Believe In the World

“This small, slender volume slips easily into a Christmas stocking or pocketbook, but it’s packed with inspiring, endearing quotes from children’s books past and present that offer guidance and hope for living in the world today.”–NJ Monthly, 2024 Gift Guide“Gash and Howard’s collaboration reframes the themes of children’s literature for older readers. Pulling from the works of contemporary writers such as Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds, and classic authors such as Beverly Cleary, this collection showcases how the edifying power of children’s literature continues well into adulthood.”–Publishers Weekly“Believe in the World lets the voices that have been calling out to us since childhood be heard–voices that have been largely drowned out in our noisy, distracted adult lives. Gash and Howard have given us a way to recall a time in our lives when being human meant aspiring to be kind, finding ways to be brave, showing gratitude, holding community and family close, and seeking friendship above all else. It’s not that we’ve wholly forgotten the lessons from the books of our youth, it’s just that too many of us have stopped listening.”–Nick Higgins, Chief Librarian, Brooklyn Public Library“As a librarian who reads and recommends books to children, so many of those books touch me as powerfully as they touch the kids. This diverse collection is filled with wisdom, whimsy, and joy and will make a lasting impact.”–Heather Grace, TikTok Librarian @thecontouredlibrarianPraise for What the Dormouse Said:

“Charming. By turns touching, funny, scary, nostalgic.” –The New York Times

“By turns humorous, perverse, nonsensical and insightful, the words will jog more than a few memories.” –Publishers Weekly

“A nice little gift book.” –Booklist––

“What a joy it is to read this book! It’s a treasure trove of beautiful, thought-provoking quotations. These pages inspired me to re-read many of my favorite books, and I’ve added dozens of new titles to my to-be-read pile.” –Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Life in Five Senses“I can’t imagine any reader not being inspired by the wisdom from children’s books of the past and present that Gash and Howard have collected. Reading through it not only gave me much to think about (for example In Achingly Alice, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor tells us that “Happiness is wanting what you have.”), but these quotes also brought back so many lovely memories of books that I’d read as a kid or when I worked as a children’s librarian. And Eleanor Davis’s illustrations are a perfect complement to the text.“–Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason

Amy Gash is an executive editor at Algonquin Books, where she acquires and edits narrative nonfiction and fiction for adults. Her first collection of quotations from children’s books was What the Dormouse Said. She lives in New Jersey.

Elise Howard has worked for many years as a publisher and editor of children’s books. She once toured the stacks of the Library of Congress with Beverly Cleary, where they found a mis-shelved copy of Ramona and Her Father. Another time, she drove Kevin Henkes and Peter Sis around in a circle instead of to their book signings. With her husband, Elise divides her time among the children’s literature capitals of New York, Paris, and coastal Maine.