"There is nothing sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform."
— Kate DiCamillo (Despereaux/the Tale Of Despereaux)

"If you have no intention of loving or being loved, the whole journey is pointless."
— Kate DiCamillo

"Love, as we have already discussed, is a powerful, wonderful, ridiculous thing, capable of moving mountains. And spools of thread."
— Kate DiCamillo (Despereaux/the Tale Of Despereaux)

"Despereaux marveled at his own bravery.
He admired his own defiance.
And then, reader, he fainted."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"There are those hearts, reader, that never mend again once they are broken. Or if they do mend, they heal themselves in a crooked and lopsided way, as if sewn together by a careless craftsman. Such was the fate of Chiaroscuro. His heart was broken. Picking up the spoon and placing it on his head, speaking of revenge, these things helped him to put his heart together again. But it was, alas, put together wrong."
— Kate DiCamillo (Despereaux/the Tale Of Despereaux)

"My favorite six letter word is
always
because it promises
so much.

My favorite five letter word is
never
because it insists on contradicting
the promise.

My favorite four letter word is
once
because it says it
happened then.

My favorite three letter word is
yes
because I’m just now learning
to say it
to my heart.

My favorite two letter word is
if
because it makes
all things possible
like this:

If not always
If not never
Then once.

Yes."
— Kate DiCamillo

"The world is dark, and light is precious.
Come closer, dear reader.
You must trust me.
I am telling you a story."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"You can't always judge people by the things they done. You got to judge them by what they are doing now."
— Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie)

""Once there was a princess who was very beautiful. She shone bright as the stars on a moonless night. But what difference did it make that she was beautiful? None. No difference."
"Why did it make no difference?" asked Abilene.
"Because," said Pellegrina, "She was a princess who loved no one and cared nothing for love, even though there were many who loved her.""
— Kate DiCamillo (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane)

"This is the danger of loving: No matter how powerful you are, no matter how many kingdoms you rule, you cannot stop those you love from dying."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"That is surely the truth, at least for now. But perhaps you have not noticed: the truth is forever changing.”"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Magician's Elephant)

"He was weeping. Although 'weeping' really is to small a word for the activity the kind had undertaken. Tears were cascading from his eyes. A small puddle had formed at his feet. I am not exaggerating. The king, it seemed, was intent on crying himself a river."
— Kate DiCamillo

"At the thought of being eaten by rats, Despereaux forgot about being brave. He forgot about not being a disappointment. He felt himself heading into another faint. But his mother, who had an excellent sense of dramatic timing, beat him to it; she executed a beautiful, flawless swoon, landing right at Despereaux's feet."
— Kate DiCamillo (Despereaux/the Tale Of Despereaux)

"Open your heart. Someone will come. Someone will come for you. But first you must open your heart. (Old Doll)
"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane)

"“Farewell” is not the word that you would like to hear from your mother as you are being led to the dungeon by 2 oversize mice in black hoods.
Words that you would like to hear are “Take me instead, I will go to the dungeon in my sons place.” There is a great deal of comfort in those words."
— Kate DiCamillo (Despereaux/the Tale Of Despereaux)

"“READING SHOULD NOT BE PRESENTED TO CHILDREN AS A CHORE OR A DUTY. IT SHOULD BE OFFERED TO THEM AS A PRECIOUS GIFT." "
— Kate DiCamillo

"He was reading from the beginning so that he could get to the end, where the reader was assured that the knight and the fair maiden lived together happily ever after."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"At least Lester had the decency to weep at his act of perfidy. Reader, do you know what 'perfidy' means? I have a feeling you do, based on the scene that unfolded here. But you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Pea was aware suddenly of how fragile her heart was, how much darkness was inside it, fighting, always, with the light. She did not like the rat. She would neverlike the rat, but she knew what she must do to save her own heart."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"We appreciate the complicated and wonderful gifts you give us in each other. And we appreciate the task you put down before us, of loving each other the best we can, even as you love us."
— Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie)

