Do you actually like children?
Esther Hartlieb shook her head violently… “I will find Bo, before he dies of pneumonia or consumption in this infernal city. He has to be protected from his selfish brother.”
Victor just shook his head wearily. “Has it still not occurred to you?” he asked impatiently. “The two of them only ran away because you wanted to separate Bo from his brother.”
… “We’ll get Bo a dog,” Max Hartlieb answered calmly. “And then you’ll see how quickly he forgets his big brother.”
Victor stared at Mr. Hartlieb as if he had just unbuttoned his shirt and shown him an empty heart. “Please answer me one question,” Victor said. “Do you actually like children?”
Max Hartlieb frowned. “Children in general? No, not really. They are so fidgety and loud, and often quite dirty.”
… “And,” Max Hartlieb continued, “they have no idea of what’s really important.”
Victor nodded. “Well,” he said slowly, “it must be a miracle, then, that such useless creatures grow up into something as great and reasonable as you, don’t you think?”
With that he turned and walked out of the room and down the long hotel corridor.
Extract from the book The Thief Lord
By Cornelia Funke
All Rights Reserved.
New York : Scholastic, 2002
Call Number: J FUN
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Would you forget your childhood when you grow up?
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I will not forget my childhood
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 pm
i will not forget my chidhood
October 24th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
i enjoy reading this .
i will never forget my best childhood ever.
bye
October 24th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
thank u
i will never forget my childhood.
bye
October 24th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
i will not forget my chidhood
October 24th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
i will not forget it
October 24th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
bb
October 24th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
i will not forget it. it will be the most important days in my life as only in childhood will i be able to play alot, read alot.
October 25th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
thank you
October 27th, 2008 at 11:49 am
i am so happy to have my best childhood.
how would i want to forget it.
you can be a child,that is given by god.
you should be happy that you are a child.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:51 am
i am so happy to have my best childhood.
how would i want to forget it.
you can be a child,that is given by god.
you should be happy that you are a child.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
i will not forget my chidhood
it is soooooooooooooo nice!!!
October 28th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
No, I won’t forget my childhood.
Its too nice already.
October 28th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
i will never forget my childhood .
because it is too nice to forget and it is the best time to learn how to read and write.
so i will never in my life forget my childhood.
October 28th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I will never forget my childhood,
we are made by god.
I will always recall the funny things I did.
October 29th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I will NEVER EVER forget my childhood as IT IS A PART OF MY LIFE!!!!!!
October 29th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I AM SO HAPPY AS I WILL NEVER FORGET MY WONDERFUL CHILDHOOD!!
October 30th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I WISH I WILL WIN
October 30th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
i will never forget my childhood…it is amazing as you think of it!i’m so happy to have good friends.
October 31st, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I like to read books. I hope I can win.
October 31st, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I like to read book. I hope I can win.
November 1st, 2008 at 10:09 am
I will never forget my childhood because my childhood is one of my best memories I’ve ever had and I will remember all the certificate and all my medals that I had won and especially my family who had taught me some interesting things of how to talk proper English and that is why I love to read thick books.Hope I’m one of the lucky winners!!!
November 1st, 2008 at 2:22 pm
i agree that
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I will not forget my childhood because when I was young,my parents,my sister,my brother,my cousins and my other family members take good care of me. They help me with my homework and help me to prepare with my examinations.Although I fought with them,I still love them!I hope I am one of the five lucky winners!
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hi readers,
To stand a chance to win one of five $100 book vouchers, you’ll have to subscribe to our mailing list, by emailing ReadandReap@nlb.gov.sg –> Include in the subject field the word “Subscribe” followed by the NRIC/FIN/Birth Certificate/Library membership No. (e.g. Subscribe S7654321A)
From,
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November 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
i will not forget my childhood because they care for me and play with me!!
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
i will not forget my childhood
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I will forget my childhood.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I will treasure my childhood.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I am still enjoying my childhood. Many nice memories.
November 4th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I will never forget my childhood memories when I grow up as it will always be a treasure to me… nNo matter how many medals or trophies you had in your whole life, the experience is the best prize you can ever had in your life…. It was fun whe you tried to remember all the stupid stuffs that you did last time but it will be fun when you try to recall it someday and say to yourself “what a fun memomry it has been…”
November 4th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
i will not forget my chilhood…thanxs
November 5th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
i enjoy reading this book.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
i really like this book.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
i wish i can have this book.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
i love this book.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
i can’t fogive my childhood.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
i wanna to hug this book.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
i want to hug this book.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
i thought i had time to play outside……
November 6th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
i will never forget my childhood because there is so much excitement in my childhood life…As a child,there is so much laughter and fun in school.that is the only time whereby we could enjoy life,who would want to forget it??
