What the Dormouse Said: Wit and Wisdom from Children’s Books, Part II

It’s time for our second round of quotes from Amy Gash’s wonderful compilation What the Doomouse Said: Lessons for Grown-ups from Children’s Books. We’ll post a few of our very favorite quotes throughout November and December. What the Dormouse Said draws quotes from the classics of children’s literature as well as from lesser-known gems. They range from practical advice (“Never contradict a hungry tiger”) to profound ruminations. For the first installment in this series, click here.

“If you cannot be satisfied with what you have, you must learn to be satisfied with what you haven’t.”

– Further Tales of Mr. Pengachoosa, Caroline Rush, 1967

“About what’s wrong with grown-ups … is that they think they know all the answers.”

– The Changeling, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1970

“Animals belong to the earth. That grace of God we pray for in church–that must be what the animals have already.”

– Dobry, Monica Shannon, 1934.

“One doesn’t contradict a hungry tiger.”

– My Father’s Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett, 1948

“Poetry and Hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you. All you can do is go where they can find you.”

–The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne, 1928

“DO NOT CATAPULT THE CARROTS!

DO NOT JUGGLE GOBS OF FAT!

DO NOT DROP THE MASHED POTATOES

ON THE GERBIL OR THE CAT!”

– “My Mother Says I’m Sickening”, The New Kid on the Block, Jack Prelutsky, 1984

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Tags: A.A. Milne, Amy Gash, Caroline Rush, Dobry, Further Tales of Mr. Pengachoosa, Jack Prelutsky, Monica Shannon, My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett, The Changeling, The House at Pooh Corner, The New Kid on the Block, What the Dormouse Said, Zilpha Keatley Snyder