“The story of the Baudelaires takes place in a very real world, where some people are laughed at just because they have something wrong with them, and where children can find themselves all alone in the world, struggling to understand the mystery that surrounds them.”

“I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place”

“Children love to be alone because alone is where they know themselves and where they dream.”

“Risks are a measure of people. People who won't take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them often end up having more.Some risks have a future, and some people call them wrong. But being right may be like walking backwards proving where you've been.Being wrong isn't in the future, or in the past.Being wrong isn't anywhere but being here.Best place to be, eh?”

“Is magic not enough to live for?" Widget asks."Magic," the man in the grey suit repeats, turning the word into a laugh. "This is not magic. This is the way the world is, only very few people take the time to stop and note it. Look around you," he says, waving a hand at the surrounding tables. "Not a one of them even has an inkling of the things that are possible in this world, and what's worse is that none of them would listen if you attempted to enlighten them. They want to believe that magic is nothing but clever deception, because to think it real would keep them up at night, afraid of their own existence.""But some people can be enlightened," Widget says.”

“The wonderful thing about books--and the thing that made them such a refuge for the islanders during the Occupation--is that they take us out of our time and place and understanding, and transport us not just into the world of the story, but into the world of our fellow readers, who have stories of their own.”