Quotes from Harriet the Spy

“Don't mess with anybody on a Monday. It's a bad, bad day.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“[Harriet] hated math. She hated math with every bone in her body. She spent so much time hating it that she never had time to do it.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Sometimes you have to lie. But to yourself you must always tell the truth.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“People who love work, love life.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“YOU CAN'T BE TOO OLD TO SPY EXCEPT IF YOU WERE FIFTY YOU MIGHT FALL OFF A FIRE ESCAPE, BUT YOU COULD SPY AROUND ON THE GROUND A LOT.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Little lies that make people feel better are not bad, like thanking someone for a meal they made even if you hated it, or telling a sick person they look better when they don't, or someone with a hideous new hat that it's lovely. But to yourself you must tell the truth”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“She didn't care anymore... and she got no pleasure from the work she did, but she did it. Everything bored her. She found that when she didn't have a notebook it was hard for her to think. The thoughts came slowly, as though they had to squeeze through a tiny door to get to her, whereas when she wrote, they flowed out faster than she could put them down. She sat very stupidly with a blank mind until finall 'I feel different' came slowly to her mind.

Yes, she thought, after a long pause. And then, after more time, 'Mean, I feel mean.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Life is a struggle and a good spy goes in there and fights.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“LIFE IS A GREAT MYSTERY. IS EVERYBODY A DIFFERENT PERSON WHEN THEY ARE WITH SOMEBODY ELSE?”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“I WONDER IF WHEN YOU DREAM ABOUT SOMEBODY THEY DREAM ABOUT YOU.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Ole Golly: The time has come, the walrus said...
Harriet M. Welsch: To talk of many things...
Ole Golly: Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax...
Harriet M. Welsch: Of cabbages and kings...
Ole Golly: And why the sea is boiling hot...
Harriet M. Welsch: And whether pigs have wings!”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“This was too much. "I refuse. I absolutely REFUSE to be an onion.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Harriet: Is it fun being married?
Ole Golly: How should I know? I've never been married. However, I doubt it's all fun. Nothing ever is, you know.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“THERE IS MORE TO THIS THING OF LOVE THAN MEETS THE EYE. I AM GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THIS A GREAT DEAL BUT I DON'T THINK IT WILL GET ME ANYWHERE. I THINK MAYBE THEY'RE ALL RIGHT WHEN THEY SAY THERE ARE DOME THINGS I WON'T KNOW ABOUT UNTIL I'M OLDER.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Harriet: How do you practice being an onion?”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“I feel all the same things when I do things alone as when Ole Golly was here. The bath feels hot, the bed feels soft, but I feel there's a funny little hole in me that wasn't there before, like a splinter in your finger, but this is somewhere above my stomach.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Harriet pushed her hair back and looked at him seriously. 'Sport, what are you going to be when you grow up?'

'You know what. You know I'm going to be a ball player.'

'Well, I'm going to be a writer. And when I say that's a mountain, that's a mountain.' Satisfied, she turned back to her town.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“If Marion Hawthorne doesn't watch out, she's going to grow up into a lady Hitler.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS GOING TO HAPPEN. I KNOW IT. EVERY TIME I HAD A BAD DREAM I FEEL LIKE LEAVING TOWN. THEN I FEEL THAT SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS GOING TO HAPPEN. AND THIS IS THE WORST DREAM I'VE EVER HAD IN MY WHOLE LIFE.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Apakah setiap orang akan menjadi orang yang berbeda ketika mereka bersama orang lain?”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“Well, I’m going to be a writer. And when I say that’s a mountain, that’s a mountain.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“IF YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HEAD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE LOSING THEIRS AND BLAMING IT ON YOU”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

“It feels ... as though doors were opening all over the world... It's bigger, somehow, the world.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, quote from Harriet the Spy

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.