Opening Lines in Children's Books

Children's Books Quiz

"In the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf."
"First, let me get something straight: this is a journal, not a diary."
"All children, except one, grow up."
"The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home."
"Once upon a time there was a little chimney-sweep, and his name was Tom."
"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day."
"It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day's rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in their tips."

"Where’s Papa going with that axe?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast."
"My father got the dog drunk on cherry brandy at the party last night. If the RSPCA hear about it he could get done."
"Roger, aged seven, and no longer the youngest of the family, ran in wide zigzags, to and fro, across the steep field that sloped up from the lake to Holly Howe, the farm where they were staying for part of the summer holidays."
"It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful."
"The pretty little Swiss town of Mayenfield lies at the foot of a mountain range, whose grim rigged peaks tower high above the valley below."
"These two very old people are the father and mother of Mr. Bucket."
"Once there was a little girl called Sophie. She was having tea with her mummy in the kitchen. Suddenly there was a ring at the door. Sophie’s mummy said 'I wonder who that could be?'"
"When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen."
"Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy."
"The primroses were over. Toward the edge of the wood where the ground became open and sloped down to an old fence and a brambly ditch beyond, only a few fading patches of pale yellow still showed among the dog's mercury and oak-tree roots.
A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good. "Where are you going to, little brown mouse? Come and have lunch in my underground house."
"Once upon a time there lived... 'A king!' my little readers will say immediately. No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood."
"The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon."

Answers

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle): "In the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf."
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (by Jeff Kinney): "First, let me get something straight: this is a journal, not a diary."
Peter Pan (by J. M. Barrie): "All children, except one, grow up."
The Wind in the Willows (by Kenneth Grahame): "The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home."
The Water-Babies (by Charles Kingsley): "Once upon a time there was a little chimney-sweep, and his name was Tom."
The Cat in the Hat (by Dr. Seuss): "The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day."
The Jungle Book (by Rudyard Kipling): "It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day's rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in their tips."
Charlotte's Web (by E.B. White): "Where’s Papa going with that axe?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast."
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (by Sue Townsend): "My father got the dog drunk on cherry brandy at the party last night. If the RSPCA hear about it he could get done."
Swallows And Amazons (by Arthur Ransome): "Roger, aged seven, and no longer the youngest of the family, ran in wide zigzags, to and fro, across the steep field that sloped up from the lake to Holly Howe, the farm where they were staying for part of the summer holidays."
Matilda (by Roald Dahl): "It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful."
Heidi (by Johanna Spyri): "The pretty little Swiss town of Mayenfield lies at the foot of a mountain range, whose grim rigged peaks tower high above the valley below."
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (by Roald Dahl): "These two very old people are the father and mother of Mr. Bucket."
The Tiger Who Came to Tea (by Judith Kerr): "Once there was a little girl called Sophie. She was having tea with her mummy in the kitchen. Suddenly there was a ring at the door. Sophie’s mummy said 'I wonder who that could be?'"
The Secret Garden (by Frances Hodgson Burnett): "When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen."
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (by C. S. Lewis): "Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy."
Watership Down (by Richard Adams): "The primroses were over. Toward the edge of the wood where the ground became open and sloped down to an old fence and a brambly ditch beyond, only a few fading patches of pale yellow still showed among the dog's mercury and oak-tree roots.
The Gruffalo (by Julia Donaldson): A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good. "Where are you going to, little brown mouse? Come and have lunch in my underground house."
Pinocchio (by Carlo Collodi): "Once upon a time there lived... 'A king!' my little readers will say immediately. No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood."
Lord of the Flies (by William Golding): "The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon."