Elvira Woodruff Quotes
30 quotes • Children's Author • Age 75
"I write for the kid in me. . . . Often when I’m working on a story, I’ll find myself laughing at something my characters have done, or even being surprised at where they’ve taken the story. It’s as if they have a life all their own. What I do is create them and then let them go on to entertain me. . . ."
"Q and I did our history report together on George Washington,” he told them. “So if you have any questions, we can probably answer them, since we did so much research.”“You only read one library book for that report,” Tony objected. “You can’t call one book ‘so much research.’”“You didn’t see the size of that book, Tony,” Matt told him. “It was big. I mean really big.”“Look, Tony, we’re not saying that we know everything about the Revolutionary War, but we did do a report on it and we do know more than you do,” Q said smugly.“Okay, guys, let’s not waste any more time trying to decide who knows more about the Revolutionary War."
"I don’t know how this happened, how we ended up here. I never knew it would be like this. I’m not from here, Israel, you have to believe me. I’m from another--”“It’s all right,” Israel interrupted him, leaning over and putting his arm around him. “I’ll look after you. We two goats, we’ll get through this together, you’ll see, and when my enlistment is up well find your Katie and you and she can come and visit me and Abby and the boys. Don’t worry, Matthew Carlton, you’ve got a friend in Israel Gates. You can depend on it."
"Did that sound like a bird to you?” But Blackjack didn’t answer as he carefully made his way along the trail, taking them further and further into the darkness of the lush forest.Matt flinched at the sound of another call. “Some strange birds in these woods, huh, Blackjack?” he croaked. “Or maybe it was a rabbit. My friend Hooter had a rabbit once that got its foot caught in a lawn mower. Kind of sounded like that. But I guess you don’t have any lawn mowers around here, do you?” Matt whispered.Blackjack wasn’t thinking about lawn mowers or rabbits or birds, though. Blackjack, as Mr. Hornbee had said, was one smart mule and he knew what Indians sounded like when he heard them!"
"Matt thought camping in Tony’s yard was okay, but he wished it were a little more wild and dangerous. If Tony’s father had let them make camp along the lake like they had wanted to do, it would have been perfect. As it was, Tony’s parents kept coming to the kitchen door and peeking out to check on them every ten minutes.“Sometimes they treat me like I was in second grade or something,” Tony groaned, waving his mother away from the door.“It’s probably because you’re so small,” Q pointed out.“Yeah, Tony, you know, I’ve seen some second-graders that are a whole lot bigger than you,” Hooter added. Tony shrugged his shoulders. He was used to people pointing out his height or lack of it. He was the shortest boy in the fifth grade.“It’s just because of his size that Tony is such an important member of the club,” Matt said with authority, sitting back down in front of the fire.“It is?” Tony squeaked, sitting beside him. “Sure, since you’re the smallest man, you’ll be our scout. You can do all the tracking, traveling ahead of us to check things out without being seen. And since you’re so small you weigh less than any of us. Do you remember those Indian scouts in the Davy Crockett book we read? Remember how they could walk through the woods without making a sound? Well, you don’t think they weighed three hundred pounds, do you?”“No, I guess not.” Tony grinned, throwing his shoulders back and sitting up straight like an Indian scout."
"A young soldier stepped into the old rowboat and reached for Matt and Q first, grabbing them by the arms and directing them over to the general’s vessel. He then tried to separate Hooter and Tony, but Hooter had pulled Tony to him and wouldn’t let go. He was holding him to his chest as if Tony were his teddy bear. Actually Hooter still slept with a teddy bear but it was a secret he had kept from his friends. Tony wasn’t furry or cuddly like his bear but Hooter wasn’t about to be choosy. He was so scared he just needed something to hold on to.“Hooter, let go! You’re squeezing me so hard I can’t breathe,” Tony cried as they were lifted together onto the general’s boat.“Sorry,” Hooter mumbled, without loosening his grip."
