tale, in which a little chicken’s habit of interrupting bedtime stories is gleefully turned on its head. It’s time for ...”

“So her mother suggested she write a letter, and she did! The pages are filled with drawings, photographs, and plenty of great details.”

″ Clearly, she loves the woman and misses her and wants to share everything that’s going on. She teaches her ladybug to fetch, practices her posture by carrying a book across the room on her tail..”

“Uhm,′ muttered the owl yawning. And fluttered to the floor. – Oh! Said the duck. ‘I never thought an owl had such beautiful wings.’ ‘Uhm,’ said the owl, glad the duck found its wings beautiful.”

“Overnight, city mouse Timothy becomes a little man. And when he runs away to the country, the other mice are not so sure he’s really one of them...”

″ He fails the first two, heroically saves Spinny when a cat interrupts the third, and is awarded an Honorary License.”

“But there is one spot, in the middle of his back, that he just can’t reach.”

“I curled up at my own feet. Sometimes, If I am not comfortable I tell myself to roll over.”

“Mouserella misses her grandmouse, so she writes her a letter. At first she can’t think of anything to say...”

“Though Mouserella doesn’t think there is much to share, she actually finds lots of everyday things to talk about: creating seed parachutes, visiting a museum..”

″ He fails the first two, heroically saves Spinny when a cat interrupts the third, and is awarded an Honorary License.”

“It is a fun twist and turn on the dog/owner idea. We witness the dog’s view of the world.”

″ And the poor little fella follows him home. What can the dog do but get a leash to lead the guy around with?”

“A dog feels he does not need an owner until one day he needs someone to scratch where he cannot reach.”

“Niggles for me, other than spelling and grammar, include Bets being able to know the word ‘rheumatism’ yet is somehow incapable of saying ‘clues’, instead continually calling it ‘glues’.”

“Because Amelia smiles as she skips down the street, her neighbor Mrs Higgins smiles too, and decides to send some cookies to her grandson Lionel - in Mexico.”

“Very cool mystery and the monkey who eats handkerchiefs is hilarious.”

“Wombat loves everything about Christmas--especially the Nativity play. He’s wanted to be in it for as long as he can remember. At last he’s old enough to ...”

“Wombat is a cute and lovable character with a passion for the stage and a desire to be in the nativity play.”

“The animals are so surprised that they remain silent. Readers hope that in the future, Hattie’s words will be given more importance by the barnyard animals.”

“When Hattie, the big black hen, spotted something in the bushes, none of the other animals took any notice of her.”

“Very new readers might tackle a chapter at a time, while more independent readers will be happy to read a complete story in one sitting.”

“Very well,′ Chac agreed. ‘Two days hence, we shall play. Bring a team, if you can find one. Two games of three shall decide your fate.’ ‘What if I win? Pik asked. ‘You will earn my forgiveness and rain for your people.’ Chac replied.”

″ He’s not lean and mean. He’s round and profound. He’s Sumo Mouse! And he’s ready to wrestle all wrongdoers.”

“Don’t forget,′ whispered the Worrier. ‘Bruno and the big boys want to pull your pants off and throw them in the tree!’ Felix worried about Bruno and the big boys all night long.”

“Before breakfast Felix told his mama about the little black spot.”

“Every time I came back from Sephy’s, I flinched at the sight of the shack that was meant to be my home. Why couldn’t my family live in a house like Sephy’s! Why didn’t any naught I knew of live in a house like Sephy’s? Looking at our rundown hovel, I could feel the usual burning, churning sensation begin to rise up inside me. My stomach tightened, my eyes began to narrow... So I forced myself to look away.”

“You do as I do, ” said Fly, “and you’ll be all rights.” She thought or a moment. “There is one thing though, Babe, ” she said, and she looked across at the back door of the farmhouse, “if I go in there, you stay outside and wait for me, understand?” ‘Aren’t pigs allowed in there?” asked Babe. “Not live ones,” said one of the puppies, but he said it under his breath.

