R.J. Palacio Quotes & Sayings

Daisy was sleeping in heaven right then. And — R.J. Palacio

I don't know if the three of us found each other because we were so alike in so many ways, or that because we found each other, we've become alike in so many ways. — R.J. Palacio

Or maybe it's just that teachers hear everything. When — R.J. Palacio

Are you really going to let a couple of stupid kids keep you from going back to school? I know you've been enjoying it. Don't give them that power over yot. Don't give them the satisfaction. — R.J. Palacio

A fresh start gives us the chance to reflect on the past, weigh the things we've done, and apply what we've learned from those things to the future. — R.J. Palacio

I actually like how doctors talk. I like the sound of science. I like how words you don't understand explain things you can't understand. — R.J. Palacio

It's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed. Why I love that line, that concept, is that it reminds me that we carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.
And what does that mean? How is that measured? You can't use a yardstick. It's like I was saying just before: it's not like measuring how much you've grown in a year. It's not exactly quantifiable, is it? — R.J. Palacio

He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own. — R.J. Palacio

I wasn't even sure why I was getting this medal, really.
No, that's not true. I knew why.
It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. Only, I know that I'm that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium.
To me, though, I'm just me. An ordinary kid.
But hey, if they want to give me a medal for being me, that's okay. I'll take it. I didn't destroy a Death Star or anything like that, but I did just get through the fifth grade. And that's not easy, even if you're not me. — R.J. Palacio

I did notice as I walked that Amos had stayed right next to me. And Jack was close on the other side of me. And Miles was in front of us and Henry was in back of us. They were surrounding me as we walked through the crowds of kids. Like I had my own emperor's guard. — R.J. Palacio

My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me. — R.J. Palacio

Her smile hugged me — R.J. Palacio

And then all of a sudden she let out the biggest, loudest, smelliest fart in the history of farts. Mom — R.J. Palacio

Being nice is the first step toward being kind. It's a pretty awesome start. — R.J. Palacio

Good friendships are worth a little extra effort! — R.J. Palacio

Fate smiled and destiny laughed as she came to my cradle ... - Natalie Merchant, — R.J. Palacio

The truth of the matter is this: there's so much nobility lurking inside your souls. Our job as parents, and educators, and teachers, is to nurture it, to bring it out, and to let it shine. - Mr. Browne — R.J. Palacio

You are a wonder. — R.J. Palacio

Everyone should always have a standing ovation at least once in their life. — R.J. Palacio

We were just not good enough to play by ourselves. — R.J. Palacio

What kind of doctor are you? Get up! Get up! And then all of a sudden she let out the biggest, loudest, smelliest fart in the history of farts. Mom thinks it was actually the fart that finally woke the doctor up. Anyway, — R.J. Palacio

No, no, it's not all random, if it was really random, the universe would abandon us completely, and the universe doesn't. It takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can't see. — R.J. Palacio

I love that feeling when you first open your eyes in the morning and you don't even know why everything seems different than usual. Then it hits you: Everything is quiet. No cars honking. No buses going down the street. Then you run over to the window, and outside everything is covered in white: the sidewalks, the trees, the cars on the street, your windowpanes. And when that happens on a school day and you find out your school is closed, well, I don't care how old I get: I'm always going to think that that's the best feeling in the world. And I'm never going to be one of those grown-ups that use an umbrella when it's snowing - ever. — R.J. Palacio

When it's dark, be the one who turns on the light.
- Joseph, Age 9, Brooklyn, New York, November 29 — R.J. Palacio

Do people look the same when they go to heaven, mommy?"
"I don't know. I don't think so."
"Then how do people recognize each other?"
"I don't know, sweetie. They just feel it. You don't need your eyes to love, right? — R.J. Palacio

The most important precept is to be aware of WHO WE ARE!
"Who we are," he said, underlining each word as he said it. "Who we are! Us! Right? What kind of people are we? What kind of person are you? Isn't that the most important thing of all? Isn't that the kind of question we should be asking ourselves all the time? "What kind of person am I?
Learning who you are is what your are here to do. — R.J. Palacio

AUGUST IS THE Sun. Me and Mom and Dad are planets orbiting the Sun. The rest of our family and friends are asteroids and comets floating around the planets orbiting the Sun. — R.J. Palacio

It looked like someone had taken sidewalk chalk and smudged the colors across the sky with their fingers. — R.J. Palacio

Are they in heaven?" "Yes." "Do people look the same when they get to heaven?" "I don't know. I don't think so." "Then how do people recognize each other?" "I don't know, sweetie." She sounded tired. "They just feel it. You don't need your eyes to love, right? You just feel it inside you. That's how it is in heaven. It's just love, and no one forgets who they love." She — R.J. Palacio

The galaxy is changing. Planets are falling out of alignment. — R.J. Palacio

Guys, time to go to bed. Well, that's when I kind of — R.J. Palacio

JULIAN ALBANS'S PRECEPT Sometimes it's good to start over. - Julian Albans — R.J. Palacio

If every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God. — R.J. Palacio

I opened the box. Inside was the cutest little puppy I've ever seen in my life. It was black and furry, with a pointy little snout and bright black eyes and small ears that flopped down. — R.J. Palacio

