#child

At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book--that string of confused, alien ciphers--shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader. ↗

— Alberto Manguel

#childhood #literature #reading #stories #words

She asked where he lived. Second to the right,' said Peter, 'and then straight on till morning. ↗

— J.M. Barrie

#fantasy #peter-pan #fantasy

Loads of children read books about dinosaurs, underwater monsters, dragons, witches, aliens, and robots. Essentially, the people who read SF, fantasy and horror haven't grown out of enjoying the strange and weird. ↗

— China Miéville

#reading #sense-of-wonder #fantasy

It seems better to me for a child to have these skills and never use them, than not have them and one day need them," she said. ↗

— Kristin Cashore

#skill #child

For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be. ↗

— John Connolly

#childhood #child

When you become a teenager, you step onto a bridge. You may already be on it. The opposite shore is adulthood. Childhood lies behind. The bridge is made of wood. As you cross, it burns behind you ↗

— Gail Carson Levine

#bridge #childhood #childhood

And so seated next to my father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, "Father, what is sexsin?" He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case off the floor and set it on the floor. Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. It's too heavy," I said. Yes," he said, "and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you. ↗

— Corrie Ten Boom

#father #knowledge #travel

Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well. ↗

— George R.R. Martin

#summer #winter #childhood

Isabelle waved a hand. "No need to worry, big brother. Nothing happened. Of course," she added as Alex'a shoulders relaxed, "I was totally passed-out drunk, so he could really have done whatever he wanted and I wouldn't have woken up." "Oh, please," said Simon. "All I did was tell you the entire plot of Star Wars." "I don't think I remember that," said Isabelle, taking a cookie from the plate on the table. "Oh, yeah? Who was Luke Skywalker's best childhood friend?" "Biggs Darklighter," Isabelle said immediately, and then hit the table with the flat of her hand."That is so cheating! ↗

— Cassandra Clare

#city-of-lost-souls #isabelle-lightwood #mortal-instruments #shadowhunters #simon-lewis

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we believe we left without having lived them, those we spent with a favorite book. ↗

— Marcel Proust

#childhood #reading #childhood