The Tale of Despereaux came at the request of Luke, my friend's then-eight-year-old son, who asked, "Write for me the story of an unlikely hero with exceptionally large ears." Kate DiCamillo More Quotes by Kate DiCamillo More Quotes From Kate DiCamillo There ain't no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it. Kate DiCamillo moving-on leaving letting-go When we read together, we connect. Together, we see the world. Together, we see one another. Kate DiCamillo together world Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift. Kate DiCamillo literacy reading children The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane began with a friend giving me a rabbit doll - forgive me, Edward, for using that word; he doesn't like "doll" - for Christmas. I said, "Oh, he's lovely, what's his name?" And she said, "Edward." And a few days after I received the rabbit, who was dressed very handsomely in Edwardian kind of clothes, I saw him stripped of his finery and face down on the bottom of the ocean floor. Why? I don't know. But that's where his story began in my head. Kate DiCamillo ocean journey names It is truly excellent to have someone believe in you and your ability to write. But I think it is just as helpful to have people who don't believe in you, people who mock you, people who doubt you, people who enrage you. Fortunately, there is never a shortage of this type of person in the world ... write for yourself. Write for the story. And write, also, for all of the people who doubt you. Write for all those people who are not brave enough to do this grand and wondrous thing themselves. Let them motivate you. Kate DiCamillo writing believe thinking My favorite six letter word is always because it promises so much. My favorite five letter word is never because it insists on contradicting the promise. My favorite four letter word is once because it says it happened then. My favorite three letter word is yes because I’m just now learning to say it to my heart. My favorite two letter word is if because it makes all things possible like this: If not always If not never Then once. Yes. Kate DiCamillo heart two promise I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everybody involved. Kate DiCamillo reading profound people The words, "I have a dog named Winn-Dixie," popped into my head in the voice of a small girl with a southern accent. I'd been writing long enough at that point to know not to ignore that kind of red flag. The next day, I put aside what I'd been working on, started with that one sentence, and followed it all the way to the end. Kate DiCamillo girl dog writing There is nothing sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name. Kate DiCamillo sadness names sound It is important that you say what you mean to say. Time is too short. You must speak the words that matter. Kate DiCamillo important matter mean The undoing is almost always more difficult than the doing. Kate DiCamillo undoing difficult On the return flight from my mother in Florida , I sat next to a businessman who asked me what I did for a living. I said, "I write," and it seemed totally ridiculous in the face of what had just happened. I mean, I couldn't think of anything more pointless than telling stories. He asked, "What do you write?" I said, "I write children books." Kate DiCamillo mother book children Each new friendship can make you a new person, because it opens up new doors inside of you. Kate DiCamillo new-friends new-friendship doors ... every time you look at the world and the people in it closely, lovingly, imaginatively, it changes you. The world, under the microscope of your attention, opens up like a beautiful, strange flower and gives itself back to you in ways you could never imagine. Kate DiCamillo flower beautiful people You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope. You must wonder who will love you, whom you will love next. Kate DiCamillo next wonder love-you Mercy Watson is a pig. She lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson, who are not pigs. I had that basic premise, but I couldn't make it work. I would come back to it, try it, see that I was failing, and put it aside. Kate DiCamillo failing pigs trying So many miracles have not yet happened. Kate DiCamillo happened miracle There ain't a body, be it mouse or man, that ain't made better by a little soup. Kate DiCamillo soup body men The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story. Kate DiCamillo light stories dark Nothing new ever happens in the books. It's the same old theme. Kate DiCamillo theme happens book
