How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Do you think we're like most of the kids over here, in the way we look?" Dicey asked.
"Natural camouflage," James said.
Dicey looked at them. They were all tan, and her day in the sun yesterday had caught her up in brownness for what she'd lost during hours inside at Bridgeport. Their hair was scruffy, and Maybeth's curls looked tangled. But they didn't look out of place, or unusual. They looked like kids running a little wild during the summer. (2.4.111-113)
This is actually a good thing. The Tillermans just look like dirty little kids running around during summertime—that's why people aren't bothering them. They blend in and no one thinks they're in any kind of trouble.
Quote #8
Finally, James broke the silence. "She probably figured she could be angry and mean to us and get away with it," he said. "Because we're kids."
"She didn't get away with it," Dicey reminded him. (2.4.168-169)
The "she" in this quote is Claire. She shoos the kids out of the circus tent and James reflects on the injustice of it all. People can pretty much treat kids any way they want to, and it doesn't seem to matter much.
Quote #9
Their grandmother had stood silent in the doorway while he told it. "You're not helpless infants," she remarked. (2.9.102)
You've got that right, Abigail. Finally, someone realizes what these little kids have been through instead of babying them and trying to take control of them like grown ups love to do.