Your questions about best life sayings quotations
James asks…
What are your favorite sayings or quotations?
What are your favorite sayings or quotations?
I’m particularly looking for quotes about life, love, awesome song lyrics, and quotes by comedians. Bonus: best quote from spongebob?
Baby Talk answers:
” thats what she/he said.” is one of my favorite sayings lol.
David asks…
What is the Oxford Book of Quotations?
The Oxford Book of Quotations is no mean achievements. It catalogues and organizing the best sayings of all the people in the world at any given time in history. Out of six billion plus people on the planet only a relative hand full get to be included. But Hilton has gone beyond, “that’s hot” and is now known for “life is too short to wear what others are wearing, don’t try to blend in” or something. But if everyone wears something unique, logically, we’d all look alike. So who died and made the Oxford Book of Quotations the new Bible?
Baby Talk answers:
Gossip
Hilton’s wisdom put in book of quotations
Words of wisdom from Paris Hilton are to be immortalized alongside remarks by some of the greatest thinkers of all time in the latest edition of the ‘Oxford Book of Quotations’ — and she reckons it’s “so cool.” Hilton, the socialite turned reality TV star and retailing phenomenon, is listed in the latest version of the 65-year-old dictionary, released this week, alongside the likes of Confucius, Oscar Wilde and Stephen Hawking.
Her contribution? “Dress cute wherever you go, life is too short to blend in.” Hilton, 28, was delighted to be featured in the book which is a renowned list of memorable sayings. “So cool that I have a quote in the dictionary,” she wrote on her Twitter page. Another new entry in the seventh edition of the Oxford University Press publication is Sarah Palin.
The former vice-presidential candidate makes the cut for her most famous quip: “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick.”
A drink or two raises car crash risk: Study
Watch out for that glass of wine at dinner or those two beers when celebrating your colleague’s birthday after work if you’re planning to drive. Italian research shows that having as little as one or two drinks within six hours before getting behind the wheel of a car increases the risk of being involved in an accident. “The increase in risk is significant already after 1-2 glasses,” Dr. Stefano Di Bartolomeo said. Overall, drinking more than doubled the risk of a crash, the team reported in BioMed Central’s journal Public Health. But sleep-deprived people — meaning peole who had less sleep than usual over the last 24 hours — were twice as likely to crash in the two hours after having a meal.
The risk for drinking and sleep-deprivation combined was three-fold greater.
Ruth asks…
Do you like to write a review about Swordbird and Sword Quest?
Swordbird is a New York Times bestseller written by a 12-year-old author Nancy Yi Fan.
Here are some:
It’s hard to believe but the author was only 12 years old when she wrote this thrilling, beautifully crafted fantasy about evil Lord Turnatt, a hawk who has enslaved birds to build a fortress and has set the cardinals and bluejays to fighting each other.
She creates vivid characters with wonderful names (Flameback the cardinal, Dilby the loon) and other cool words like “nobird”, “somebird,” and “everybird.” There’s a hummingbird circus, birds dining on raspberry pie and fending off invaders with scalding bean soup. Best of all each chapter starts with a quotation from some book of bird lore, including the Book of Heresy which promises the terrible Turnatt eternal life – if he eats the egg of one woodbird every day.
Nancy Yi Fan is a talent to watch!
- Jean Westmoore, The Buffalo News
I read Swordbird last weekend and was amazed. It’s an extraordinary work, and would be an accomplishment for an adult author. That the writer was so young really makes this work remarkable. The bird characters, the juxtaposition of the Book of Heresy and Old Scripture sayings, and the almost allegorical tone give it a solid fantasy feel. In short, I loved it, and I think kids
will really enjoy it, both as a great story and as a phenomenal work by one of their peers.
We’ll be adding the book to the reading program and including it in our book fair offerings!
Congrats!
Kevin Washburn, Ed.D.
Clerestory Learning/Make Way for Books
Pelham, AL
I am a 10 year old who has just devoured the book Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan. I loved the book! I think it will be a hit and anxiously await a sequel.