“Tiny balls of stuffing like pale pink pearls fell from the tear. Clutching his side, Felix ran into the street. Night was falling and the air was becoming colder. Would Felix ever fine his best friend Alexander?”

After a taxing journey through the threatening city streets, Felix finds Alex, but now both are a long way from home. They follow the trail of Felix’s dropped stuffing to find their way back.

“As he wandered through the streets the houses seemed to grow taller. Felix felt scared and very small. Suddenly Felix heard a scream. It was Alexander, in the grip of a fearsome monster! Felix quickly unpacked his torch and shone it at Alexander and the monster. The monster turned to stone under the bright beam of light.”

“Felix climbed out of the window, edged across to the drainpipe and slid down into the garden. As Felix slipped out through a hole in the garden fence, a nail tore his side.”

“One afternoon Alexander did not return home from his walk as his usual time. Felix waited and waited and became very worried. He decided that Alexander must be lost.”

“Dinah Glass starts at a new school and finds it to be very out of the ordinary. None of the children play typical games in the playground; they just stand around in circles, memorising multiplication tables and dates of kings and queens of England.”

“She stopped. Old Rowland owned the firm Father worked for. Poll had seen him once. He was a short, stout man with a barrel-shaped belly and a red jolly face. He had said, ‘So this is your little maid, James. Pretty-Poll,’ pinched her cheek, rather rad, and given her sixpence.”

“And did the boys realize that it could blow a hole through a wall at a quarter of a mile? It was essential to track it down before the boys killed themselves or anybody else.”

″ In the relationship that forms between this unlikely pair, Colin discovers that being there for his brother is more important than any cure and that Queens are not always royalty.”

“His chance came when he found the crashed German Heinkel, with a machine-gun and all its ammunition intact. All he had to do was to remove it from the plane...”

“She opened it and there stood the wolf. He bowed gravely and said, Good day, Miss Kitty, so pert and pretty. What is it that you cook today?′ The cat answered, ‘Bread I bake and cake so fine. Would it please you, sir, to dine?”

“No one knew when they, or their neighbors would lose their life to a marauding German bomber or fighter plane targeting their location.”

“The pig Johnny was very smart and acted like a dog. As the pig got older, he was not as active, and like older pets, he just hung around eating and sleeping.”

“When the Greengrasses move from London to rural Norfolk, mischievous nine-year-old Polly acquires a runt piglet, whose rapid growth and uncontrollable antics surpass even Polly’s expectations”

“For this poor family who owed many bills, the animal was a luxury that they couldn’t afford. Emily comes home from school one day and Johnny is not there. ”

“I’m in retirement,′ she told the maid. No one could have looked more dignified. The maid remained below, prepared the meals, and gossiped with the villagers. The maid was not unhappy: she had never liked Old Mr. Fox.”

“His mother Bel Bel, herself a cream colour, knows that Thowra (named for the wind) will be sought by man because of his colour and trains him well.”

“When she’s around little things can turn into great big adventures - especially when they involve getting stuck in a draw full of macaroni. . .”

“Mrs Pepperpot, the little old lady who suddenly one morning woke up and found herself diminished into the size of a teaspoon and how she handled all the adventures that came about as a result of this.”

“Well, as I’m now the size of a pepper-pot, I shall have to make the best of it,′ she said to herself, for she had no else to talk to; her husband was out in the fields and all her children were grown up and gone away.”

“It is about an old woman who is given a boa constrictor by her son. Initially shocked by the gift she does the right thing, studies up on...”

“He was also putting the finishing touches to a large notice which he had written out. In fact he had just signed his name at the bottom when there was a knock on his door and the Mate came in looking rather uncomfortable.”

“I must get out of bed somehow,′ she thought and, talking hold of a corner of the eiderdown, she started rolling herself up in it. She rolled and rolled until the eiderdown was like a huge sausage, which fell softly on the floor.”

