Deborah Hopkinson > Quotes

“The events of the Titanic disaster can be seen as a symbol of what happens through overconfidence in technology, complacence, and a mindset of profits over people's safety.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Titanic: Voices From the Disaster

“At Harvard, so the story goes, one of Carter's professors said that Black people had no history.

Carter remembered his father's pride, his mother's courage, and Oliver's determination to learn. He remembered reading the newspaper.

Carter spoke up. "No people lacked a history," he said. The professor challenged Carter to prove him wrong.

For the rest of his life, Carter did just that.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Carter Reads the Newspaper

“Then how about this: Remember Austin Gollaher, because what we do matters, even if we don't end up in history books.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale

“And what did Maurice buy when he first got paid? A Russian-English dictionary! Maurice bought a novel and began to try to read it. Each time he saw a word he didn't know, he copied it on a piece of paper. After he finished each page, he looked up the words he didn't know in his new dictionary, then read the page again until he could understand it.
Maurice did this, page by page, until he finished the book. It was slow going, but he didn't give up. 'Every day more of the strange sounds took on meaning as words arranged themselves into sentences.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York, 1880-1924

“I love Black Beauty, but it's just a story, of course. What matters is. . . I don't know. . . what you do once the story is inside you.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, A Bandit's Tale: The Muddled Misadventures of a Pickpocket

“But if there's one thing I've found in all my muddled wanderings, it's that we learn from our misfortunes just as much as from the good things that happen to us.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, A Bandit's Tale: The Muddled Misadventures of a Pickpocket

“Esther”
― Deborah Hopkinson, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London

“To make things change, you need a strong heart.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, A Bandit's Tale: The Muddled Misadventures of a Pickpocket

“Almost everyone Charles knew believed God had created the world, in just six days. The first horses and the first birds looked exactly the same at the beginning of creation as horses and birds did in Charles’s time. People weren’t ready to accept that the world,”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Who Was Charles Darwin?

“You may always feel regret over what happened that night, Bertie. But that doesn't mean you can't move on with your life. You were brave tonight," said Warden Ita. "But it takes a different kind of bravery to talk to the ones we love, ask forgiveness, and move on. Sometimes all we can do is take one step at a time.”
― Deborah Hopkinson

“cuppa?”
― Deborah Hopkinson, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London

“But it takes a different kind of bravery to talk to the ones we love, ask forgiveness, and move on. Sometimes all we can do is take one step at a time.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London

“Violette”
― Deborah Hopkinson, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London

“David recalled the reaction of his fellow citizens during those tense days. “ ‘In train, tram or simply in the streets, unknown Danes turned to us and offered their help or gave us money. Once someone gave me a gold ring and once in the train a man took off his coat and asked if I’d take it…. I could not refuse. Many Danes who were not active in the rescue operation felt obliged to do something or other. I remember one day that the tram conductor refused to accept my fare. I threw the money into his bag. When I got off he said to me in all sincerity, “I am ashamed.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark (Scholastic Focus): Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in WWII Denmark

“That's the trouble with lies. Sometimes it's hard to keep them straight.”
― Deborah Hopkinson

“Violette,”
― Deborah Hopkinson, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London

“You'd have to look hard to find Oliver's name in a history book. But in that small mining camp in Fayette County, West Virginia, Oliver did something important: he changed on life, and that life changed many.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Carter Reads the Newspaper

“Nigeria,”
― Deborah Hopkinson, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London

“Charles understood that a finch can’t change the shape of its beak during its lifetime. But, he figured, finches with short, thick beaks that can eat more food have a good chance of surviving long enough to have babies, or offspring, of their own. Their offspring will be part of the next generation of finches. If babies in the next generation inherit thick beaks,”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Who Was Charles Darwin?

“Women help one another survive much in this world”
― Deborah Hopkinson, Fatal Throne

“To learn from the past, understand the present, and change the future,” David said.”
― Deborah Hopkinson, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London