Kids often ask me if characters are real or made up - and I always tell them, 'I hope they're real but I made them up.' Katherine Paterson More Quotes by Katherine Paterson More Quotes From Katherine Paterson The name we give to something shapes our attitude toward it. Katherine Paterson positivitynamesattitude It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Katherine Paterson readinggivingchildren We are trying to communicate that which lies in our deepest heart, which has no words, which can only be hinted at through the means of a story. Katherine Paterson communicationheartlying To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another. Katherine Paterson cancerfearinspirational Peace is not won by those who fiercely guard their differences, but by those who with open minds and hearts seek out connections. Katherine Paterson suicidalheartthinking As much pleasure as young people get from Twittering and texting, there is no way these activities will nourish their minds and spirits the way literature can. Katherine Paterson literaturemindpeople Reading can be a road to freedom or a key to a secret garden, which, if tended, will transform all of life. Katherine Paterson gardenkeysreading A good story is alive, ever changing and growing as it meets each listener or reader in a spirited and unique encounter, while the moralistic tale is not only dead on arrival, it's already been embalmed. It's safer that way. When a lively story goes dancing out to meet the imagination of a child, the teller loses control over meaning. The child gets to decide what the story means. Katherine Paterson uniquemeanchildren Thus, in a real sense, I am constantly writing autobiography, but I have to turn it into fiction in order to give it credibility. Katherine Paterson realwritingorder My writing comes from ideas that make a sound in my heart. Katherine Paterson heartwritingideas I love revision. Where else can spilled milk be turned into ice cream? Katherine Paterson revisionmilkice-cream ...those of us who write for children are called, not to do something to a child, but be someone for a child. Katherine Paterson childrens-literaturewritingchildren It is always sad to write about prejudice, but sometimes when we see it being played out in the lives of fictional characters, we can recognize it in our own lives. Katherine Paterson prejudicewritingcharacter Children have to have access to books, and a lot of children can't go to a store and buy a book. We need not only our public libraries to be funded properly and staffed properly, but our school libraries. Many children can't get to a public library, and the only library they have is a school library. Katherine Paterson bookchildrenschool As I look back on what I have written, I can see that the very persons who have taken away my time are those who have given me something to say. Katherine Paterson takenwritinglooks When my husband died, people kept telling me not to cry. People kept trying to help me to forget. But I didn't want to forget. [...] So I realize, that if it's hard for me, how much harder it must be for you. Katherine Paterson husbandtryingpeople ...the long train ride was like traveling through limbo. You weren't anywhere when you were on a train, she decided. You weren't where you had been, and you weren't yet where you were going. You were nowhere. It might be beautiful outside the window-and it was, she had sense enough to realize that-but it wasn't anywhere to her, just a scene passing by that was framed by the train window. (p160) Katherine Paterson passing-bybeautifullong Hope ... is not a feeling; it is something you do. Katherine Paterson hopefulfeelingsinspirational A library is a feast to which we are all invited. Katherine Paterson invitedlibrary I do know that I need solitude, not only to write but to nourish myself (being, like most writers, an introvert) so that I do keep trying to write. Katherine Paterson solitudewritingtrying
