#childrens

It has often been said that Christian Poles did nothing to help Jews during the war. Don't believe it. There were indeed those who turned their backs on the hounded, hungry people who came to them in desperation; there were others who did their little bit to help where they realistically could, often not without some risk to themselves; and there were those who were ready to risk their lives and to share their last meal with a fugitive. I don't believe that in these matters the Polish people in the last war were different from any others caught in a similar stranglehold. And what is more, the rescued have no right to assume that they would automatically become rescuers if roles were reversed. We simply don't know, any of us, how we would react until put to the rest. And the not-knowing troubles me. You see, I don't believe as many people do that courage is a characteristic like optimism or generosity; I think of it more as a mood, like laughter or sadness, a child of the moment, which might come to any of us in certain circumstances - and desert us in others. ↗

— Christa Laird

#holocaust #jewish #warsaw #ww #courage

I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting. …It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand. '…a man’s reach should exceed his grasp.' So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to, or draw down to, children. (from the author's acceptance speech for the Caldecott award) ↗

— Barbara Cooney

#children #childrens-books #fables #lessons #literature

That's why I bake. To fill fairies with goodness." And it was true, she realized. She didn't run the kitchen just to boss other fairies around. She didn't give orders just to make herself feel important. Well, at least she wouldn't anymore. No. The day before, she hadn't missed that part of her job at all. She had missed the baking. She had missed creating something for others to enjoy. And, oh, how she wanted to go back to work! ↗

— Gail Herman

#inspirational #management #inspirational

This is for everyone who has ever looked at the stars, or gazed from atop a hill, or across the sea and wondered... ↗

— Tim Perkins

#artist #author #childrens-books #fantasy #illustrator

Stories have a way of changing faces. They are unruly things, undisciplined, given to delinquency and the throwing of erasers. This is why we must close them up into thick, solid books, so they cannot get out and cause trouble. ↗

— Catherynne M. Valente

#wisdom #change

Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else. ↗

— Catherynne M. Valente

#wisdom #change

My ears are too beeg for my head. My head ees too beeg for my body. I am not a Siamese cat ... I AM A CHIHUAHUA!" -- Skippyjon Jones (In his very best Spanish accent) ↗

— Judy Schachner

#childrens-book #humor #siamese-cat #spanish #humor

In any case, muffins that are only imaginary aren't liable to get stuck. ↗

— Thomas M. Disch

#childrens #food #toaster #food

Maybe he hadn't thought the war through. It had seemed like simple fun when he had first pictured it, with a glorious beginning, a difficult but valor-filled middle, and a victorious end. He hadn't accounted for the fact that there might not be much of a resolution to the battle, and he hadn't imagined what it would feel like when the war just sort of ended, without anyone admitting defeat and congratulating him for his bravery. ↗

— Dave Eggers

#militarism #war #imagination

Words can be worrisome, poeple complex, motives and manners unclear, grant her the wisdom to choose her path right, free from unkindness and fear. ↗

— Neil Gaiman

#girls #life #life