Today’s quote comes to us from Jama Rattigan. I have never ‘met’ Jama. I know her only from the children’s literature blogosphere but I count as a friend because, well, she leads with her heart. When she posts at her blog, you feel like are in her home. When she adds a comment at your blog, you feel like has come to visit and brought flowers and cookies. She is goodness and light and I’m glad to share what quote inspires her as a writer.
“I’m motivated and inspired by many different quotes as specific needs arise, but these two have greatly impacted my writing:
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”Roald Dahl
“I first read Dahl’s books as an adult while teaching in London. I chanced upon them in the children’s department at Foyle’s and they inspired me to try my hand at writing children’s stories. I started paying closer attention to the small details of everyday life and learned to trust my instincts and imagination. But many years down the road, I found myself discouraged and despondent, and almost gave up writing completely, until I read Cynthia Kadohata’s Kira Kira. More than any generic quote about writing, this luminous gem of a story, with its exquisite, spare prose and abiding emotional truth, gave me renewed hope. I had lost sight of what was important, had almost forgotten how powerful words can be.
“My sister had taught me to look at the world that way, as a place that glitters, as a place where the calls of the crickets and the crows and the wind are everyday occurrences that also happen to be magic.”
Cynthia Kadohata (Kira Kira)
Thanks for bringing flowers and cookies.