The Little Book of Quotes by Women edited by Kathleen Welton

 

Genre: Nonfiction

Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

 The author has filled this book with quotes from women who were on postage stamps.  According to the introduction she has included 365 quotes from women who have made a difference in some way. She has also broken them categories.  What you will find in this review is at least one quote that spoke to me from each category she has created. This book is going on my shelves at school as a reference for my students to use. Here are the quotes I have chosen, and in some cases my thoughts about them. I highly recommend you read this book. She has several quote books out and I will be reading them all.

Beauty:“At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough you don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.” ~ Toni Morrison
For me  being out in nature is more beautiful than any picture or painting.

Courage: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face… You must do the thing you think you cannot do. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
This one was very important to me. I was always the shy one in the family. I have always moved ahead because others believed I could step out. They had courage for me when I didn’t yet have it for myself.

Freedom:“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
I believe we all have our own idea of what freedom is. If fresh air and sunshine were taken away from me I would feel like I had lost my freedom.

Friendship: “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
I like to think of those who walk in and out of my life as acquaintances. Eleanor Roosevelt was correct about true friends and they are few in our lives.

Happiness:“Happiness is not a goal…it’s a by-product of a life well lived. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
One of my favorite quotes. I believe we make our own happiness out of whatever life has given us. It is a choice.

Lessons: “Think as little as possible about yourself. Think as much as possible about other people. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
I have tried to live my life this way. I hope that in the end God will tell me well done.

Life: “Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect. ~Margaret Mitchell
This is so true. We have to go after what we want. It isn’t just given to us.

Love: If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” ~ Mother Teresa
This goes right along the Biblical line of “Judge not lest ye be judged.”

Possibility: “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land.” ~ Helen Keller
When I read this I immediately thought back to the story of a young boy place in a room full of horse manure. He was flinging it everywhere because he was sure with this much manure there had to be a horse in there somewhere. That is the power of positive thinking.

Service: “That’s what we’re here on this Earth For, to help others.” ~Betty Ford

Not serving or helping others makes us a very selfish person in my opinion.

Strength: “I believe in prayer. It’s the best way we have to draw strength from heaven. ~ Josephine Baker

This sums up my life in this one quote.

Work: “Work, I know that someday I will die, but I will never retire.” ~ Margaret Mead

I read this and knew I had to choose this one. My students used to ask if I was ever going to retire and I would tell them no. They would walk in one day and find me dead at my desk with a pen in my hand. I have put off retiring because I love teaching. However, when I retire from teaching in a couple of years it will be to move on with the next part of my life. I will never retire from life.  

Behind all these wonderful quotes is a section for you to write down your favorite quotes, make a gratitude checklist and an area for journaling. All of this is followed by an area that gives you the biographical information about the women whose faces adorned stamps.

I loved this and can’t wait to read the other five quote books she has written.