Paul Carstens
Baby Talk answers:
If you want to write a book report, it will be good to see what others say about Swordbird and Sword Quest:
Saw this young author speak and bought both books in her series. Am sixth grade Reading teacher for regular education and gifted education students. This series is wonderful! My students love the book and would recommend it as a great summer read. See this one and the newest Sword Quest! Excellent stories, beautifully written! Adults will enjoy as well. Could become the next Harry Potter craze; birds become real characters and not thought of as “just birds”. Look forward to the next Yi Fan book to come along!
– Bingo “Reader and DS Game fan”
Nancy Yi Fan is an incredible writer!
I have read both of her books now and they are outstanding!
Please keep on writing!
Little Miss Wordsmith!
Achal Narayanan
NANCY YI FAN, a fairly typical American teenage girl who loves birds, martial arts and writing, was 12 years old when her first novel, Swordbird, was published last year.
Within weeks it reached the top of the New York Times list of best-selling children’s books.
Swordbird is a fantasy about warring birds. It shows how friendship and courage can overcome tyranny.
Nancy did not learn English until she was seven and her family emigrated to the United States from China. Just a few years later she wrote a book in English, her first novel Swordbird, which soon became a best-seller.
Nancy Yi Fan’s family moved to the United States a few months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. One night shortly afterwards, she dreamed about a giant white bird trying to make peace among warring flocks of birds in a forest.
“When I woke up,” she said, “I wanted to turn my dream into a story because I wanted to express the importance of peace and freedom.” It took her almost a year to complete her story, which she called Swordbird.
She then started sending her manuscript off to various publishers. “I only hoped to receive advice on how to improve my writing, but you know, Swordbird got accepted for publication,” Nancy recalls. Jane Friedman, the chief executive of Harper Collins, a major U.S. publishing house, decided to give Nancy’s story a chance. Harper Collins’ children’s division found it to be “absolutely brilliant”, said Ms Friedman, who added, “We felt we had a prodigy in our hands. We took on the book, and the rest is history.”
Nancy Yi Fan recently published her second novel, Sword Quest, whose story is set hundreds of years before Swordbird.
In Sword Quest, Nancy added a fortune teller who uses the yin and yang symbols [of Chinese philosophy and religion] and the fortune-telling sticks to guide some of the characters to a destination. Also, she says, a main character in the book was inspired by her grandmother’s ghost stories about the spirits who stay in the crossroads and wait for people to cross the street.
Becoming a published author at such a young age, says Nancy, has affected her life in many ways. “I think it trained me to think more logically. It helped my imagination and certainly tested my determination, self-control and dedication. I discovered things like structure, preciseness of wording. Now when I write essays in school assignments, it’s much easier for me.”
The youngest author ever published by Harper Collins hopes to continue writing. And Nancy Yi Fan says she will “use my wings” to go wherever her dreams take her.
Swordbird was fantastic! I am hungry for more!!! I love Nancy’s books!!!
~Mimi
Of all the books I have read this in 5th grade, yours was the most interesting to read. I am very surprised at how well you write, especially because you were only a few years older than me when you wrote this amazing book. The way you used birds to be the people in the story really sparked my imagination.
My favorite quote in your book is: “Peace is wonderful; freedom is sacred”. I also think peace, and happiness, is very important to myself and others. Freedom is sacred because with it, you cannot do the things you want to do, and without it, our lives would be miserable.
— Mason S.
It was fantastic! The moment we finished reading the first chapter, we were hooked.
As we dug deeper into the story, we could not put it down. We loved the chapter about the fight on the Appleby Hills. It was hilarious! We liked how Skylion describes the sticky grass. Glenagh was our favorite character in the story. He was the one who urged the cardinals and the blue jays to unite and arise to face the enemies. It was a great story of courage and a struggle for peace. We can’t wait to read the sequel!
When my teacher told me that you wrote Swordbird at the age of twelve, we couldn’t believe it. Your inspire us to become writers one day.
— Landon L., Jacob M. and Zoya P.
I love your books. I really love how the adventure is so exciting, so suspenseful! Another thing, the characters seem almost real! (Other than the fact that they are talking birds.) But really! If they were actual people, I feel like I could walk up and meet them!
— Amy B.
