Pam Muñoz Ryan Quotes

“We are like the phoenix,” said Abuelita. “Rising again, with a new life ahead of us.”

″‘When I was your age, I left Spain with my mother, father, and sisters. [...] We had to take several ships and the journey lasted months. When we arrived, nothing was as promised. There were many hard times. But life was also exciting. And we had each other.‘”

“Esperanza thought of Mama in the hospital and Abuelita in Mexico and how much depended on her being able to work. If she was lucky enough to have a job in the spring, no one was going to get in her way.”

“Esperanza bent closer to look at the stems rooted in mulch [...] Now, if they bloomed she could drink the memories of the roses that had known Papa.”

“She tried to find the place in her heart where her life was anchored, but she couldn’t, so she closed her eyes and pressed the palms of her hands against the earth, making sure it was there.”

″‘Señor, does it not bother you that some of your compadres live better than others?’ yelled one of Marta’s friends. ‘We are going to strike in two weeks. At the peak of the cotton. For higher wages and better housing!‘”

“She was glad she had kept working and thankful that the camp had voted not to strike, but she knew that under different circumstances, it could have been her on that bus. [...] Some of these people did not deserve their fate today. How was it that the United States could send people to Mexico who had never even lived there?”

″‘In Mexico, I was a second-class citizen. I stood on the other side of the river, remember? And I would have stayed that way my entire life. At least here, I have a chance, however small, to become more than I was. You, obviously, can never understand this because you have never lived without hope.‘”

“As the sun rose, Esperanza began to feel as if she rose with it. Floating again, like that day on the mountain, when she first arrived in the valley. She closed her eyes, and this time she did not careen out of control. Instead, she glided above the earth, unafraid. She let herself be lifted into the sky, and she knew that she would not slip away.”

″‘Aguántate tantito y la fruta caerá en tu mano,’ he said. ‘Wait a little while and the fruit will fall into your hand. You must be patient, Esperanza.‘”

“Abuelita smiled, reached over, and pulled the yarn, unraveling all of Esperanza’s rows. ‘Do not be afraid to start over,’ she said.”

“As they rounded a curve, it appeared as if the mountains pulled away from each other, like a curtain opening on a stage, revealing the San Joaquin Valley beyond. Flat and spacious, it spread out like a blanket of patchwork fields. Esperanza could see no end to the plots of yellow, brown, and shades of green.”

“She turned away, thinking that if Isabel could learn English, then maybe someday she could learn it, too.”

″‘Here, we have two choices. To be together and miserable or to be together and happy. Mija, we have each other and Abuelita will come. How would she want you to behave? I choose to be happy. So which will you choose?‘”

“She wanted to tell them that her mother was sick. That she had to pay the bills. She wanted to explain to them about Abuelita and how she had to find a way to get some money to her so she could travel. Then maybe they’d understand why she needed her job.”

″‘They don’t want us banding together for higher wages or better housing,’ said Marta. ‘The owners think if Mexicans have no hot water, that we won’t mind as long as we think no one has any.‘”

″‘See these perfect rows, Miguel? They are like what my life would have been. These rows know where they are going. Straight ahead. Now my life is like the zigzag in the blanket on Mama’s bed.‘”

“She soared with the anticipation of dreams she never knew she could have, of learning English, of supporting her family, of someday buying a tiny house.”

″‘Mama, she is poor and dirty...’ said Esperanza.” “But Mama interrupted. ‘When you scorn these people, you scorn Miguel, Hortensia, and Alfonso. And you embarrass me and yourself. As difficult as it is to accept, our lives are different now.‘”

“Carmen smiled. ‘I am poor, but I am rich. I have my children, I have a garden with roses, and I have my faith and the memories of those who have gone before me. What more is there?‘”

“Music does not have a race or a disposition! Every instrument has a voice that contributes. Music is a universal language. A universal religion of sorts. Certainly it’s my religion. Music surpasses all distinctions between people”

“He clutched the harmonica to his chest and cried into his pillow. He could have sworn he heard music...the Brahms...first as a child’s lullaby, then a mournful lament, and finally, a staccato march, accompanied by the ominous sound of jackboots.”

“YOUR FATE IS NOT YET SEALED. EVEN IN THE DARKEST NIGHT, A STAR WILL SHINE, A BELL WILL CHIME, A PATH WILL BE REVEALED.”

″‘I intend to concentrate all of my efforts on the League,’ she said. ‘They appreciate me. For my knowledge as a nurse, for my moral character and exemplary behavior. I’m...I’m somebody to them.‘”

“I don’t think you understand, Friedrich. We must not only leave Trossingen. We must leave Germany.”

“During a war, people feel they must blame and take sides. Hearts grow smaller.”

″‘As much as your playing filled my heart, it pains me to say you must leave the piano be. It’s never to be touched.’ Her eyes filled with regret. ‘It’s a shame, beautiful instrument like that, just begging to be played. And to think of all the music that used to come from it.‘”

“Patriotic pieces make people emotional. And Mr Howard told me that when you and Franklin played it at the orphanage, everyone was quite moved by your rendition.”

″‘I’ve told you before,’ said Mike. ‘We’re not supposed to be separated. Remember? You and me, we stick together.‘”

“I guess that means your heart’s so sad that it’s hard to get out from under the weight. Granny used to say grief is the heaviest thing to carry alone.”

“Ivy sat rapt with attention. Mr Daniel’s words - incredible adventure, beauty and light, unquestionably brilliant, begin in earnest - fueled her with optimism.”

“I’m glad our families have decided to survive this war together, Ivy. I think we’re more alike than different.”

“From Father, and you. And even from Elisabeth. if she can jeopardize everything important in her life to save Father, shouldn’t I?”

“Everybody has a heart. Sometimes you gotta work hard to find it...if there’s something you want or need to know from grown folks, you gotta step up and ask for it mannerly. Plead your case.”

“Those are good questions, Ivy, but for some questions there are no good answers.”

“Your heart is bigger than you think.”

″‘Papa, the son’s feeling will be hurt if he sees this. He wouldn’t be pleased. We should paint over it.’ ‘I’m glad you feel that way. That’s exactly what we should do. We need to look inside the house too, but it will take some time to go through their things.‘”

“He also told me that parents from all over Orange County are forming a group and they are inviting a lawyer to counsel them. There will be a meeting soon.”

“Sirs, if you mean to take only one of us, it should be Frankie. He’s one of the youngest here. Mrs Pennyweather plans to put me out to hire soon. I’m not old enough, but I guess I’m big enough. It’s why she’s not too keen on me leaving. But if I’m out working for months at a time. I won’t be able to look out for Frankie. And he’s still little.”

“Mike felt strangely compelled, as if he shoulder pass his harmonica along, as if someone were waiting for it. so he gave it up, sending it on a journey to another child who needed the world to seem brighter with more possibilities, and wanted to testify to feelings in his or her heart, just as Mike had.”