Epigraphs are like little appetizers to the great entrée of a story. They illuminate important aspects of the story, and they get us headed in the right direction.
If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A Hope-er, a Pray-er, a Magic Bean buyer,
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin
Come in!
Come in!
—Shel Silverstein
In case you didn't know, Shel Silverstein is a super-famous poet who wrote mostly for kids, but also for adults. His poems tell wonderful, magical stories with whimsical imagery and interesting moral messages, so it's appropriate that his words open Inkheart and invite us, as its readers and potential dreamers and wishers, to come and enjoy some stories.