In the last two days I’ve read one full novel and half of a second. Granted the novels were written by a teenager and intended for children and have pictures on about every other page. But they are rollicking good stories and I’m enjoying them as much for the astonishment that the first was conceived by a ten year old and written, submitted and published before she was thirteen. And English wasn’t her first language!
I am speaking of :
Swordbird and Sword Quest
by Nancy Yi Fan
I was enthralled enough that I failed to notice the sky going dark as I read in the back yard this evening. I had expected to notice when I could not longer read but as the sun’s light faded the sodium vapor light guarding the trailer park’s pool behind us took over and I never noticed. If it hadn’t been for the mosquitoes making a banquet of me I might still be out there.
These epic quest fantasies may not be the absolute best I’ve ever read but they are plenty charming enough and they showcase a budding talent that bears watching. The fresh spirit of their author informs every line. She is most definitely one for whom the audacity of hope comes as natural as breath.
You will excuse me as I pick up Sword Quest to find out how Wind-voice and his companions get out of their latest scrape with the minions of the tyrant Maldeor who is intent on finding the mythical sword before they do. For whoever wields this sword would be invincible. Maldeor wishes to rule the world with it. Wind-voice wishes only to free the enslaved and ensure freedom for everybird. Of course I know Wind-voice’s quest succeeds because Sword Quest is a story from the ancient legends of the birds whose quest for freedom from tyranny was the focus of Swordbird.
— Joy Renee
I loved Swordbird! I’m now a huge fan!! Swordbird really soars high! I’m amazed for Nancy… And a bit jealous… I’m 10, and will follow in Nancy’s steps! Congratulations to Nancy for translating the book into Chinese, too! (I can read it in both languages! I am from Dalian!)
A good vs. evil, fantasy action-epic set in a world of birdfolk who enslave, trash-talk and go to war with each other. Fan has such a lively, sharp imagination, evident in charming touches like the hot-air ballooning vaudeville troupe, or the way the good guys speak in quaint, spiffy wartime British.
— Mimi Lok
My 2 Most Favorite Books(a true compliment to teenage author Nancy Yi Fan)-a true story
by Bhagee, age 9
I have read two books called
“Swordbird” and “Sword Quest”.
Both books are written by
teenage author Nancy Yi Fan. “Swordbird” is about how the cardinals & blue jays suffer under the evil hawk,
Turnatt.So they call Swordbird, the half-dove, guardian of peace, to help them. “Sword Quest” is about how Wind-Voice (he is later renamed Swordbird) and his companions, Ewingerale the woodpecker, Stormac the myna, and Fleydur the eagle, go on a quest to find a sword that will defeat the archaeopteryxes that ravage the world of birds.
The characters permanently
reside in one’s heart, as they
have in mine.(”Sword Quest” is a
prequel to “Swordbird”.)
If you’re out there,Nancy,
I’d like for you to know this-
I am very,very,very proud of
you for writing two glorious,
magnificent books.
Swordbird
The characterizations of Aska, Miltin, and Turnatt were the best; how I laughed at Turnatt’s eating mannerisms and Slime-beak’s frightfulness! The movements of the birds were all true to life, bringing out just the right details to enhance the story. The alternations between narrators was clear and effective, and added depth to the story.
—dangelo
Sword Quest
A Great Prequel, Can’t Wait Until Next One!
Following the enchanting Swordbird, Sword Quest is better! How interesting that this book is a prequel and can be read alone but is better when reading them in order. Nancy Yi Fan says her next book will fall between the two books sequentially so there looks like we may have another great series in the making. As a Reading teacher, my 6th graders loved this book and so did I! The way the birds become human-like characters is so interesting and engages your emotions and heart!
– Bingo “Reader and DS Game fan”
Hello Nancy,
Just writing you a letter to tell you how much I loved reading Swordbird. It is a fantastic story. It made me feel like I was actually in Stone-Run Forest. My name is Kelly and I am eight years old, going into the fourth grade. I love to read, and this is one of my favorites. I can’t wait to read SwordQuest.
