Quotes from Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Sometimes I wish I could just press a button and be through school and starting my real life,' I told him. 'This is your real life, Al,' he said, 'Don't start living in the future. That's like gulping down a piece of fudge cake and then asking yourself, 'Where'd it go?' You're missing the moment.

You get a dog on your mind, it seems to fill up the whole space. Everything you do reminds you of that dog. When

Why is life so complicated....?' I asked. 'To keep us from being bored,' he said.

His face looked almost as gray as his suit, and the pouches beneath his eyes looked like little bags for holding all the sadness that his head couldn't hold.

Do we have a hand mirror?' I asked from the kitchen doorway. 'Never use one,' said Lester, examining the date on a carton of sour cream. 'Naturally, you're a male. What you see is what you've got,' I said resentfully. 'Huh?' said Lester.

For your information, Lester, there are at least five wonderful parts of the female body that can be viewed by the owner only with a hand mirror.

Between the 6th and 7th grade, something happens to your eyes. they water a lot. I think its so you can get all the watering out of the way before you begin wearing mascara.

I wanted my children and grandchildren to know that no matter when you are born or where you live, happiness and disappointments have the same flavors the world over.

Patrick and I were about as different as two people could possibly be. Nothing embarrasses Patrick very much, and everything embarrasses me. Just being alive embarrasses me.

Last of all, I take the lard bread from my pocket and feed it to Shiloh in little pieces, letting him lick my fingers after every bite. I wrap my arms around him, pat him, run my hands over his ears, even kiss his nose. I tell him about a million times I love him as much as I love my ma. The

Good, because I don't understand anything at all.

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plus a porch that runs along three sides of the house. I told Ma once the Howards had a room just for company, a room just for books, and a room just for plants, and she said that was three rooms too many. First time I ever saw any envy in my ma. David

Happiness is wanting what you have. Being happy with what you've got. Enjoying it, and making it all it could be.

That's the unforgivable sin, you know. What is? Refusing to forgive someone. Refusing to forgive someone is the unforgivable sin? I asked incredulously.

Sistersville, which is halfway between Wheeling and Parkersburg. Used to be, my

The dogs were fighting now, and Judd throws his Pabst can at 'em. "You-all shut up!" he yells. "Hush up!" The can hits the biggest dog, and they all

Still, she felt absolutely sick inside, and as soon as she walked into her classroom, she knew that everyone was looking at her, even the teacher, as though at any moment she might stand up and do something crazy. Wally, in fact, kept leaning forward in his seat as if she might go berserk and take a bite out of his shoulder or something.

Don't know if a dog - or a man, either - ever gets to the place where he can forget as well as forgive, but enough miracles have come my way lately to make me think that this could happen, too.

Karen made a face. Oh, c'mon. I don't think so, I said. Old Play-by-the-Rules McKinley, said Brian, laughing at me. I could hardly stand him. You've got that right, I said, and turned away.

Whatever did girls do without sisters?

Thanks for coming over," Beth said as she opened the door for them. "I mean it." And from behind her, Caroline squeaked, "With you by my side, Elmer, we can do anything!" Everyone grinned, and Wally added, "Annabelle, I never thought I'd amount to much, but when I met you, everything changed!" "Cut it out," said Josh, turning red, but he was smiling too.

The boys want us to think the river's polluted. I heard them talking!" "Those creepy jerks!" cried Caroline. "Those jerky creeps!" said Eddie. "This isn't a joke anymore. This is war!

somebody's mouth without a detour of any kind." She's looking at me when she says it, though. It isn't that I don't like fried rabbit. Like it fine. I just don't want to bite down on buckshot, is all, and I'm checking each piece. "I looked that rabbit over good, Marty, and you won't find any buckshot in that