ScoutTN Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 I am rereading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in preparation for seeing the movie and was struck once again with the excellent first line, There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. Any other favorites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 No fair! You took mine! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 The one I remember is: "There was a hand in the dark, and it held a knife."- The Graveyard Book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Can it be a two-sentence line? ;) In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Can it be a two-sentence line? ;) *smacks forehead* Well DUH, that is like the BESTEST opening line. How could I have forgotten that one?:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. Two lines, but well, you know... I just love this phrase in the second sentence: ...about *something* that happened... delicious understatement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 I can't think of how it went, but didn't "A Series of Unfortunate Events" have a rather interesting opening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 How about the first line to Understood Betsy? When this story begins, Elizabeth Ann, who is the heroine of it, was a little girl of nine, who lived with her Great-aunt Harriet in a medium-sized city in a medium-sized state in the middle of ths country; and that's all you need to know about the place, for it's not the important thing in the story; and anyhow you kinow all about it because it was probably very much like the place you live in yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Not as weighty as most of the already mentioned books, but I'm partial to the first line of Millicent Min, Girl Genius: "I have been accused of being anal retentive, an overachiever, and a compulsive perfectionist, like those are bad things." I also like the opening to Kevin Henkes's picture book, Chester's Way: "Chester had his own way of doing things." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Once upon a time there was.... "A king?" did I hear you cry? But if you did cry "king" children, you were wrong. Because once upon a time there was..... ..... a piece of wood. from Pinocchio. I liked this line when I read it and although I'm sure other great opening lines to children's stories I've read in my life, this is the one I could think of. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 I can't think of how it went, but didn't "A Series of Unfortunate Events" have a rather interesting opening? Yes. It says: "If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 In an old house in Paris all covered with vines Lived 12 little girls in two straight lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 "The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funschooler5 Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 "Where's Papa going with that axe?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. -Charlotte's Web Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 I have always loved the fact that the first line of A Wrinkle in Time is "It was a dark and stormy night." :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 (edited) "The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play." - Dr. Seuss I also like, "I am Eloise. I am six. I am an only child. I live at the Plaza." - Kay Thompson Edited December 4, 2010 by Parrothead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 (edited) I admit I had to check for accuracy, because it's long, and perhaps not as good as some---but, this is what first came to me: "Most motorcars are conglomerations (that is a long word for bundles) of steel and wire and rubber and plastic, and electricity and oil and gasoline and water, and the toffee papers you pushed down in the back seat last Sunday." Edited December 8, 2010 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 The Mole had been working hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home; first with brooms, then with brushes, then with ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash. (punctuation is a guess) Wind in the Willows We used to have this on tape when I was a small child, and it's one of my earliest memories. I also love: Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. - A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane in CO Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 On the 15th of May in the Jungle of Nool (sp?), in the heat of the day in the cool of the pool :D gotta love that Dr. Seuss! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 "All children, except one, grow up." -Peter Pan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 "It was a pleasure to burn." - Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 "Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were - Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter." - Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit I usually love the first lines of Shakespeare plays, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennay Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 "Where's Papa going with that axe?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. -Charlotte's Web This is the one I thought of when I read the thread title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 In spirit of the season but not necessarily from a children's book, "Marley was dead: to begin with." - A Christmas Carol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamee Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 I have always loved the fact that the first line of A Wrinkle in Time is "It was a dark and stormy night." :001_smile: And here I always thought that was Snoopy's line.:blush: Guess I better go start reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 The Mole had been working hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home; first with brooms, then with brushes, then with ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash. (punctuation is a guess) Wind in the Willows We used to have this on tape when I was a small child, and it's one of my earliest memories. I also love: Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. - A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh I love the first line of Wind in the Willows too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jessica* Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mishchief of one kind and another, his mother called him "WILD THING!" and Max said, "I'll EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 In the great green room, there was a telephone, and a red balloon, and a picture of. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 (edited) A cow jumping over the moon.. Sorry, couldn't resist. I love Goodnight Moon! One of my favorites: "By the big red barn in the great, green field, there was a pink pig who was learning to squeal." Big Red Barn I also like "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense." Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Edited December 5, 2010 by sagira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 In the great green room, there was a telephone, and a red balloon, and a picture of. . . :iagree: Not necessarily for the literary quality, but the experiences I shared with ds. We read that book 2-3 x/night for about a year. Beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Yup. After reading it innumerable times with three children, I have long had it memorized. I was happy that someone finished the sentence! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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