Books have been preparing us for adulthood all along, and we didn't even know it at the time, secret messages that we should bring with us right through to adulthood. So we've put together a list of the best quotes from favourite children's books!

‘What day is it?’, asked Winnie the Pooh. ‘It’s today,’ squeaked Piglet. ‘My favourite day,’ said Pooh.”
— A. A. Milne, The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

"Of course, it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
- JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."
-Roald Dahl

"It's no use to go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

– A.A Milne, Winnie the Pooh

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

– Aesop, The Lion and the Mouse

“Why did you do all this for me?' he asked. 'I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.' 'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
- E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”?

- J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan

“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and - SNAP - the job's a game.”

– P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins

“Numbing the pain for a while will only make it feel worse when you finally feel it.”

– JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

– Dr Seuss, Cat in the Hat

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
- AA Milne, Winnie the Pooh

"The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid."
- Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz  

“I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.”
- Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time