Quotes by : Betty Smith

Francie had heard swearing since she had heard words. Obscenity and profanity had no meaning as such....

Because," explained Mary Rommely simply, "the child must have a valuable thing which is called imagination.....

She was made up of more, too. She was the books she read in the library. She was the flower in the brown....

But she needs me more than she needs him and I guess being needed is almost as good as being loved. Maybe....

Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words.

Wouldn't it be more of a free country," persisted Francie "if we could ride in them free?" "No." "Why?"....

They were all slender, frail creatures with wondering Wes and soft fluttery voices. But they were all....

She sat in the sunshine watching the life on the street and guarding within herself, her own mystery....

She had become accustomed to being lonely. She was used to walking alone and to being considered 'different.'....

Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating.....