November 6th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I will never forget my childhood days. These were the days where I could play with friends and have fun. We wouldn’t need to worry about life and supporting our family by working because our parents are there to guide you. I will never ever forget my childhood days!
November 6th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I must be hard working so my family will have time to do their thing
November 6th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I will not ever forget my childhood times as they are part of my life.I could play with my friends,read a lot and we wouldn’t need to worry about expenses.Our parents are there to guide us, teach us and pay for our expenses.Our part is to only study hard and achieve good results.They are such precious moments I had in life.I will remember the precious childhood times of freedom I had,ever!!!!
November 12th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
i am so happy to have my best childhood.
how would i want to forget it.
you can be a child,that is given by god.
you should be happy that you are a childi am so happy to have my best childhood.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
i am so happy to have my best childhood.
how would i want to forget it.
you can be a child,that is given by god.
you should be happy that you are a child, i am so happy to have my best childhood.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I will not forget my childhood.If I forget them, I will not have the chance to get to see my childhood toys and places where I have been, and it would be like whole darkness in my brain when I try to remember them.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
No,I think I will not forget my childhood times.It is also the time I play around.Even if I forget,I will flip through my childhood photos and put a smile on my face and I will feel happy.
November 12th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
No, I will not forget my childhood time when I row up because I have many friends and loving teachers when I was in childhood time. I will not forget how my childhood time was but if I forget things must not be forget, I will try to do something that I can remember it, but things must be forget it, I will forget it.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
I will never forget my childhood as it has many good memories of me,my childhood friends and my teachers.I would always keep my childhood memories in my heart so that I would always remember the happy days I once had when I was small.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I will not forget my childhood when I grow up because I have many friends and caring teachers.If I forget my childhood,I will not have the chance to see my childhood anymore.I will always remember the good memories in my heart.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I will not forget my chilhood.I can take a look at my childhood photos sometimes.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I will not forget my childhood because it is the most enjoyable part of my life.I do not need to worry about earning a living,so this is the most enjoyable part my life.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
No,I will not forget my childhood when I grow up because it was the most exciting experience of my life.During my childhood experience,I just need to concentrate on my studies and enjoy myself.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I will not forget my childhood because it is the time when I can enjoy my life.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
There are many nice memories that I won’t forget even when I am an adult.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I will not forget my childhood as I grow up.It is the part of life that is quite enjoyable although there are some downsides.It is also the part of life for us to study,develop skills for the future and have fun.I will also remember my kind teachers, good friends and parents to teach me.
November 15th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
As a young teenager, I don’t really have many years to look back on. However, I am already starting to cherish my younger days. As I grow up, life gets tougher, things are not as simple as they were before. One’s childhood is a time of fun and enjoyment; it’s our best time of our lives.
I really feel that I would never ever want to grow up, that I could stay as a young child, without troubles, worries, or problems. That would be great.
I would definitely never forget my childhood. It’s too precious. Nothing can replace it.
December 8th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I won’t forget my childhood friends because they had done many special things for me, and their kindness and friendliness and has touched me lots. Whenever I am with my friends, I feel warmness and comfortableness. It feels great.
My dad used to say that friends will always remember how their friends make them feel.
It works for me.
December 26th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Hey – have you guys heard that Cornelia Funke’s book Inkheart is a movie to be shown in jan next year!
Talk about childhood – brave kids and all. As adults we tend to become our parents and forget what being a child is all about. Guess we put in the fear in the kids ya.
December 30th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I will never forget my childhood…Although some people may have bitter childhood memories,we can never blame them.Everyone starts their life as a kid and I could never understand why some people just hate children.I especially will never forget my childhood memories as forgeting it means forgeting the best time in my whole life… Even as a teenager,to me being a grown up is never as fun as being a kid with wonderful childhood memories….
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
My childhood was pretty sad…and I can’t remember much. It’s not something I want to remember. To all those who had a happy childhood, don’t lose that innocence.
March 5th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Yes i will forget it. spankings,canings. OMG gimme a sweeter life.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I would not forget my childhood. I could remember the happy part of it. It was the moment I start to learn. It was the time when only fun is the main thing that I want. Childhood times is when i am free from all problems. It is a very memorable moment as I was lavished with love from my beloved ones. I LOVE MY CHILDHOOD TIMES!
May 14th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
I loved my childhood days because I could do what I want and when I want. Nothing will ever make me forget the good days! <3