“Again she started muttering: ‘I have lived a long time, but in all my born days I have never seen the sun give so little heat in the middle of the summer. It seems to have lost all its power, that’s a fact.”

“Orlando and his wife Grace prepared for a picnic as it was the kittens’ birthday -“burst-day” as Thikke calle it when his “th”s wouldn’t work.”

“The hens roosted on the plate-rack and the ducks enjoyed themselves in the sink. Vulcan, the horse, made a disgusting noise munching the thatched roof of the dairy.”

“We must think this out carefully,” said Orlando. ‘It’s no good bullying the animals: we must persuade them to leave. The language a dog really understands is doggerel verse.”

“It will take three day to move her,′ said the driver, scratching his head, and sat down on the lines to wait for help to come.”

“Grover and his father adjust to life after the death of Grover’s mother. Grover lives in a small Southern town.”

“Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are twelve—old enough to do lots of things...even go downtown on their own. ”

“There they see their first horseless carriage, discover the joys of the public library, and see a real play at the Opera House. ”

“Sitting in her maple, she was aware of the town, spread out below, of Front Street where the stores were, of streets lined with the houses of people she did not know, of the Opera House, the Melborn Hotel, the skeleton of the new Carnegie Library, and the High School that her sister Julia and Tacy’s sister Katie now attended.”

“And they do! The girls fall in love with the King of Spain, perform in the School Entertainment, and for the first time, go all the way over the Big Hill to Little Syria by themselves.

″ But the real adventure, the true learning experience, happens when the girls befriend the Syrian/Lebanese neighbours who have recently become part of the Deep Valley community.”

“Mama shook her head despairingly over the younger brother. ‘Hyman,’ se said reprovingly, ‘you come to pay us a visit and see how you look! No shave. Your suit looks like you slept in it _ a button hanging by a thread. At least you could put one cllean shirt!”

″ Before long, I.S.A.A.C. is in operation and every Saturday is definitely one to remember. Each Melendy child is able to do exactly what he or she pleases, discovering new ideas along the way.”

“The four Melendy children live with their father, a widowed professor of economics, and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, in a brownstone in New York City.”

“Even the most ordinary Moffat day is packed with extraordinary fun. Only a Moffat could get locked in a bread box all afternoon, or dance with a dog in front of the whole town, or hitch a ride on a boxcar during kindergarten recess.”

“Ella misses her boyfriend Jules, who has joined the Army to fight in World War I, Henny spills tea on a dress she borrowed without asking, Sarah works to win a prize at school.”

″ In true All-Of-A-Kind Family spirit, everyone must come together to keep the house running smoothly when Mama goes into the hospital to have her appendix removed.”

″ In true All-Of-A-Kind Family spirit, everyone must come together to keep the house running smoothly when Mama goes into the hospital to have her appendix removed.”

″ In their new home they learn about Christian traditions and save for the war effort.”

“Called by locals “The Four-Story Mistake”, it is an odd-looking house with a rich architectural history, surrounded by the country.”

“Jerry was pleased with the puppy and headed home. On the way home, Jerry and his sister Rachel heard footsteps behind them.”

“A young boy wants to be a sailor, but his parents say he is much too young. Tim grabs the chance to stow away on a steamer.”

“It was a lovely day. The sea was blue, and the little waves danced and sparkled in the sunshine. Tim got more and more excited as they neared the steamer, as he had never been in one before.”

“Two kiddos get stuck in a mountain valley without any adults to help them, and so they need quickly to learn how to survive in the wilderness on their own.”

“The plot takes place in Budapest, in the early 1900s; this setting already contains all the charm of an adventure, for a provincial boy: who knows where Budapest is ... ”

“They become absorbed in the adventures of the country, adjusting themselves with all their accustomed resourcefulness and discovering the many hidden attractions that the Four-Story Mistake has to offer.”

“When they turned back, they did not see anything. Jerry decided that if anyone was following them, then that follower was after his dog.”

