Kate DiCamillo

"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."

"It is a bad thing to have love and nowhere to put it."

"Despereaux did not know it, but he would need, very soon, to be brave himself."

"When you are a king, you may make as many ridiculous laws as you like. That is what being a king is all about."

"That was the thing about tragedy. It was just sitting there, keeping you company, waiting. And you had absolutely no idea."

"Say it, reader. Say the word "quest" out loud. It is an extraordinary word, isn't it? So small and yet so full of wonder, so full of hope.so trthen despererux died i n heaven and in peace"

"Reader, nothing is sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name. Nothing."

"If the rat had not looked over his shoulder, perhaps his heart would not have broken. And it is possible, then, that I would not have a story to tell. But, reader, he did look."