--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need a place\", she said, \"just for us…" description: "\"“We need a place\", she said, \"just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it.”\" — Katherine Paterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/katherine-paterson-2365_secret_we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it_2110360.png" --- # We need a place", she said, "just for us. It would be so… ![“We need a place", she said, "just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it.” quote by Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/katherine-paterson-2365_secret_we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it_2110360.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/katherine-paterson-2365_secret_we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it_2110360.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/katherine-paterson-2365_secret_we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it_2110360.png) > ““We need a place", she said, "just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it.”” [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child seeks a private, secret space for shared intimacy, hidden from the world. **In simple terms:** Children crave secret safe places. Key Takeaway Create a personal sanctuary. Themes privacy friendship imagination Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - playgrounds - private clubs - online communities Key Concepts childhood secret spaces Questions to Reflect On - What secret space do you need? - How does privacy affect relationships? A Different Perspective Secrecy can isolate and hinder openness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) ## Related quotes > [“We need a place," she said, "just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it-would-be-so-secret-that-we/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [ “Keep the secret I tell you now, even at the cost of your life. It is this-don't be passionate. That is all."\[FN#268\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/keep-the-secret-i-tell-you-now-even-at-the-cost-of-your-life-it-is/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [Forget the haters they are just secret fans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forget-the-haters-they-are-just-secret-fans/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you could get rid of yourself just once, the secret of secrets would open to you. The face of the unknown, hidden beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-you-could-get-rid-of-yourself-just-once-the-secret-of-secrets/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Just because you keep something a secret doesn't mean it never happened, no matter how much you want that to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/just-because-you-keep-something-a-secret-doesn-t-mean-it-never/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [We would lie on coral sand, below sugary stars, watching Cassiopeia mount her throne and the Great Bear wash its paws in the South.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/we-would-lie-on-coral-sand-below-sugary-stars-watching-cassiopeia/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [“Very soon she'll join all the others who know the secret and will not tell it. Or cannot. Or try and fail because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/very-soon-she-ll-join-all-the-others-who-know-the-secret-and-will-not/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [The thing about secrets is that they are usually best kept by just one person. That was the special thing about secrets. Some people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-thing-about-secrets-is-that-they-are-usually-best-kept-by-just/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“If I guess your secret, will you tell me if I'm right?" His father laughed but didn't answer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-liparulo/if-i-guess-your-secret-will-you-tell-me-if-i-m-right-his-father/) [Robert Liparulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-liparulo/) > [“Tell them it's a secret. Tell them they don't need to know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/tell-them-it-s-a-secret-tell-them-they-don-t-need-to-know/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [A secret is what you tell everyone not to tell anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/badbitch/a-secret-is-what-you-tell-everyone-not-to-tell-anyone-else/) Badbitch > [Nothing is secret once you tell anyone. If you want to keep it quiet - don't tell a soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-chamberlain/nothing-is-secret-once-you-tell-anyone-if-you-want-to-keep-it-quiet/) [Richard Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-chamberlain/) > [IF YOUR FRIEND TOLD YOU SOMETHING THATS A SECRET AND YOU GO AND TELL SOMEBODY ELSE DONT EVEN CALL YOURSELF A FRIEND THEN CAUSE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-your-friend-told-you-something-thats-a-secret-and-you-go-and-tell/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tell your friend a lie. If he keeps it secret, then tell him the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/tell-your-friend-a-lie-if-he-keeps-it-secret-then-tell-him-the-truth/) Proverb > [“This wasn't at all what I wanted to talk about, which is this: How did the rabbits get all covered with flowers?" "Tell them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/this-wasn-t-at-all-what-i-wanted-to-talk-about-which-is-this-how-did/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) ## More by Katherine Paterson > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [“You're the proverbial diamond in the rough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/you-re-the-proverbial-diamond-in-the-rough/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [We do have trouble dealing with death, but it's the one thing that is guaranteed we are all going to have to do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/we-do-have-trouble-dealing-with-death-but-it-s-the-one-thing-that-is/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Everybody gets scared sometimes, May Belle. You don't have to be ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/everybody-gets-scared-sometimes-may-belle-you-don-t-have-to-be-ashamed/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Obviously, I love to do both contemporary and historical fiction. When a hint of a story grabs me, I try to go with it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/obviously-i-love-to-do-both-contemporary-and-historical-fiction-when/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [I love revisions...We can't go back and revise our lives, but being allowed to go back and revise what we have written comes closest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/i-love-revisions-we-can-t-go-back-and-revise-our-lives-but-being/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [I woke up one morning and realized that what I wanted to say to everyone - children, young people, adults - was: Read for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/i-woke-up-one-morning-and-realized-that-what-i-wanted-to-say-to/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Our fundamental task as human beings is to seek out connections-to exercise our imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/our-fundamental-task-as-human-beings-is-to-seek-out-connections-to/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [a work that intends to be art must first be entertaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/a-work-that-intends-to-be-art-must-first-be-entertaining/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [I do know that I need solitude, not only to write but to nourish myself (being, like most writers, an introvert) so that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/i-do-know-that-i-need-solitude-not-only-to-write-but-to-nourish/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Everything comes in useful once in a hundred years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/everything-comes-in-useful-once-in-a-hundred-years/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [“I had no study in those days, not even a desk or file or bookcase to call mine alone…It might have happened sooner \[the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/i-had-no-study-in-those-days-not-even-a-desk-or-file-or-bookcase-to/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [The challenge for those of us who care about our faith and about a hurting world is to tell stories which will carry the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/the-challenge-for-those-of-us-who-care-about-our-faith-and-about-a/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [One thing living in Japan did for me was to make me feel that what is left out of a work of art is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/one-thing-living-in-japan-did-for-me-was-to-make-me-feel-that-what-is/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [“We need a place," she said, "just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it-would-be-so-secret-that-we/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) [Explore all 166 Katherine Paterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) ## More Secret quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [“By so giving up, of course, it renews itself- that is the secret”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/by-so-giving-up-of-course-it-renews-itself-that-is-the-secret/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I have a lot of secret uses for sour cream, which is the magic ingredient in my mac and cheese. It's an old-timey, Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-have-a-lot-of-secret-uses-for-sour-cream-which-is-the-magic/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [When I talked to him earlier, he said he had to work tonight,” Peter explained, “but that we should go ahead and draw for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/when-i-talked-to-him-earlier-he-said-he-had-to-work-tonight-peter/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [I don't know if it's naivete or just narcissism, but I start out with this notion that I can do anything. It's not until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-naivete-or-just-narcissism-but-i-start-out-with/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) > [Children, Never look Back!" and this meant that we must never allow the future to be weighed down by memory . for children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/children-never-look-back-and-this-meant-that-we-must-never-allow-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 8,958 Secret quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We need a place\", she said, \"just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katherine Paterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it-would-be-so-secret-that-we-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Secret" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it-would-be-so-secret-that-we-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/katherine-paterson-2365_secret_we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it_2110360.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/katherine-paterson-2365_secret_we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it_2110360.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/katherine-paterson-2365_secret_we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it_2110360.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We need a place\", she said, \"just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole…” — Katherine Paterson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Katherine Paterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We need a place\", she said,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it-would-be-so-secret-that-we-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/we-need-a-place-she-said-just-for-us-it-would-be-so-secret-that-we-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```