Beautiful lines from children's books

Oops. I've just remembered it's Morrison, not Robinson. Twit.

Also from A.A. Milne:

James James Robinson Robinson
Wetherby George Dupree
Took great care of his mother
Though he was only three
James James said to his mother
Mother, he said, said he
You must never go down
To the end of the town
If you don't go down
With me.

Etc.

Maybe it doesn't qualify as beautiful but the rhyming and rhythm are top notch. I think this poem appeared in When We Were Very Young. Or was it Now We Have Sex ? I can't remember.

Also a new Nancy Tillman fan - DS only 11 weeks old.

I love The Crown on Your Head - so many beautiful lines.
"In other words from your very first day, you were chosen to glow in a very big way."

"And if you fall down, remember your glorious, marvellous crown. It won't flicker or fade. It won't dim."

"That's why every night when I put you to bed, I'm careful to kiss the crown on your head."

Lucas the littlest lizard...
"The crowd cheered for Lucas the new star of the zoo
Who couldn't believe his dream had come true.
Now Lucas knows what's most important of all, to believe in your heart you are never too small"

@CryHavoc I love that bit of Carrie's War too. Have you heard the audio version on radio 4? It's great - it's on iPlayer ATM.

The New Small Person by Lauren Child made me cry. I can't remember the exact line that got me though. I'll have to get it out of the library next time I go.

Oh I can't believe other people have mentioned that line from 'Dogger'! I'm glad it's not just me!

Heart in a Bottle! We found it on our little library bus when DD was tiny and got it out with a stack of others. DD was most bemused when it reduced me to a blubbering wreck. It is an extraordinarily moving and lovely book.

The last three pages of The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Less more. So very lovely and so very poignant.

Yes to Heart in A Bottle "and the little girl reached in "

I get teary just picking up Love You Forever.

I'm a blubbering mess on the train.

Roald Dahl, from the Twits

"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."

I haven't read the full thread, so apologies if I'm repeating, but I've always loved,"Where the Wild Things Are" and the line

“And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.” ...

Oh there are some wonderful lines here! I have so many books to reread!
Most of mine have already been mentioned. Toms midnight garden, goodnight Mr Tom, peepo. I also love the Jinny books and polar express.

The line from Good Wives that finished me every time:
"As Beth had hoped, the `tide went out easily', and in the dark hour before dawn, on the bosom where she had drawn her first breath, she quietly drew her last, with no farewell but one loving look, one little sigh. "

I've probably read my DD The Paper Dolls at least 200 times by now and I still cry when I hit the memories page. Every. Single. Time.

And, again in common with tonnes of you, Neil Gaiman's Blueberry Girl is another book which makes my heart lurch with happy/sad: m.youtube.com/watch?v=QH4lyJWa_84

But the closing paragraphs with a proven track record of making me do full blown ugly crying* are from The Steadfast Tin Soldier:

"He looked at the little maiden, and she looked at him; and he felt that he was melting away, but he still managed to keep himself erect, shouldering his gun bravely.
A door was suddenly opened, the draught caught the little dancer and she fluttered like a sylph, straight into the fire, to the soldier, blazed up and was gone!

By this time the soldier was reduced to a mere lump, and when the maid took away the ashes next morning she found him, in the shape of a small tin heart. All that was left of the dancer was her spangle, and that was burnt as black as a coal."

(*I haven't gone near The Selfish Giant or The Happy Prince since I had DD. I have them, I need to brave them and our daughter deserves to know them but I'm scared I would actually dissolve)

Also the bit in Where the Wild Things Are

"Oh please don't go, we'll eat you up we love you so"

It is the echo of what went before, when Max was told off for telling his mother that he would 'eat her up'. I am not exactly sure what that is saying but it is definitely saying something about the nature of love as it manifests itself in parent children relationships. Gives me a shiver every time.

When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.

Peter Pan

The last page from Wibbly Pig's Big Silly Bear. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but if you've read it you'll know what I mean

Giles Andreae - The Lion Who Wanted To Love

"You've got to be strong to be different,
And when you've got love on your side
You've got the most valuable gift that there is,
We want you as King of our pride."

I hope this message stays with my children always.

One quote I always remember, from a children's book, getting the tears going, is this line from goodnight mr tom.

Someone mentioned The Children of Green Knowe. There is another lovely bit where Tolly and his grandmother in the ancient house listen to a mother from long ago singing a lullaby to her baby....It ends as Tolly sings quietly to himself, and " four hundred years ago, a baby fell asleep. "

I was just coming on to say the last lines of The Toymaker.

I have a recording of my father reading it. He wobbles on that bit too.

It's been mentioned a couple of times but I love you little monster is a favourite. I choke up at
"For when you get knocked down my sweetheart, look up at the sky without fear. For sometimes we need to be flat on our backs, before starlight begins to appear."

It's such a special book - it captures perfectly the adult/child relationship for me and settles into a good night's sleep

What a lovely thread! This, from Teddy Robinson Meets Father Christmas, always gets me.
"Then the clock in the church tower struck twelve, slowly and clearly. Teddy Robinson counted one, two, three, four, three times over; and then he held his breath and listened. Very faint and far away he thought he could hear the sound of tiny jingling bells. At the same moment he noticed the stars seemed to be twinkling much more brightly, and that some of them were spinning around and shooting across the sky, just as if something very exciting was happening up there. The noise of the jingling bells grew louder, as if it was coming nearer, until soon all the air seemed to be filled with the sound." Magical - gives me goosebumps even now!

Oh Elephants! How could I have forgotten the Polar Express! I made all my family tree decorations of the bell with that quote, I've even got a tattoo of the bell. That quote sums up Christmas to me, I just adore it!

Lots of lovely ones here! I wanted to add "Keep Love in Your Heart Little One" by Giles Andreae which I cannot read without welling up. The whole book is gorgeous and written in verse - a parent talking to their sleeping child. Here's a taster...

"So when you get knocked down, my sweetheart, look up at the sky without fear, for sometimes we need to be flat on our backs before starlight begins to appear."

and...

"It's the only sure way to be happy, The only sure way to be free. Believe in yourself and believe in your dreams, And you'll be what you dream you can be."

Beautifully illustrated by Clara Vulliamay too.