Flaubert Quote #1
/"It is so easy to chatter about the Beautiful. But it takes more genius to say, in proper style, “close the door,” or “he wanted to sleep,” than to give all the literature courses in the world."
- Gustave Flaubert, Letters
"It is so easy to chatter about the Beautiful. But it takes more genius to say, in proper style, “close the door,” or “he wanted to sleep,” than to give all the literature courses in the world."
- Gustave Flaubert, Letters
"Children ten years old wake up and find themselves here, discover themselves to have been here all along; is this sad? They wake like sleepwalkers, in full stride; they wake like people brought back from cardiac arrest or drowning: in medias res..."-Annie Dillard, An American Childhood
"A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper."
- EB White
"Latimer Springfield was a rather cheerless, oldish young man, who went into politics somewhat in the spirit in which other people might go into half-mourning."
- Saki, "The Lull"
"Before we are citizens, he thought, we are children, and it is as children that we come to understand freedom and authority, liberty and duty."
- Orson Scott Card
Enchanted
"The dew lay heavy and thick upon the grass by the roadside, and over the miles of network that the spiders had woven from blossom to blossom of the heather. The dew is the Sun's breakfast; but he was barely up yet, and had not eaten it, and the world felt anything but warm."
Juliana Horatia Ewing
The Brownies & Other Tales
Upon seeing an evil ancient god:
"I don't know how to describe it -- it's like the devil, only I always pictures the devil as nicer."
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 67
I learned a new word from Daniel Pinkwater's The Neddiad:
"Melanistic" - adj. referring to animals that have an unusual amount of melanin in the skin tissue, making them darker than normal
"The first thing I saw was an African lion, about one foot from my nose. I jumped ... It only took a second to realize that it was stuffed and not alive -- but you can go through quite a number of emotion in one second. The emotion I settled on was that it was an extremely neat thing."
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 34
"Of course, I had already had a rundown on the members of my class from my friend Seamus. No bullies, no snitches, no crybabies, no showoffs -- a pretty good bunch, he thought."
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 30
"If I had to sum up my first impression of Los Angeles in a few words, I would say it's a perfect combination of glamorous and crummy."
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 22
Start of a chapter after the hero steps on a plane for the first time:
"I love flying! I love flying! I love flying!"
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 16
"Billy the Phantom Bellboy said this was the best thing that had ever happened to him in his whole death."
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 14
Seeing the Grand Canyon:
"He kept thinking it was some fantastic big painting, or a movie set. There was a little building put up by the park service, with a model of the Grand Canyon made out of plaster and painted to look real ... in some strange way, looking at the model was more comfortable than looking at the actual thing. After looking at the model for a while, we went outside and found we were able to deal with the real canyon a little better."
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 14
"Up to now, all my adventures had been either small or completely imaginary."
Daniel Pinkwater
The Neddiad ch. 1
"At the age of thirty-nine, Ken Kiang had done it all. There was nothing worth owning that he hadn't collected, nothing worth doing that he hadn't done. He had drunk life to the full, but discovered to his dismay that no one was going to refill his cup."
James Kennedy
The Order of the Odd Fish ch. 5
"thirteen years of working with a man who has philosophical debates with his digestion! Often I'll be talking with him and then I realize he isn't responding to me at all, but chattering away with his precious intestines."
James Kennedy
The Order of the Odd Fish ch. 2
"He was tallish, elderly and dressed in a single long gray robe. When he turned, his face was thin and distinguished, careworn but not unkind, the sort of fact you would happily bank with."
- Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ch. 22
"He never appeared to have a reason for anything he did at all: he had turned inscrutability into an art form."
- Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ch. 14
The Website of Jonathan Auxier
COMING SPRING 2025!
The long-awaited conclusion to the VANISHED KINGDOM series!
The War of the Maps is a breathtaking fantasy in the vein of His Dark Materials and The Last Battle that dares to give new answers to age-old questions—inviting readers of all ages to sail beyond the edges of the map into a world of magic, myth, and boundless adventure.
Since time before time, two opposing forces have been locked in an endless battle: It is the war between magic and reason—between what if and what is. And the victor will not just shape the future but the very nature of reality.
Available for preorder now!
The heart-racing second book in the VANISHED KINGDOM series. It’s been two years since Peter Nimble and Sir Tode rescued the kingdom of HazelPort. In that time, they have traveled far and wide in search of adventure. Now they have been summoned by Professor Cake for a new mission: To find a twelve-year-old bookmender named Sophie Quire. Sophie knows little beyond the four walls of her father’s bookshop, where she repairs old books and dreams of escaping the confines of her dull life. But when a strange boy and his talking cat/horse companion show up with a rare and mysterious book, she finds herself pulled into an adventure beyond anything she has ever read.
You can learn more and read some starred reviews here … or check out the first few chapters for free!
The first thrilling book in the acclaimed VANISHED KINGDOM series. The epic journey of a small, blind orphan ... who also happens to be the greatest thief who ever lived!
Peter Nimble was an ABA New Voices pick, an Indie Next List Selection, and Bookpage magazine Best Book of the year! It won the Paterson Poetry Prize, The Diamond Willow Award, and an MYRCA Honor. It was shortlisted for: the Monica Hughes Award, the Sequoyah Award, Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, The Blue Hen Literary Award, and the Canadian Children’s Book Award.
Visit PeterNimble.com for games and more info. Read the first chapter for free! Or read some reviews here. Or watch the book trailer!
It's been five years since the Sweep disappeared. Orphaned and alone, Nan Sparrow had no other choice but to work for a ruthless chimney sweep named Wilkie Crudd. She spends her days sweeping out chimneys. The job is dangerous and thankless, but with her wits and will, Nan has managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again. When Nan gets stuck in a chimney fire, she fears the end has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself unharmed in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature—a golem—made from soot and ash.
Sweep is the story of a girl and her monster. Together, these two outcasts carve out a new life—saving each other in the process. Sweep received six starred reviews and was the winner of the Governor General’s Award and the Sydney Taylor Book Award.
Welcome to the Fabled Stables, a magical building filled with one-of-a-kind creatures. Creatures including the Gargantula, the Yawning Abyss, the Hippopotamouse . . . and Auggie. Auggie is the only human boy at the Stables, and he takes care of all the other animals. The Fabled Stables have a mind of their own, and every so often, the building SHAKES and SHUDDERS, TWITCHES and SPUTTERS—it’s making room for a new arrival! It’s Auggie’s job to venture out and rescue a new creature from mortal danger. But will he be able to complete his mission before it’s too late? With some help from Fen (a literal stick-in-the-mud) and his animal companions, Auggie saves the day and makes a new friend in the process.
A thrilling, silly new series packed full of stunning full color illustrations by Olga Demidova. The Fabled Stables received STARRED reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly and was named by Amazon as a Best Book of 2020. Available at your awesome local indie!
A chilling ghost story about two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. More than just a spooky tale, it’s also a moral fable about human greed and the power of storytelling.
The Night Gardener is a New York Times bestseller, a Junior Library Guild Selection, Amazon “Best Book” for May 2014, and an ABA “Indie Next” pick. It received five starred reviews and won the ILA Book Award! You can read more reviews here.
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