“Beezus read on through Scoopy’s failure to be a bulldozer. She read about Scoopy’s wanting to be a trolley bus (‘Beed-beep,” honked Ramona) a locomotive (‘A-hooey, a-hooey,’ wailed Ramona}, and a pile driver (‘Chunk! Chunk!’ shouted Ramona).

″ After a few days, Jerry remembered that he hadn’t given his puppy a name! He asked his mother and his mother said Ginger because he is the color of ginger and has a gingery temperament. ”

“It is only gradually that Laurette discovers how her precious white peacock could help him in his search. ”

“Beatrice, or Beezus (as everyone called her, because that was what Ramona had called her when she first learned to talk), knew other nine-year-old girls who had little sisters who went to nursery school, but she did not know anyone with a little sister like Ramona.”

“But what? Arguing with Ramona was a waste of time. So was appealing to her better nature. The best thing to do with Ramona, Beezus had learned, was to think up something to take the place of whatever her mind was fixed upon.”

“That’s all right. Come and make the acquaintance of the white peacock.′ ‘I’ve met him before.’ His eyebrows lifted in surprise. ‘Indeed,’ he said, ‘when?’ ‘Yesterday. I got lost there,’ she pointed to the wooded slopes of the hill..

“She shook her head, ‘I can’t go without my parcel,’ she said. ‘Did Clara perhaps put it in the trunk for you?’ ‘No, but I can’t go without it.’ She ran upstairs again and soon came back clasping a wooden box tied up with knotted string like the trunk.”

“When it was fine he spent the day on the beach playing in and out of the boats, or talking to his friend the old boatman, who taught him how to make the special knots that sailors make and many other things about the sea and ships.”

“Isolated in a valley by a rock slide, two seventeenth-century children discover for themselves the ways of prehistoric man in their efforts to survive.”

“The Mallards finally decide on an island in the Charles River. From this island, the Mallards visit a policeman named Michael on the shore, who feeds them peanuts every day.”

“Against the strains of a catchy barnyard tune, a single-minded fox stalks an unsuspecting hen.”

“Orphaned young, they have lived with their rather strict grandmother for some years, repeatedly told that their father’s side of the family are unpleasant people who dislike them.”

“After the ducklings are born, Mr. Mallard decides to take a trip up the river to see what the rest of it is like. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard agree to meet at the Public Garden in one week.”

“Rosie the hen went for a walk across the yard..”

“Right behind her is the fox, slyly trying to catch up with her.”

“It is autumn; the pear tree in Grandfather’s orchard has been stripped of its fruit and its branches are bare.”

“However, just as she says this, her husband is nearly run down by a passing bicyclist. The Mallards continue their search...”

″... around the pond...over the haystack..”

“The pear tree in its seasonal array represents the richness and complexity of nature’s design.”

“Rosie’s walk is quiet, uneventful and eventually leads her back to the coop.”

“Lyric, prose and magnificent oil painting combine to celebrate the pageant of the seasons.”

″,,, blissfully unaware of the fox’s travails as he tries -unsuccessfully- to navigate the obstacle course that Rosie has led him through.”

“There were sure to be foxes in the woods or turtles in the water, and she was not going to raise a family where there might be foxes or turtles. So they flew on and on.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were bursting with pride. It was a great responsibility taking care of so many ducklings, and it kept them very busy. She taught them how to swim and dive.”

“This is a story about a magical seed that turns into a giant tree and more than that it’s a tale about nature, the seasons, magic and it made my mind ponder ...”

“A story about a magical seed that turns into a giant tree and more than that it’s a tale about nature, the seasons, magic and it made my mind ponder and wonder and to me it was perfect.”

“He has his own personal flying horse for a day, and tours town with the Cardboard boy, his dearest friend_ and enemy.”

