I love a good book dedication! Here are some that have stood out to me, spanning from classics to modern and from popular to obscure (and yes, a couple of my own books are in here, because I can and because I like them haha.)
These book dedications are in no particular order. Enjoy!
This book is dedicated to an adult, Jennifer Ridyard, and to Cameron and Alistair Ridyard, who will be adults all too soon. For in every adult dwells the child that was, and in every child lies the adult that will be.
I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children—although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:
To the memory of my mom, who taught me that food is love. It was the first, and best, magic I ever knew. And to the memory of my sister, who came before me and illuminated the way.
My Dear Lucy, I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand, a word you say, but I shall still be your affectionate Godfather, C. S. Lewis.
Amy L Sauder has been called both “Quirky Meta Mystery” and “Walking Fairytale,” and she can’t decide which is the highest compliment. Since gaining her English Lit degree, she has studied creative writing and dabbled in other arts she probably has no business dabbling in 🙂 You can follow her creative journey here and explore yours too, from the “Once Upon” to the “Ever After” and every point in between.
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2 thoughts on “13 memorable book dedications”
Lovely dedications! I remember reading CS Lewis’ when I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I thought I was amusing, but it hits much harder in my 60s than in my teens.
Lovely dedications! I remember reading CS Lewis’ when I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I thought I was amusing, but it hits much harder in my 60s than in my teens.
It really is timeless, and takes on new meaning with each decade 🙂