“Winter always came creeping up on you when you least expected it. Joel had decided last autumn that he would never allow that to happen again. Before going to bed, he would make up his mind whether or not it would start snowing during the night.”
“In the summer of raging storms Lara Ritchie must fight the storm within herself. It is through the unexpected friendship with a kindred spirit that Lara discovers the strength to face up to her ordeals.”
“She had felt an unexpected spasm of concern for the little creatures in the cage. She took a duster down to the gate and draped it over the cage. It would protect the inmates from the cold. (It would also disguise the cage a little.) ‘You know how to look after these gerbil-things?’ Mrs Sparrow asked. ‘Oh, yes! We had gerbils once. We had a gerbil farm.‘”
“Ramona considered. Kindergarten had not turned out as she had expected. Still, even though she had not been given a present and Miss Binney did not love her, she had liked being with other boys and girls her own age. She liked singing the song about the dawnzer and having her own little cupboard. ”
“Spelling is a curious thing... it’s so often different from what you expect it to be. I used to think ‘please’ was spelled p-l-e-e-s, but it isn’t, you know; and you’d think ‘dear’ was spelled d-e-r-e, if you didn’t inquire. Sometimes it almost discourages you.”