″... he came home and found Joey, Jane, and Sylvie all reading in the front yard. Joey and Jane were sitting on the steps of the porch and Sylvie was sprawled in the hammock, a book in one hand, and chocolate-covered peppermint in the other.”

“Toot-toot!′ Rufus hurried down the street. When he arrived at the library, he hid his scooter in the pine trees that grew under the windows besides the steps. Christmas trees, Rufus called them.”

“He surprised Mama by asking to have his hands washed.When this was done, he mounted his scooter again and returned all the long way to the library. It was just a little trip to the library. it was a long one.”

“Rufus held his hard-earned application in one hand and steered his scooter with the other. When he reached home Joey, Jane, and Sylvie were not around any longer. Mama signed his card for him, saying, ‘My! So you’ve learned how to write!”

“The Moffats had not been living on this street very long, and everybody didn’t know them yet. Very likely there were lots of people who would like to know who this girl was, sitting under this tree, how old she was, and what room she was in the school.”

“I’m Jane, the mysterious middle Moffat,′ she tried. No. What was there mysterious about her? Nothing. She certainly didn’t wear a musk or o around on tiptoe saying She-sh-sh! like Hawkshaw, the detective. Everybody knew who she was or could very easily find out.”

“So Jane went on. ‘Middle Moffat, that’s me, is not mysterious. The middle of the night is.’ ‘The mysterious middle Moffat is not mysterious,’ said the oldest inhabitant thoughtfully. ‘No,’ agreed Jane, laughing politely. Mr. Buckle put his finger on the side of his nose the way Hawkshaw, the detective, did in the pictures, and he beamed down at her.”

“Ordinarily the Pyes never went away from Cranbury either, except for Papa, who was a renowned ornithologist and accustomed to travelin placer near, faraway, and even dangerous.”

“Fire Island is a long and skinny island just south of Long Island, which is also a long and skinny island, though it is fatter than Fire Island and much longer.”

“The Moffats should have a museum! Suddenly the idea popped into Jane’s head…′ Staring idly at the family’s barn one day, Jane gets the amazing idea for a Moffat Family Museum...”

“It’s a good time for the Moffats to be storing up memories, because things are changing.”

“But the museum helps them celebrate and remember their past as they face the future together.”

“The Moffat Museum is set in small Cranbury, Connecticut in the early 1900s.”

‘Mama, Mama’ calls Little Brown Bear. ‘I want to get up.”

‘Good morning, Little Brown Bear,’ says Mama. ‘Did you sleep well?”

“How these fortunate felines survive to become the noble ancestors of the cats of modern Rome is all due to the cleverness of the cat they come to call Miranda the Great, Queen of the Colosseum!”

‘Poor Little Brown Bear, he does not know what he wants. He is cranky.”

“Little Brown Bear cries and rub his eye. He gets out of bed, but he is not happy. He can’t find his slippers.”

“When barbarians invade Rome, Miranda the cat and her daughter Punka must find a safe place to hide from the chaos. ”

“After Liza gives a lonely snowman a drink of hot tea, he walks into the countryside where a crow warns him he must travel north or melt.”

“Liza ran into the garden, gave the snowman a drink of tea, then hurried back inside the house. The snowman was very surprised. In his tummy there was a warm, creeping, crawling feeling...”

“Then he thought, ‘A glowing man is a going man, so I must go.’ He heaved up his great snowy feet and stamped down the garden path. At the gate he turned and waved to Liza.”

“Thank you,′ said the snowman, ‘but I don’t think the town is the right place for me. I don’t want to turn into a gollyman-goshma. I must go where there are no lamp posts for me to bump into.”

“Doraemon has a four-dimensional pouch in which he stores tools, inventions, and gadgets from the future to aid Nobita whenever he is faced with a problem.”

“Last to arrive is the Dwarf, with four ancient books and a prophecy that the King will live for another thousand years – but only if the Wonder Doctor returns in time.”