Words can't change my face — R.J. Palacio

Your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of stone. — R.J. Palacio

with Julian and Henry and Miles. — R.J. Palacio

Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world. — R.J. Palacio

that I realized that the blind old man who played the accordion on Main Street wasn't there anymore. He was gone. — R.J. Palacio

Some things you just can't explain. You don't even try. You don't know where to start. All your sentences would jumble up like a giant knot if you opened your mouth. Any words you used would come out wrong. — R.J. Palacio

The good thing about life [ ... ] is that we can fix our mistakes sometimes. — R.J. Palacio

Maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. The universe takes care of its birds. — R.J. Palacio

It's so strange how one day you can be on this earth, and the next day not. — R.J. Palacio

It was only then that I realized that poor Ms. Rubin's blouse and skirt were completely covered in my blood. — R.J. Palacio

Olivia reminds me of a bird sometimes, how her feathers get all ruffled when she's mad. and when she's fragile like this, she's a little lost bird looking for its nest. — R.J. Palacio

[ ... ] You'd look up and see a billion stars in the sky. [ ... ] Like someone sprinkled salt on a shiny black table. — R.J. Palacio

She said soft words that I know were meant to help me, but words can't change my face — R.J. Palacio

You can't blend in when you were born to stand out. — R.J. Palacio

The universe was not kind to auggie pullman. what did the little kid ever do to deserve his sentence? what did the parents do? or olivia? she once mentioned that some doctor told her parents that he odds of someone getting the same combination of syndromes that came together to make auggie's face was like one in four million. so doesn't that make the universe a giant lottery, then? you purchase a ticket when you're born. it's all just random whether you get a good ticket or a bad ticket. it's all just luck. — R.J. Palacio

He is the greatest,' " he finally continued, " 'whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own.' Without further ado, this year I am very proud to award the Henry Ward Beecher medal to the student whose quiet strength has carried up the most hearts. "So will August Pullman please come up here to receive this award? — R.J. Palacio

If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers! - Homer Simpson — R.J. Palacio

Via doesn't see me as ordinary. She says she does, but if I were ordinary, she wouldn't feel like she needs to protect me that much. And mom and dad doesn't see me as ordinary, either. They see me as extraordinary. I think the only person in the world who realizes how ordinary I am is me. — R.J. Palacio

There's a word like overprotective to describe some parents, but no word that means the opposite. What word do you use to describe parents who don't protect enough? Underprotective? Neglectful? Self-involved? Lame? All of the above. — R.J. Palacio

But I really believe, and Daddy really believes, that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other. — R.J. Palacio

No, it's okay," I said. "Let's just go — R.J. Palacio

A hamster is basically just a warm potato with fur. — R.J. Palacio

Thank you for making me go to school," I said quietly. She hugged me close and leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "Thank you, Auggie," she answered softly. "For what?" "For everything you've given us," she said. "For coming into our lives. For being you." She bent down and whispered in my ear. "You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder. — R.J. Palacio

So," Mom said. "How did you meet Summer if she wasn't in any of your classes?" "We sat together at lunch," I said. I had started kicking a rock between my feet like it was a soccer ball, chasing it back and forth across the sidewalk. "She seems very nice." "Yeah, she is." "She's very pretty," Mom said. "Yeah, I know," I answered. "We're kind of like Beauty and the Beast." I didn't wait to see Mom's reaction. I just started running down the sidewalk after the rock, which I had kicked as hard as I could in front of me. — R.J. Palacio

Hope is like the Sun. When it's behind the clouds, it's not gone. You just have to find it!
- Matthew, Age 11, Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey, March 21 — R.J. Palacio

My birthday is October 10. I like my birthday: 10/10. It would've been great if I'd been born at exactly 10:10 in the morning or at night, but I wasn't. I was born just after midnight. But I still thinking my birthday is cool. — R.J. Palacio

But the good thing about life is that we can fix our mistakes sometimes. We learn from them. We get better. — R.J. Palacio

Time make everything easier to bear. — R.J. Palacio

Don't judge a boy by its cover! — R.J. Palacio

Teachers need the freedom to teach - freedom they can't have if they're only teaching so their students can pass tests. I'm pretty sure my students won't find anything about Hector on the Common Core tests. I'm equally sure that what they learned about Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and Temperance may stay with them for the rest of their lives. - Mr. Browne — R.J. Palacio

Halloween is the best holiday in the world. It even beats Christmas. — R.J. Palacio

I'll meet you outside. I rushed to — R.J. Palacio

There are so many words I can use to describe the looks on people's faces. And for a long time I didn't get it. I'd just get mad. Mad when they stared. Mad when they looked away. "What the heck are you looking at?" I'd say to people - even grown-ups. — R.J. Palacio

When he told me this. — R.J. Palacio

It is always brave to be kind, but in those days, such kindnesses could cost you your life.
Julian's Chapter — R.J. Palacio

