Cynthia Rylant

“And I love being a writer because I want to leave something here on earth to make it better, prettier, stronger. I…

— Cynthia Rylant

They say that to be a writer you must first have an unhappy childhood. I don't know if unhappiness is necessary, but…

— Cynthia Rylant

When the wicked want to bring down the innocent, they aim for a loving heart.

— Cynthia Rylant

In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon…

— Cynthia Rylant

I love being a writer because I want to leave something here on earth to make it better, prettier, stronger.

— Cynthia Rylant

God turns clouds inside out to make fluffy beds for the dogs in Dog Heaven, and when they are tired from running…

— Cynthia Rylant

It is when we are most lost that we sometimes find our truest friends.

— Cynthia Rylant

I am so grateful to be a writer. I hope every child grows up and finds something to do that will seem…

— Cynthia Rylant

“It is almost impossible for a parent to hold a secret from a child. Children, without the skills of language, spend years…

— Cynthia Rylant

Every person is able to add beauty, whether by growing flowers, or singing, or cooking luscious meals, or raising sweet pets. Every…

— Cynthia Rylant

But what is it that makes a person want to stay here on this earth anyway, and go on suffering the most…

— Cynthia Rylant

I learned to write from authors. I didn't know any, but I read their books.

— Cynthia Rylant

[May] understood people and she let them be whatever way they needed to be. She had faith in every single person she…

— Cynthia Rylant

But I know now that you can't expect anything from anybody. If somebody loves you, it's because he wants to. And it's…

— Cynthia Rylant

A lot of people think they can write poetry, and many do, because they can figure out how to line up the…

— Cynthia Rylant

“We wanted a family so bad, all of us. And we just grabbed each another and made us one. Simple as that.”

— Cynthia Rylant

“The war was just a mile or so away, and I wondered at my simply walking to it, as I might walk…

— Cynthia Rylant

“One morning she happened upon a bit of cloth decorated with pictures of little red squirrels carrying small, brown,nutsacks,and she nearly fainted…

— Cynthia Rylant

I want to do something important in my life, and I think that adding beauty to the world with books... really is…

— Cynthia Rylant

Writing stories has given me the power to change things I could not change as a child. I can make boys into…

— Cynthia Rylant

“May was the best person I ever knew.... She understood people and she let them be whatever way they needed to be.…

— Cynthia Rylant

That's got to be at least one of the benefits of heaven - never having to act normal again.

— Cynthia Rylant

“I know I must have been loved like that, even if I can’t remember it. I must have; otherwise, how could I…

— Cynthia Rylant

It is odd how we sometimes deny ourselves the very pleasure we have longed for and which is finally within our reach.

— Cynthia Rylant

And, finally, I know, too. That throwing away this mess doesn't mean I'm giving something up. Or losing something I can't get…

— Cynthia Rylant