10 great quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

You might remember that a while ago, I did a book talk on To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which was an amazing book. As promised, here are some of my favourite quotes from the book. There were so many to choose from, but I narrowed the list down to 11 quotes. Enjoy!



To start off, let's go with the quote that gives the book it's title.


1. "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird"





2. "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."








3. "Atticus, he was real nice."




"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."







4. "They've done it before and they'll do it again and when they do it -- seems that only the children weep. Good night."


5. "Summer, and he watches his children's heart break. Autumn again and Boo's children needed him. Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough."


6. "Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad."








7. "Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."


8. "Some negroes lie, some are immoral, some negro men are not be trusted around women - black and white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men."







9. "I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks."





10. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."








Those were just some of the quotes that stuck with me, but there are even more. ;) Maybe on a rainy day I'll sort through a few more; we'll see.


I hope you enjoyed these quotes, and that if you haven't read the book, you'll read it soon!


Have an amazing day! :)


~ Pegasus

GUEST BOOK BLOGGER!!!!! Book Talk -- Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Hi everyone! It's Pegasus! And with me today, I have a special book blogging guest: Dragon!!

Hi! I’m Dragon, Pegasus’s friend, and I’m doing a guest book talk today!

Recently, I reorganized my book shelf, and I realized how many books I have that I haven’t read yet. I decided to try and read all of them this year, and Understood Betsy, a book that I’ve probably had for 5 years, is one of the first ones that I’ve finished. Here’s a quick summary. 

At the beginning, Elizabeth Ann lives with her Aunt Frances, Great-Aunt Harriet, and hired help, Grace. The whole household revolves around her. She is extremely sheltered, lest anything upset the sensitive, “impressionable” little thing. Aunt Frances, the aunt who makes herself primarily responsible for the girl, tries to understand her entirely and protect her from anything which may upset her. Elizabeth Anne never has to think for her self- in school, she is always focussed on getting the answer right, and at home, she has her aunts to do everything for her. The little bubble that is her life as she knows it come crashing down when Aunt Harriet gets sick and she is sent away to live with the Putney cousins. She’s grown up hearing about how strange her “queer Putney cousins” are and how they don’t know how to raise children, so she is unsurprisingly terrified to go and live with them. When she first arrives, she is perplexed and terrified by some of their ways of doing things. Over time, though, she comes to accept and appreciate the freedom and responsibility she is given here. She learns to think for her self, and instead of weakly trying to do what her aunts want her to, she makes her own decisions and forges her own path. She starts to care for a younger girl named Molly, and on multiple occasions, her newfound abilities are put to the test, when Betsy must get them both out of difficult situations using her wits.

Elizabeth Anne, or Betsy, as she comes to be known, is an amazing character. Her transformation from shy, timid, and nervous Elizabeth Anne, to strong, independent, and capable Betsy, was realistic and believable. I got really attached to her throughout this journey, and I cheered along with her. The cousins who take care of her, Aunt Abigail, Cousin Ann, and Uncle Henry, were also really great characters. They were excellent role models, and an good balance between being caring and loving, but also giving Betsy responsibilities and not being overprotective (unlike Aunt Frances). The rest of the characters, including Molly, Ralph, and ‘Lias, were also well-developed and believable.

The author, who wrote Understood Betsy in 1916, is credited with bringing the Montessori form of education to America. These values of independence, critical thinking, curiosity, and joy of learning and living are found throughout the book, adding a layer of commentary on modern education and parenting that make this book an interesting read for young and old alike.

I loved this book, but if I had to identify something that wasn’t so great about it, I would probably say the ending. The ending was what I wanted to happen, but it was a bit too “tidy” and unrealistic. 

Although it may not be an action-filled adventure novel, I appreciated this book for the meaningful character development and heartwarming description of life in rural Vermont. Overall, I’d give Understood Betsy 4.8 stars. It’s well written and perfect for what it is, which is a sweet and simple story about a little girl. 

If you’re looking for an uplifting and heartwarming story that also has a layer of thought-provoking commentary on society, you should definitely try Understood Betsy.

Thanks for letting me pop by! Have an amazing day! 

~Dragon