"It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward."
— Louis Sachar

"What amazes me is that most days feel useless. I don't seem to accomplish anything-just a few pages, most of which don't seem very good. Yet, when I put all those wasted days together, I somehow end up with a book of which I'm very proud."
— Louis Sachar

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Nothing in life is easy. But that's no reason to give up. You'll be surprised what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it.After all, you only have one life, so you should try to make the most of it."
— Louis Sachar (Holes)

"You need a reason to be sad. You don't need a reason to be happy."
— Louis Sachar (Sideways Stories from Wayside School)

"If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs,/ "The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies."/ While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,/ Crying to the moo-oo-oon,/ If only, If only."
— Louis Sachar (Holes)

"But I'm taking small steps
'Cause I don't know where I'm going
I'm taking small steps
And I don't know what to say.
Small steps,
Trying to pull myself together
And maybe I'll discover
A clue along the way!"
— Louis Sachar (Small Steps)

""Rattlesnakes would be a lot more dangerous if they didn't have the rattle.""
— Louis Sachar (Holes)

"You can't let anybody else tell you what your choices are. Sometimes they won't give you the right choice."
— Louis Sachar (Stanley Yelnats Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake)

"But don't forget who you really are. And I'm not talking about your so-called real name. All names are made up by someone else, even the one your parents gave you. You know who you really are. When you're alone at night, looking up at the stars, or maybe lying in your bed in total darkness, you know that nameless person inside you...Your muscles will toughen. So will your heart and soul. That's necessary for survival. But don't lose touch with that person deep inside you, or else you won't really have survived at all."
— Louis Sachar (Stanley Yelnats Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake)

""Give me a dollar or I'll spit on you.""
— Louis Sachar

"It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather!"
— Louis Sachar (Holes)

"If only, if only, the moon speaks no reply;
Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by.
Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly.
Fly high, my baby bird,
My angel, my only"
— Louis Sachar (Holes)

""It was all because of his no good dirty rotten pig stealing great great grandfather."Thats was the phrase that Stanley because of his bad luck."
— Louis Sachar (Holes)

""The bark on the tree was just a little softer.""
— Louis Sachar (Holes)

""You don't have to teach me to write," said Zero. "Just to read. I don't have anybody to write to."
"Sorry," Stanley said again.
His muscles and hands weren't the only parts of his body that had toughened over the past several weeks. His heart had hardened as well.""
— Louis Sachar