I don’t know about you all, but when I was younger, books were my favorite pastime, and that love has carried over to who I am today. Children’s literature has always been especially interesting to me: far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, and even a prince in disguise! (Couldn’t stop myself form adding the Beauty and the Beast reference.)
Children’s tales tend to tell of fantastic adventures that I can only dream of ever getting to experience. Not only that, but as I get older, I find that children’s writers are not to be scoffed at! Their writings have some of the most meaningful and relatable nuggets. So here, I have listed some of my favorite quotes from children’s literature.
For the sake of brevity, if a series is mentioned, I have taken quotes only from the first book.
The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book #1) by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)
“Your initial opinion on just about anything may change over time.”
I loathed watermelon when I was younger. Now it’s one of my favorite fruits so I suppose this quote holds true.
“The smell of cooking food is often a calming one.”
I’ve never met anyone alarmed by the smell of food, unless it’s burning.
“One of the most troublesome things in life is that what you do or do not want has very little to do with what does or does not happen.”
Seriously. It’s ever troubling.
“The way sadness works is one of the strange riddles of the world. If you are stricken with a great sadness, you may feel as if you have been set aflame, not only because of the enormous pain, but also because your sadness may spread over your life, like smoke from an enormous fire. You might find it difficult to see anything but your own sadness, the way smoke can cover a landscape so that all anyone can see is black. You may find that if someone pours water all over you, you are damp and distracted, but not cured of your sadness, the way a fire department can douse a fire but never recover what has been burnt down.”
Reminding us that what’s done is done. No matter what consolation you receive, something lost doesn’t often come back and if it does, it’s never the same.
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.”
The question is, who in the world are you?
“If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does.”
Whether you agree or disagree, you can’t deny that this is a quote that provokes deeper thinking about the purpose of our government and international affairs.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I’ve changed a few times since then.”
Same. When I wake up in the morning I feel like Julia Roberts from Mary Poppins; the next minute, I feel like Shrek. Change is supposed to happen. Don’t fear it, embrace it.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, Book #1) by C.S. Lewis
“Always winter but never Christmas.”
I think this is such a beautiful and meaningful arrangement of words. It’s terse, but it strikes the heart for some reason- maybe because we sympathize with the characters, maybe because we are living eternal winters waiting for Aslan’s spring.
“Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written.”
*mic drop*
“What do they teach them at these schools?”
This is funny because the professor is asking why these kids don’t know how to tell who knows a secret when basically that’s all we learn in public high school.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.
This part made me cry when I was younger. It was the first book to every make me feel so emotionally attached to a character. I don’t even like spiders, but Charlotte was sweet enough to stay in my mind all this time.
“After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die.”
True. I hope you glorify God along the way though.
“Trust me, Wilbur. People are very gullible. They’ll believe anything they see in print.”
Print is one of the most persuasive materials in the world. In this age where anything on the internet can be altered and made viral, print has unexpected powers of persuasion.
“Never hurry and never worry!”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, Book #1) by J.K. Rowling
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
Rowling does not say not to dream, but not to dwell on dreams. Living your life in a fantasy doesn’t change anything about reality. Make reality your dream.
“Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve – you’ve blown up a toilet or –”
“Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet.”
“Great idea though, thanks, Mum.”
It’s great when parents think they’re stopping you but they’re just giving you more ideas of ways to wreak havoc. #relatable
“I hope you’re pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed – or worse, expelled. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.”
Oh, the famous Hermione Granger quote. I’m not even putting this in the list for the famous part. The end, “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed,” is my favorite. She just had to deal with a giant troll in the bathroom and shortly after she’s like “I need to sleep this off.” I find that relatable and humorous. Hermione’s priorities are astonishing.
“I know some things,” he said. “I can, you know, do math and stuff.”
Basically, he went to school and got mad because Hagrid said he didn’t know anything. Harry’s defense is “I know how to do math and stuff.” Nice save, Harry. Now sit back and let me show you the useful things.
Photo Credit: Cover, 1.