Jeanne Birdsall > Quotes

“...even a tiny bit of deceit is dishonorable when it's used for selfish or cowardly reasons.

- Mr. Penderwick”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“Jane,' she said, climbing down from the chair. 'Remember last year when I built that model wind tower for you and you wrote those poems for me?'

And you said you'd never switch homework assignments with me again.'

For good reason. My teacher had a hard time believing I wrote Tra-la the joy of tulips blooming, Ha-ha the thrill of bumblebees zooming. I'm alive and I dance, I'm alive though death is always looming. When I finally convinced her that I had, she asked me if I needed to talk to the school counselor.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“And I don't know if Batty's gotten over it yet,' said Skye.

Mr. Penderwick looked out the window to where Batty was playing vampires with Hound. Hound was on his back, trying to wiggle out of the black towel Batty had tied around his neck. Batty was leaping over Hound's water bowl, shrieking, 'Blood, blood!'

'She looks all right,' he said.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“People sometimes make unexpected choices when they're lonely”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Don't kill her now, just when we've gone to all that trouble to rescue her," said Jeffrey.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“The referee told me this league has never had a brawl of that magnitude," said Mr. Penderwick after a long, painful silence. "Of course, at the time I was pretending to be a casual passerby and not a father at all.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“The cuter the boy, the mushier your brain.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“This is what made a book great, she thought, that you could read it over and over and never get tired of it.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Am I odd? Is there something wrong with me, like Mrs. Tifton said?"

Skye knelt down on the wet grass and looked straight into Batty's eyes. "No you stupid idiot, there's nothing wrong with you.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“I've been going insane reading my students' papers. Apparently several of them think the Hubble Space Telescope is used to search the universe for hubbles."
~ Ithana Aaronson”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“[The kitchen] was also messy--delightfully so, thought Jane--and it didn't look as though lots of cooking went on there. There was a laptop computer on the counter with duck stickers on it, the spice cabinet was full of Ben's toy trucks, and Jane couldn't spot a cookbook anywhere. This is the kitchen of a Thinker, she decided, and promised herself that she'd never bother with cooking, either.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“Parents almost always want what's best for their children. They just don't always know what that is.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Endings are sad, aren't they?"
"Yes.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“It was all a cottage is supposed to be, small and snug, with a front porch, pink climbing roses, and lots of trees for shade.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Skye, no one except you believes in the possibility of Batty blowing up.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks Collection: The Penderwicks / The Penderwicks on Gardam Street / The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

“quidquid agas prudenter agas et respice finem...Skye was used to hearing this phrase, which Mr. Penderwick translated loosely as look before you leap and please don't do anything crazy.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“The moonlight had turned the gardens into a fairyland, magnificent and mysterious.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Skye's always saying exactly the wrong thing to people-it wasn't just special for you.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“No, you stupid idiot, there's nothing wrong with you. You're perfect.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“If there could be anything worse than having a parent die, it would be having a parent who never bothered to meet you.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“What rhymes with smile?” “Bile, as in Your smile makes me want to throw up.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks Collection: The Penderwicks / The Penderwicks on Gardam Street / The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

“The sky was a rich cloudless blue, the air still and dry, the maple trees glowing with glorious reds and oranges and yellows, and everywhere on Gardam Street squirrels bustled about with self-importance, burying their nuts in the most unlikely places.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“You have a rare and marvelous gift with words.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Not everyone is fodder for books,' said Rosalind.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks in Spring

“She had to defend the people she loved the best.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Some secrets buried away in boxes are peacefully forgotten, just as we hope they'll be. But some refuse to stay in their boxes, popping out at the worst possible times. And then there are those...that linger and fester, gnawing away from the inside out.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks in Spring

“Why does everybody think I argue? I never argue." Skye hesitated. "Or at least, I'm not going to argue as much anymore."
"That would be a miracle."
Skye chose to pretend she hadn't heard.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“It's not right to shoot someone because they're not intelligent.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“She knew that hearing bad things about yourself is one of the punishments for eavesdropping.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“Woof,” he said sadly. “Poor Hound,” said Batty. “Poor Hound, indeed.” Mr. Penderwick was not sympathetic. “Even he should know not to eat towels.”
― Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks Collection: The Penderwicks / The Penderwicks on Gardam Street / The Penderwicks at Point Mouette