Jean Craighead George Quotes & Sayings

There are always the kids who just love animals. Unfortunately, though, people have become afraid of the outdoors. — Jean Craighead George

The dog wags its tail only at living things.
A tail wag, the equivalent of a human smile,
is bestowed upon people, dogs , cats, squirrels,
even mice and butterflies. - but no lifeless
things. A dog won't wag its tail to its dinner
or to a bed, card, stick, or even a bone. — Jean Craighead George

By the time I got to kindergarten, I was surprised to find out I was the only kid with a turkey vulture. — Jean Craighead George

Wolves are brotherly," he said. "They love each other, and if you learn to speak to them, they will love you too. — Jean Craighead George

Most of these wild animals depart in autumn when the sun changes their behavior and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories. — Jean Craighead George

Every day, I get e-mails from kids who want a tree - a world away from the adult world. — Jean Craighead George

I met senators, diplomats and the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. — Jean Craighead George

Oh, those golden-yellow eyes of the wolf! You can feel yourself being pulled in. I knew I had been accepted - and that I had spoken to another species. — Jean Craighead George

I believe that if a child has a feel for writing and wants to write, there is an audience. Children should just dive in and go at it. I would encourage children to write about themselves and things that are happening to them. It is a lot easier and they know the subject better if they use something out of their everyday lives as an inspiration. Read stories, listen to stories, to develop an understanding of what stories are all about. — Jean Craighead George

Charlie Wind once told me we must keep the animals on Earth, for they know everything: how to keep warm, predict the storms, live in darkness or blazing sun, how to navigate the skies, to organize societies, how to make chemicals and fireproof skins. The animals know the Earth as we do not. — Jean Craighead George

I have a perfect life where I read; I go out into the wilderness and camp. I meet scientists and learn about their studies of wild animals, and then I come home ... and start creating the world I have seen. — Jean Craighead George

I hope my books empower kids, and that they learn how to work out their problems themselves. — Jean Craighead George

Cats ... are completely self-sufficient and can leave you at any time and go off and make a living. And yet cats can have warm and loving relationships with humans. — Jean Craighead George

Ask nature questions, and you will get answers. — Jean Craighead George

I love to travel, but when I really want to escape, I read a book. — Jean Craighead George

My writing process is a mix of research, personal experiences, washing the dishes, raising kids while thinking - then writing. — Jean Craighead George

Cat talk is a complicated, self-centered language. If you speak to your cat first, it probably won't speak back. Cats initiate conversations. — Jean Craighead George

I throw back my head, and, feeling free as the wind, breathe in the fresh mountain air. Although I am heavy-hearted, my spirits are rising. To walk in nature is always good medicine. — Jean Craighead George

Fortunately, the sun has a wonderfully glorious habit of rising every morning — Jean Craighead George

Change your ways when fear seizes," he had said, "for it usually means you are doing something wrong. — Jean Craighead George

To be a writer you should read, write and talk to people, hear their knowledge, hear their problems. Be a good listener. The rest will come. — Jean Craighead George

We humans will never know how meadows or mountains smell, but deer and horses and pigs do. Bando sniffs deeply and shakes his head. We were left out when it comes to smelling things, he says. I would love to be able to smell a mountain and follow my nose to it. — Jean Craighead George

I must say this now about that first fire. It was magic. Out of dead tinder and grass and sticks came a live warm light. It cracked and snapped and smoked and filled the woods with brightness. It lighted the trees and made them warm and friendly. It stood tall and bright and held back the night. — Jean Craighead George

Chicken is Good! It tastes like chicken. — Jean Craighead George

Doing interesting things and then writing about them is the best way to become a good writer. — Jean Craighead George

There is something all life has in common, and when I know what it is I shall know myself. — Jean Craighead George

I kept on writing and illustrating, for this is what I did well because I loved it. — Jean Craighead George

A falcon is the perfect hunter. — Jean Craighead George

Never before had I been offered a contract and advance before a word had been written ... I went home and began writing 'Julie of the Wolves.' — Jean Craighead George

Be you writer or reader, it is very pleasant to run away in a book. — Jean Craighead George

I would just watch the animals, and their stories would roll out when I wrote. — Jean Craighead George

Children will often write, 'We love your books because there are no adults in them.' — Jean Craighead George

There the old Eskimo hunters she had known in her childhood thought the riches of life were intelligence, fearlessness, and love. A man with these gifts was rich and was a great spirit who was admired in the same way that the gussaks admired a man with money and goods. — Jean Craighead George

Children are still in love with the wonders of nature, and I am, too. So I write them stories in hopes that they will want to protect all the beautiful creatures and places. — Jean Craighead George

See that falcon? Hear those white-throated sparrows? Smell that skunk? Well, the falcon takes the sky, the white-throated sparrow takes the low bushes, the skunk takes the earth ... I take the woods. — Jean Craighead George

When fear seizes, change what you are doing. You are doing something wrong. — Jean Craighead George

Yes, you are Eskimo," he had said. "And never forget it. We live as no other people can, for we truly understand the earth. — Jean Craighead George

I have discovered I cannot dream up characters as incredible as the ones I meet in the wilderness. — Jean Craighead George

I hope that the message I conveyed in 'Julie of the Wolves' is to tell young people to think things out. Think independently. — Jean Craighead George

I first became aware of the delights of the natural world when my father, an entomologist, presented me with what looked like a twig. When it got up and walked, my delight was such that I wrote a poem, 'To a Walking Stick.' — Jean Craighead George

The scenes and events were beautiful color spots in her memory. — Jean Craighead George