Its the shingaling, baby! — R.J. Palacio

we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks. When — R.J. Palacio

One thing I've learned after being a middle-school director for twenty years: there are almost always more than two sides to every story. Although I don't know the details, I have an inkling about what may have sparked the confrontation with Julian. While nothing justifies striking another student - ever - I also know good friends are sometimes worth defending. — R.J. Palacio

Hey, the truth is, if a Wookiee started going to the school all of a sudden, I'd be curious, I'd probably stare a bit! And if I was walking with Jack or Summer, I'd probably whisper to them: Hey, there's the Wookiee. And if the Wookiee caught me saying that, he'd know I wasn't trying to be mean. I was just pointing out the fact that he's a Wookiee. — R.J. Palacio

Was at moments such as these that Joseph recognized the face of God in human form. It glimmered in their kindness to him, it glowed in their keenness, it hinted in their caring, indeed it caressed in their gaze.' — R.J. Palacio

Maybe he knew it and maybe he didn't, but for someone like me, words like that are worth all the medals in the world. — R.J. Palacio

East Harlem accent: — R.J. Palacio

One of the reasons I grew my hair long last year was that I like how my bangs cover my eyes: it helps me block out the things I don't want to see.
-August thinking — R.J. Palacio

Jack, sometimes you don't have to be mean to hurt someone. — R.J. Palacio

AMOS CONTI'S PRECEPT
Don't try too hard to be cool. It always shows, and that's uncool. — R.J. Palacio

You were wearing that helmet all the time. And the real, real, real, real truth is: I missed seeing your face, Auggie. I know you don't always love it, but you have to understand ... I love it. I love this face of yours, Auggie, completely and passionately. And it kind of broke my heart that you were always covering it up. — R.J. Palacio

The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. — R.J. Palacio

I eat like a tortoise eats, if you've ever seen a tortoise eating. Like some prehistoric swamp thing. — R.J. Palacio

I felt very sad and a tiny bit happy at the exact same time, kind — R.J. Palacio

His eyes are about an inch below where they should be on his face, almost to halfway down his cheeks. — R.J. Palacio

It's funny how there's a word like overprotective to describe some parents, but no word that means the opposite. what word do you use to describe parents who don't protect enough? underprotective? neglectful? self-involved? lame? all of the above. olivia's family — R.J. Palacio

What's cool about really little kids is that they don't say stuff to try to hurt your feelings, even though sometimes they do say stuff that hurts your feelings. But they don't actually know what they're saying. Big kids, though: they know what they're saying. And that is definitely not fun for me. — R.J. Palacio

I want you to start a brand-new section in your notebooks and call it Mr. Browne's Precepts." He kept talking as we did what he was telling us to do. "Put today's date at the top of the first page. And from now on, at the beginning of every month, I'm going to write a new Mr. Browne precept on the chalkboard and you're going to write it down in your notebook. Then we're going to discuss that precept and what it means. And at the end of the month, you're going to write an essay about it, about what it means to you. So by the end of the year, you'll all have your own list of precepts to take away with you. — R.J. Palacio

I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks. — R.J. Palacio

Be yourself, you will not get a second chance to.
- Daniel, Age 12, Munich, Germany, October 14 — R.J. Palacio

I forgot that I might see So many beautiful things I forgot that I might need To find out what life could bring — R.J. Palacio

If you want to be a star, you have to be willing to work harder than everyone else to achieve your goals and dreams! The way I see it, a dream is like a drawing in your head that comes to life. You have to imagine it first. Then you have to work extremely hard to make it come true. So, — R.J. Palacio

My point is that in middle school you kind of get known for what you're into, and you
have to be careful about stuff like that. — R.J. Palacio

It's so weird how that can be, how you could have a night that's the worst in your life, but to everybody else it's just an ordinary night. Like on my calendar at home, I would mark this as being one of the most horrific days of my life. This and the day Daisy died. But for the rest of the world, this was just an ordinary day. Or may be it was even a good day. May be somebody won the lottery today. — R.J. Palacio

Is that we can fix our mistakes sometimes. We learn from them. We get better. I never made a mistake like the one I made with Tourteau again, not with anyone in my life. And I have had a very, very long life. You will learn from your mistake, too. You must promise yourself that you will never behave like that with anyone else again. One mistake does not define you, Julian. Do you understand me? You must simply act better next time. I nodded, but I still cried for a long, long time after that. — R.J. Palacio

but what I want you, my students, to take away from your middle-school experience," he continued, "is the sure knowledge that, in the future you make for yourselves, anything is possible. If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God." He — R.J. Palacio

Who we are? Us!Right? What kind of people are we? What kind of person are you? Isn't that the most important thing of all? Isn't that the kind of question we shloud be asking ourselves all the time? 'What kind of person am I? — R.J. Palacio

sometimes he would wake up choking on his own saliva if he accidentally turned over on his back. — R.J. Palacio

So I just went over and sat with him. Not a biggie. I wish people would stop trying to turn it into something more. He's just a kid. The weirdest-looking kid I've ever seen, yes. But just a kid. — R.J. Palacio

Here's what I think: the only reason I'm not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way. — R.J. Palacio

Swallowing, there were other things that didn't come automatically to him. For instance, he couldn't eat. He couldn't talk. He — R.J. Palacio