Favorite Quote from The Stars Beneath Our Feet

Having students choose a favorite quote or scene from the book allows them to express which parts of the story resonated with them on a personal level. In this way, students are making a text-to-self connection that demonstrates their understanding of the characters and their development or the themes of the novel. Students can share their storyboards afterwards and have a short discussion about what the quotes mean to them.

Some students may end up choosing the same quote, but have different perspectives. This is always interesting for students to see and can open up a discussion as to how not everyone can read the same lines in the same way based on their own perspectives and personal experiences.

Examples of Quotes from The Stars Beneath Our Feet

"Rosamund, when you die, they bury you, but your soul flies to the stars. Your mama, your daddy—they were buried under the ground, but they’re stars now, girl, stars beneath our feet.”

“If you only expose yourself to whatever everybody else does, you'll never create anything new.”

“I had learned it was better to share your stuff. You get back more than you think you would.”

“I guess it's quicker to tear down something than to build it up.”

“I wasn’t even sure how that worked. Could you really make somebody gay just by chatting with them? I hoped that I wouldn’t turn out that way, because I talked to a lot of gays. I actually do like them, but they got too much drama to deal with. So many people hate them and call them names that I don’t think it’s something anybody would really pick to be if they had a choice in it. Who would choose to be gay when they knew it was so much easier to be straight?”

“Breathing was about the only thing regular about how we lived.”

"I took pride in closely following the blueprints for each kit. Everything I built was exactly how it appeared on the box.”

" Especially not down at the barbershop. Promise me you won't go down there.”

"Our coyote was part of a species in danger. Hunted down and shot up. We knew how it felt."

"Our coyote was nowhere. Disappeared. Like everything else does sooner or later. Nicky was gone. Like Harmonee. Like Jermaine."

"Before I had come up here to visit him, I had felt better. Hoping for a life, maybe making art."

“The folks you hang out with can raise you up or bring you down low. Over time, they can make you think a certain way - change who you really are.”

“Since then I had learned the most important thing: the decisions you make can become your life. Your choices are you.”