“We sat under the orange trees,
whose branches bowed with offering,
globes of sun dangling like promises,
wax-skinned and fragrant,
dripping light through their leaves
in dapples that flickered like fireflies.”
Source: Time With Trees: 1995–2025, A Collected Work
“Real friends knew where to draw the line between laughing with you instead of at you.”
Source: Falling Off the Face of the Earth
“One thing I’ve learned is that everybody, even the people you like best in the world, have faults, or do things that bug you. If you want to remain friends with those people, then you choose to overlook their faults.”
Source: Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation
“I have dozens of loyal fans! Baker's dozens! …they come in thirteens.”
“Friendship is a priceless gift
That cannot be bought nor sold,
But its value is far greater
Than a mountain made of gold.
For gold is cold & lifeless -
It can neither see nor hear,
In time of trouble its powerless to cheer -
It has no ears to listen, no heart to understand,
It cannot bring you comfort
Or reach out a helping hand.
So when you ask God for a gift,
Be thankful if he sends
Not diamonds, pearls or riches
But the love of real true friends”
“You can’t save someone who thinks your kindness is a trap.”
Source: Where The Cicada Sleeps: A Diary-Style Portrait of Girlhood, Betrayal, and the Quiet Violence of Being Misunderstood
“It wasn’t heartbreak. It wasn’t betrayal. It was the slow death of something that could’ve mattered, if the world hadn’t gotten to him first.”
Source: Where The Cicada Sleeps: A Diary-Style Portrait of Girlhood, Betrayal, and the Quiet Violence of Being Misunderstood
“True friends are those rare souls who see the real you, stay when the world walks away, and remind you of your strength when you forget it yourself.”
Source: Tales of Habib the Hoaxter: Sometimes Hoaxed, Always Good for a Laugh
“Our meeting had that quality of sweetness that lingers, that lasts for a lifetime; even if you never speak to the person again, see their face, you can always return in your heart to that moment when you were together to be renewed...”
Source: Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
“Stories for children are blueprints for emotional strength. I write to help them build soft hearts with strong roots”
Source: Princess and Bosbo's Butterfly Adventure