“One day the squirrel Lesp called his wife and children together and said: ‘We are going to move to a new home.’ ‘Where to, Father Lesp?’ they asked. ‘To the other side of the plain,’ Lesp said. ‘The trees are better over there.”

“So they clambered into the basket. But then they felt so sleepy that they both fell asleep. And they slept in the basket right through until the next morning.”

“But it won’t do you any harm to get a bit sunburnt,′ observed Pup. ‘You are looking a little pale after the long winter. I say, do hurry up with your licking and let’s be off!’

“The story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, ...”

“The book opens with the narrator telling readers about a little old woman nicknamed “The Lupine Lady”who ‘lives in a small house overlooking the sea.’ The story of her Great Aunt, Miss Rumphius, begins to unfold, starting from when her aunt was just a little girl named Alice.”

“In illustrations depicting the late 1800s, a young Alice lives with her grandparents near a waterfront shipping town.”

“Alice made a promise to make the world a more beautiful place, then a seed of an idea is planted and blossoms into a beautiful plan. ”

″ Angelina is determined to prove she’s as good a dancer as all the older ballerinas. ”

“Angelina Ballerina was a star at her school, Camembert Academy. But she wanted to shine even brighter!”

“I wish I could dance like I was floating on air!′ Angelina declared. ‘Just like the older girls!’ Angelina raised her arms over her head and pirouetted through Ms. Mimi’s classroom.”

“Angelina looked at her favorite photograph in the classroom. It was of the older students dancing in a recital.”

“As Angelina read the sign, her heart pirouetted inside her chest. Dancing with the Mousnikov Ballet would be a dream come true. But the dancers in the ballet wore pointe shoes, and Ms. Mimi didn’t think Angelina was ready for that.”

“Eloise is a very special little girl who lives at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. She may not be pretty yet, but she’s definitely already a real person.”

“The carriage was stopped with a jerk, and the coachman jumped from his seat. He came to the carriage window, and explained that the wind had blown his hat off. ‘I am exceedingly sorry, ma’am,’ he said, ′ but the wind has carried my hat to the other side of the road, and I daren’t leave these frisky horses a minute.”

“Deep in the forest, under the curling roots of an old pine tree, was a small house. Warm and dry in winter, cool and airy in summer, it was the home for one of the forest people. He lived there with his wife and four children: Tom, Harriet, Sam and Daisy.”

“Sheltered under the pine-tree branches, they hardly felt the autumn gales and if it rained, the children crept underneath a giant toadstool to keep dry.”

“All the children wore red-and-white spotted caps. If strangers came into the forest, they curled up, still as stone, for all the world like four red-and-white spotted mushrooms.”

“Squirrels are scatty, thoughtless creatures add sometimes they forgot what game they were playing and then the children could catch them. Mostly, they were kind-hearted and often they remembered to bring Harriet a nut or two from their store.”

“On summer evenings, the children went down to the pool to see their friends the frogs. Buffo, who was big and fat and kind, was specially fond of little Daisy and he would always listen to her troubles. ‘Renata!’ shouted Harriet. ‘Come and tell us how many insects you’ve caught.”

“In the middle of the forest is a cave where a troll lives. No one knows his name. One day, when the children were out berrying, Tom saw that the biggest blueberries grew closest to his cave. ‘I’m going up there,” he said bravely. ‘And so am I,’ said Sam and Harriet and Daisy.”

“Royal messengers found them engaged in ridiculous tasks, such as trying to drown an eel and joining hands around a thornbush to shut in a cuckoo.”

“The people of Gotham loved the spring. Every year they waited for the cold, hard winter to finish so they could enjoy the long sunny days and dance and merry. ‘Oh, it’s fine to be alive in Gotham in the spring,’ they would agree. But spring only comes once a year.”

“There will be no winter this year,′ they said, and some people even threw aways their winter clothes. The cuckoo was brought back in triumph and put in a cage. A small boy called Joe was to look after the bird. Well, the wise men’s prediction came true: spring stayed in Gotham for a long time.”