"Reader, do you think it is a terrible thing to hope when there is really no reason to hope at all? Or is it (as the soldier said about happiness) something that you might just as well do, since,in the end, it really makes no difference to anyone but you?"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"And so he was reading the story as if it were a spell and the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Tapi, anak-anak, tak ada penghiburan dalam kata 'selamat tinggal', bahkan jika kau mengatakannya dalam bahasa Prancis. 'Selamat tinggal' adalah kata-kata yang, dalam bahasa apa pu, penuh penderitaan. Itu kata-kata yang tak menjanjikan apa-apa."
— Kate DiCamillo

"Allow me to congratulate you on your very astute powers of observation."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

""Once upon a time," he said out loud to the darkness. He said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him.""
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"There ain't no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it."
— Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie)

"Love is ridiculous. But love is also wonderful. And powerful. And Despereaux's love for the Princess Pea would prove, in time, to be all of these things: powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"I honor you!"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

""There ain't a body, be it mouse or man, that ain't made better by a little soup.""
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Hands down, the biggest thrill is to get a letter from a kid saying, I loved your book. Will you write me another one? "
— Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie)

"It is important that you say what you mean to say. Time is too short. You must speak the words that matter."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Magician's Elephant)

"Reader, you may ask this queston. In fact, you must ask this question. Is it ridiculous for a very small, sickly, big-eared mouse fall in love with a beautiful princess named Pea? The answer is..

Yes. Of course it's ridiculous.
Love is ridiculous.
But love is also wonderful. And powerful."
— Kate DiCamillo

"I have a deep gratitude that Ida B exists."
— Kate DiCamillo

"The world is dark, and light is precious.
Come closer, dear reader.
You must trust me.
I am telling you a story.
"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

""Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.""
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Everything, as you well know . . . cannot always be sweetness and light."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Cerita seperti Cahaya"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Are you a man or a mouse?"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

""Once upon a time," he said out loud to the darkness. He said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Magic is always impossible.... It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in between. That is why its magic."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Magician's Elephant)

"We must ask ourselves these questions as often as we dare. How will the world change if we do not question it?"
— Kate DiCamillo (The Magician's Elephant)

"I will be brave, thought Despereaux. I will try to be brave like a knight in shining armour. I will be brave for the Princess Pea."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Despereaux turned. He looked up and into the Head Mouse's eyes. They were dark eyes, deep and sad and frightened. And as Despereaux looked into them, his heart thudded once, twice."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"And now you have a small map of the princess's heart (hatred, sorrow, kindness, empathy), the heart that she carried down inside her as she went down the golden stairs and through the kitchen and, finally, just as the sky outside the castle began to lighten, down into the dark dungeon with the rat and the serving girl."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"Despereaux looked at his father, at his grey-streaked fur and trembling whiskers and his front paws clasped together in front of his heart, and he felt suddenly as if his own heart would break in two. His father looked so small, so sad.
"Forgive me," said Lester agin.
Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love - a powerful, wonderful thing.
And a ridiculous thing, too.
Isn't it ridiculous, after all, to think that a son could forgive his father for beating the drum that sent him to his death? Isn't it ridiculous to think that a mouse ever could forgive anyone for such perfidy?
But still, here are the words Despereaux Tilling spoke to his father. He said, "I forgive you, Pa."
And he said those words because he sensed it was the only way to save his own heart, to stop it from breaking in two. Despereaux, reader, spoke those words to save himself."
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

""Magic is always impossible," said the magician. "It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in between. That is why it is magic.""
— Kate DiCamillo (The Magician's Elephant)

"And he discovered, finally, the source of the honey-sweet sound.
The sound was music.
The sound was King Phillip playing his guitar and singing for his daughter, the Princess Pea, every night before she fell asleep.
Hidden in a hole in the wall of the princess's bedroom, the mouse listened with all his heart. The sound of the King's music made Despereaux's soul grow large and light inside of him.
"Oh," he said, "it sounds like heaven. It smells like honey.""
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread)

"This is the best book i've ever read."
— Kate DiCamillo