—Kelly
I just read a new book called Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan who was fourteen when the story was written! It is about cardinals and blue jays that fight but then make peace when they find a hawk is stealing all of their food and eggs. They had thought that it was each other that was the enemy. The hawk’s name is Turnatt and the hero’s name is Swordbird. A robin and blue jay work together to get a gem to call Swordbird. I really liked the book because it was an exciting adventure.
eatwiss
The book I am reading is Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan. Swordbird is a well written book. It takes place at Stone-Run Forest. In the forest there are many tribes. The main two are the Bluewingle Tribe of the bluejays and the Sunrise Tribe of the cardinals. There is chaos between the two tribes. Both blame the other for stealing their offspring eggs and food. The leaders of each tribe decide to go to war. Flame-back the leader of the cardinals is a cunning warrior. He is strong in attack and battle formations. Skylion, the leader of the bluejays is wise and decisive. Aska, a young female bluejay is flying when she stumbles across a brave and clever robin named Milton. He is an enslaved worker at Fortress Glooming. He tells her that Turnatt, an evil hawk and his army have been stealing the cardinal and bluejay eggs all along. It is then when they realize they must team up. The cardinals and bluejays become friends again and will not rest until the blood of Turnatt is spilled and they see the downfall of his fortress, Glooming. Their only hope of seeing peace again is to have Swordbird, the mystical white bird help them. There is only one way to get him and that is with a Learsorn gem and a song from the old scripture. The bluejays and the cardinals only posess the old scripture. The gem has been lost for a very long time. To find out if they stop Turnatt from enslaving the two tribes read Swordbird. My opinion is that Swordbird is a swell book. I’ve never read anything like it. It makes me want to keep reading. After each chapter it takes another twist. I can’t wait to read the seaquel, Sword Quest.
— sparky man
Hello! I am a 13 year old who lives in alaska! I love your books! I cant begin to describe how much i love them!
By: Tara Floss
Nancy Fan and Swordbird
One of the more amazing stories to come out of our town, Gainesville, Florida, this past year is the publication of the first novel in a series by thirteen year old writer, Nancy Yi Fan (”FON”). The book is called Swordbird. It’s a fantasy novel for elementary school children about important issues — good and evil, freedom, peace, and hope. It’s set in the world, as the title suggests, of birds. Recently, our correspondent, Linda Lamme, spoke with Nancy about her inspiration for the book, how she wrote it, and then how she managed to get it published. It was years of hard work, but Nancy makes it sound easy.
by Dr. Lamme, RECESS
I have just finished Sword Quest and it really inspired me to write. I’m now writing a book that I hope to get published at 11 years old! I can’t wait to read Sword Bird!!
Swordbird
Fan has such a lively, sharp imagination, evident in charming touches like the hot-air ballooning vaudeville troupe, or the way the good guys speak in quaint, spiffy wartime British.
—Mimi Lok
Nancy Yi Fan
At age 13, Nancy Yi Fan published her first novel, “Swordbird.” In the blink of an eye, she rose to the top 10 of the New York Times. With this accomplishment, she is currently the youngest top-selling author at HarperCollins Children’s Books, and even received recognition by Oprah Winfrey on her uber-popular national television show.
–iloveflash
Swordbird should be made into a Wii game.
By: Bhage
I think Nancy yi fan should make them into movies. I love nancy yi fan’s books.
By: Kammie
The novel Swordbird is an awesome literary work! I read it about a few days ago, and I really like the way the action in this novel, and there are extremely interesting characters!
— Elda
Swordbird is a very important book. All too often books about war for kids are gruesome and depressing or silly and shallow. Not because the subject of war has to be incomprehensible, but because making the subject of war accessible to kids is not at all easy. Fan does it perfectly. Not only that, she brings it all together in a moral in the front flap:”What does fight bring us? Fear, hatred, misery and death.” By the time you finish the book you completely understand and agree with that statement.
– Emily G.
I absolutelty LOVE Sword Bird and Sword Quest.
They are SO good! And the fact that they were written by a twelve-year-old means a lot to me since I’m eleven and pursuing my passion for writing.
– Christa
Hey! It’s Elda again. I would really like to say that Swordbird really brought a message of peace to the world. My message in a novel I’m writing is that determination and a bit of mystique can be found in the most unexpected places. Can’t wait to read Sword Quest! =)
By: Elda
You are one of my favorite authors, along with Mrs. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, and Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Your book, Swordbird, is very entertaining and a bit depressing (Miltin’s tragic demise), but I loved it. I agree, peace is essential. You are my inspiration, and I thank you for writing an amusing and entertaining book, which I read for about the fifth time so far.
