896 Quotes by Catherynne M. Valente

And that is the last lesson of childhood: You spend all your years fighting against the injustice of big folk and their big rules until you are ready to rule yourself.

And that’s how you begin to win over a child. People who share a secret share a heart.

Of all the Fairy strangeness she had known, this seemed suddenly both the strangest and least strange of all. How she would have liked to be looked after like that, cared for and watched over. And yet at the same time, she understood the Whelk, and wished she could grow big enough to hold on to everyone she loved at once. To keep them safe and with her always and know their secret needs well enough to answer them.

September suddenly realized something. "But Ell, Orrery begins with O! How can you know so much about it?"The Wyverary soared high, his neck stretching into a long red ribbon, full of words and pies and relief and flying."I'm growing up!" he cried.

Are you kind enough, on your little planet, not to shut that rhythm down? Not to crush underfoot the singers of songs and tellers of tales and wearers of silk? Because it's monsters who do that. Who extinguish art. Who burn books. Who ban music. Who yell at anyone with ears to turn off that racket. Who cannot see outside themselves clearly enough to sing their truth to the heavens. Do you have enough goodness in your world to let the music play?Do you have soul?

Ivan said, If only we could eat violin music.

It's hard, dusty work, but Papo always says if you don't ride the present like the devil it'll get right away from you because it's a feral little creature with a terrible personality and no natural predators.

The storm ate up September’s cry of despair, delighted at its mischief, as all storms are.

It's Latin, which is an excellent language for mischief-making, which is why governments are so fond of it.