Quotes from Deborah Wiles

I am always telling students that a story is not just words. You can tell a story with dance or paint or music. Kids and adults are visual learners, auditory learners. There are those of us who need to touch it. Storytelling encompasses so much more than words on paper.

Telling stories with visuals is an ancient art. We've been drawing pictures on cave walls for centuries. It's like what they say about the perfect picture book. The art and the text stand alone, but together, they create something even better. Kids who need to can grab onto those graphic elements and find their way into the story.

Baseball is an art! A drama! A ballet without music! Let us give it a Greek chorus!

The secret to not being afraid is to understand what scares you

There are always scary things happening in the world. There are always wonderful things happening. And it's up to you to decide how you're going to approach the world...how you're going to live in it, and what you're going to do." —Jo Ellen Chapman

This is how it works. Everything is connected. Every choice matters. Every person is vital, and valuable, and worthy of respect.

Life does go on.

I feel sorry for anybody who would let hate wrap them up. Ain't no such thing as I can hate anybody and hope to see God's face. —Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer

Never talk back to a teacher. Teachers are like God. Actually, teachers are God's boss.

A hero can be afraid, but a hero never runs away.

You served," said Mama quietly. "You did what needed to be done. That's what it means, Comfort. You did the right thing even when, somewhere deep inside you, you didn't want to. Because you knew, somewhere even deeper, that it was the right thing to do. And...by doing the right thing, you saved yourself as well.

I like to pic-a-nic more than a bee likes to bumble.

Good garden of peas!

it takes courage to look life in the eye and say yes to the messy glory

Sometimes you just need a book near you and you can't explain why.

Life is full of surprises, but the biggest one of all is learning what it takes to handle them.

There are all kinds of ways to be in the world. And no matter what has happened to us, or what we have been told, or what we have believed, we get to choose our way.

Uncle Edisto always said, "Every ending is a new beginning.

Sometimes it's best to do what feels safe, and sometimes it's better to do what you know is right, even though the cost may be high.

A real friend sees past the trouble and into your heart

You're human, and sometimes the vagaries of life are just too delicious to ignore.

Open your arms to life! Let it strut into your heart in all its messy glory!

The symphony true,' said Finesse. 'I think it's what's left when all the noise stops, when you get quiet and listen for your own true heart.

When the State silences freedom of assembly and freedom to dissent, it silences the people it is sworn to protect.