"Come along then, and we’ll saddle up Blackjack,” Mr. Hornbee said, reaching for his hat.“Blackjack?” Matt asked, following him outside to the barn.“My mule,” Mr. Hornbee replied. “He’ll follow the trail through the woods and take you right to the river. He’s smarter than any horse you’ve ever been on, I’ll wager.”Matt watched uneasily as the long-eared, sleepy-looking Blackjack was led from the barn. Matt wanted to tell the old man that he had never been on a horse before, much less a mule. A skateboard, Mr. Hornbee. That’s the last thing I rode on, Matt was thinking as he watched Blackjack open his mouth in a big-toothed yawn.“You can take care of your business yonder, son,” Mr. Hornbee told him, nodding toward a little shed behind the house.“My business?” Matt asked with a blank look.The old man shook his head and sighed heavily. “Surely that head wound has left you confused,” he said, gently leading Matt to the shed. “Come along, now.” And he opened the door and gave Matt a little push inside.“Oh, that business!” Matt smiled, on discovering that the shed was an outhouse."
"Thanks, Dad,” he muttered under his breath, for his mother had always said that he got his big feet from his father’s side of the family. Matt suddenly thought of his father and mother and tears came to his eyes, as he wondered if he would ever see them again.“What did you say?” Israel asked.“Oh, I was just thinking how glad I was for once that I have such big feet for a kid,” Matt said, wiping a tear from his cheek.“A goat?” Israel frowned.“No, where I come form we call boys ‘kids.’ Like I would be a regular kid and you’re older so you would be a big kid,” Matt tried to explain.Israel cocked his head and smiled slowly. “Where I come from they’d be calling you a sight dim for telling a man with a musket that he’s an old goat!”Matt was about to explain further when he saw that Israel was laughing. “I guess it does sound funny."
"Where do you make your homes?” he asked.“Rumson,” Matt called back. “Rumson, Nebraska.”“Nebraska? Where is this place, Nebraska?” The general and his men looked perplexed, but the state of their confusion was nowhere near that of Matt and his friends.“I never met anyone who didn’t know where Nebraska was,” Hooter mumbled through chattering teeth.“Where…where do you think they’re from?” Tony stammered.“I don’t know,” matt whispered, staring at the soldiers and their muskets. “But I have this strange feeling, like…like…”“Like we’ve seen them someplace before,” Q concluded.“Where?” Hooter wanted to know. “Where have we seen them?”“In our history book,” Q whispered. “We’ve gone back in time!”“You mean before TV and stuff?” Hooter asked, looking at the old-fashioned muskets that were pointed at them.“Before TV?” Q squeaked. His voice always turned into a series of squeaks when he was excited. “Try before electricity and flashlights. Try 1776--the Revolutionary War!"
"Uh…excuse me, sir,” he said loudly. “But would you like a Band-Aid?” He waved it in the air in front of the soldier. “Band-Aid, Band-Aid,” he said. He waited to see the soldier’s response and, when the Hessian beckoned him forward, Hooter stood up. He went up to the soldier and opened the Band-Aid and carefully placed it over the bloodiest part of the wound. The leg was pretty badly scratched, but the Band-Aid was able to stop the severest bleeding.The soldier stared at the Band-Aid for a long time and pulled at the edges, feeling the sticky underside. Then he looked at Hooter.“Ban…Bandad. Ho…Hoot!” He smiled at Hooter and then tapped himself on the chest. “Ich bin Gustav.”“Gustav, that’s great!” Hooter grinned. “Hi, Gustav, nice to meet you.”“Ya, ya, Hoot!” The soldier grinned back. Then he stood up and had them form into a line again.“Hooter, we aren’t at a tea party,” Matt said sternly as they began to make their way through the woods. “We’re not supposed to be making friends with them. That’s the enemy."
"Then out of the darkness a deep voice commanded, “Halt, in the name of the Continental Army!”“Halt?” Tony whispered. “Is he kidding?"
"At the sound of their footsteps, the Hessians swung around and drew their swords. Katie screamed, Q yelled, and Matt did the one thing that he had so hoped he wouldn’t. He closed his eyes and didn’t move!"