—Your most devoted fan, Olivia
I LOVELOVELOVE your books!!! You see, I have am in the process of writing a series of books that I haven’t exactly named *laughs* and my friends are dying for me to try and publish them. And them I’m all like, omg, I’m too young. But then I read your books and I’m RECONSIDERING woohoo. You really send the message of peace, and the little tidbits from the Old Scripture and the Book of Heresy deliver some meaning too, alothough maybe the Old Scripture more then the Book of Heresy. The Book of Heresy is for Turnatt, only he’s dead woohoo. Are you gonna write some more corresponding sequels to Swordbird and Swordquest? Cuz if you do, I would love to just read them. I mean, you’re books are awesome and the whole shebangs are suspenseful and just totally awesome!!! Awesome AWESOMEawesomeAWESOMEawesome!!!
–Cassie
Swordbird is my favorite book, I read it because I love birds my favorite birds are the northern saw whet owl and red bellied woodpecker. I have two questions: what is your favorite bird and would you please wright a third book??
– Alex
Donald asks…
give the meaning of the one of the quotation below?
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, make amends immediately. It’s easier to eat crow while it’s still warm. ~Dan Heist
Keep your words soft and tender because tomorrow you may have to eat them. ~Author Unknown
Never ruin an apology with an excuse. ~Kimberly Johnson
In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry. ~Margaret Laurence
True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960
There’s one sad truth in life I’ve found
While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.
~Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and for deeds left undone. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe, Little Foxes, 1865
Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge. ~Isaac Friedmann
An apology is a good way to have the last word. ~Author Unknown
An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything. ~Lynn Johnston
The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology. ~Red Auerbach
Apology is a lovely perfume; it can transform the clumsiest moment into a gracious gift. ~Margaret Lee Runbeck
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. ~Paul Boese
Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand. ~Emily Kimbrough
It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission. ~Grace Hopper
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? ~Stephen Levine
For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. ~Author Unknown
Not the fastest horse can catch a word spoken in anger. ~Chinese Proverb
It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. ~William Blake
True friends stab you in the front. ~Oscar Wilde
Friendship isn’t a big thing – it’s a million little things. ~Author Unknown
The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway. ~Henry Boye
You can make up a quarrel, but it will always show where it was patched. ~Edgar Watson Howe, Country Town Sayings, 1911
Baby Talk answers:
There are so many, so I’m sorry, I only skimmed over it.
Basically, they’re all saying “Forgive and apologize as much as possible. Live life to the fullest. Enjoy who and what you have now. And friendship isn’t needed to survive, but it adds happiness to survival.”
Heh, they’re nice quotes.
Linda asks…
What are your favorite sayings or quotations?
What are your favorite sayings or quotations?
I’m particularly looking for quotes about life, love, awesome song lyrics, and quotes by comedians. Bonus: best quote from spongebob?
Baby Talk answers:
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. James Dean
A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. John A. Shedd
Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. William Jennings Bryan
We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. George Bernard Shaw
If the essence of my being has caused a smile to have appeared upon your face or a touch of joy within your heart.Then in living – I have made my mark. Thomas L. Odem Jr
You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. Dr. Seuss
Every man desires to live long, but no man wishes to be old. Jonathan Swift
Youth lives on hope, old age on remembrance. French Proverb
Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light. Norman B. Rice
The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. Elisabeth Foley
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. Les Brown
You learn to like someone when you find out what makes them laugh, but you can never truly love someone until you find out what makes them cry. Author Unknown
Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I really need it. Swedish Proverb
Love your enemies. It makes them so damned mad. P.D. East
Don’t look where you fall, but where you slipped. African Proverb
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. Lao-Tzu
He who has nothing to die for has nothing to live for. Moroccan Proverb
You only live once; but if you live it right, once is enough. Adam Marshall
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha
Some Sites:
http://quotegarden.com/
http://www.brainyquote.com/
http://quotationspage.com/
http://thinkexist.com/
Have a nice day! 
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