Notable Quotables

Each summer we search for one inspiring quote to guide us through the upcoming school year. The first year of our summer book club (2012) we read A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.

We unanimously agreed that the best quote was, “Your mind knows that you are going to Song-do. But you must not tell your body. It must think one hill, one valley, one day at a time. In that way your spirit will not grow weary before you have even begun to walk.” (2012) We had no idea that this quote would become so appropriate for our efforts as Wonderland BookSavers!

The following summer we chose a quote from Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan. “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” (2013)

We made banners to hang in our classrooms, and to remind us of our mission during the long winter months.

The next summer Brooks Morgan was studying Mother Teresa and we all joined him by reading a biography of her life. We chose one quote, and Emma suggested we combine it with one of our own.

The result was, “If I hadn’t picked up the first man, I wouldn’t have picked up the next 42,000 (Mother Teresa); If we hadn’t donated the first book, we wouldn’t have donated the next 27,000 (WBS).” (2014)

This summer we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to tour the United Nations in NYC. We were thrilled to find Malala’s quote etched in stone, “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.” (2015)

We knew immediately that this would become our new quote for the year, as we have experienced first hand that the world really can be changed by continuous small efforts.

Summer of 2016 found us reading the Bible and we chose “For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength,” Phillippians 4:13. (2016)

We have certainly needed to turn to Christ many times this year, and He has been by our side every step of the way. The Wonderland BookSavers are grateful for His many blessings.

This summer our travels took us across the country to South Dakota, to the Indian reservations, and back. We donated thousands of books (again) to Zimbabwe, and were fortunate to discover the amazing autobiographical story of Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda, I Will always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives.

We knew we loved this book, but when we got to the very last sentence, we also knew we had found our quote for the year, “Kindness is contagious. It changes lives. It changed mine. What will it do for you?” (2017)

Summer of 2018 we read the inspiring adventures of St. Thomas Aquinas, a true believer who fought for his right to practice his Christian faith, and who championed education and learning through deep thinking and the recognition of the importance of knowledge.

We knew we had found our quote when we read, “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible” – St. Thomas Aquinas