1. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

2. “Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.” – C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

3. “Where’s Papa going with that ax?” – E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

4. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

5. “These two very old people are the father and mother of Mr. Bucket.” – Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

6. “There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning, he was really splendid.” – Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

7. “Little Miss Mary stood at the mirror and placed her cloak around her shoulders.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

8. “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

9. “All children, except one, grow up.” – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

10. “In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.” – Ludwig Bemelmans, Madeline

11. “One sunny Sunday, the caterpillar was hatched out of a tiny egg.” – Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

12. “It was seven minutes after midnight.” – Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls

13. “My father died eleven years ago.I was only four then.” – Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl

14. “The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another, his mother called him “Wild Thing!”” – Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

15. “By six o’clock the sun was up and all the folks in town were awake.” – Roald Dahl, The BFG

16. “The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play.” – Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat

17. “This morning, Kino awakened in the near-darkness of early dawn.” – John Steinbeck, The Pearl

18. “The first thing Mr. Bilbo Baggins did when he arrived home was to sit down and eat.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

19. “I was born in the city of Bombay…once upon a time.” – Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children

20. “In the beginning, there was nothing but a great deal of crying, and that was mostly Mama.” – Kate DiCamillo, Because of Winn-Dixie

21. “The sun set in the West as Max said, “Where the Wild Things Are, the wild things are!” – Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are