Dennis

“I knew that I had reached the end of childhood once I realized that adults in my life didn't know anymore than I did.”
― Matthew Quick, Every Exquisite Thing

“Forget solar energy—if you could harness denial, it would power the world for generations.”
― Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep

“Still. Four words.

And I didn’t realize it until a couple of days ago, when someone wrote in to my blog:

Dear Neil,

If you could choose a quote - either by you or another author - to be inscribed on the wall of a public library children’s area, what would it be?

Thanks!

Lynn

I pondered a bit. I’d said a lot about books and kids’ reading over the years, and other people had said things pithier and wiser than I ever could. And then it hit me, and this is what I wrote:

I’m not sure I’d put a quote up, if it was me, and I had a library wall to deface. I think I’d just remind people of the power of stories, and why they exist in the first place. I’d put up the four words that anyone telling a story wants to hear. The ones that show that it’s working, and that pages will be turned:

“… and then w”
― Neil Gaiman, Stories: All-New Tales

“The world is full of assholes. What are you doing to make sure you're not one of them?”
― A.S. King, Everybody Sees the Ants