--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are usually surprised to hear…" description: "\"People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don't really read children's books.\" — Beverly Cleary" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/beverly-cleary-5332_book_people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-thi_967088.jpg" --- # People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don't… ![“People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don't really read children's books.” quote by Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/beverly-cleary-5332_book_people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-thi_967088.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/beverly-cleary-5332_book_people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-thi_967088.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/beverly-cleary-5332_book_people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-thi_967088.jpg) > “People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don't really read children's books.” [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She admits she rarely reads children's books, contrary to expectations of a children's author. **In simple terms:** She doesn't read children's books. Key Takeaway Explore reading beyond genre expectations. Themes identity expectations literature Mood curious defiant Type personal reflective When to use this quote - teaching writing - publishing - personal reading habits Key Concepts authorial authenticity genre conventions Questions to Reflect On - Why do you avoid your own genre? - How does this affect your writing? A Different Perspective May limit insight into current trends for young readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children 's books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-books/) [Children'S Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-books-2/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) ## Related quotes > [I can still remember. I was ill, and I was seven, and my father didn't want me to just read children's books. He came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-can-still-remember-i-was-ill-and-i-was-seven-and-my-father-didn-t/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [I don't really read children's books or deal with children's books, so I don't have any relationship with them other than my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ian-black/i-don-t-really-read-children-s-books-or-deal-with-children-s-books-so/) [Michael Ian Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ian-black/) > [To tell the truth, I don't read children's books. I'm an adult. I just write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-steig/to-tell-the-truth-i-don-t-read-children-s-books-i-m-an-adult-i-just/) [William Steig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-steig/) > [I rarely read children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-rarely-read-children-s-books/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I feel sometimes that in children's books there are more and more grim problems, but I don't know that I want to burden third-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-feel-sometimes-that-in-children-s-books-there-are-more-and-more/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [ When people meet me in person, they're usually surprised at how petite I am because there's just \[an\] idea that because I'm black I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-people-meet-me-in-person-they-re-usually-surprised-at-how-petite-2/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [When people meet me in person, they're usually surprised at how petite I am because there's this idea that because I'm black, I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-people-meet-me-in-person-they-re-usually-surprised-at-how-petite/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [We usually surprised everyone, and still do, as we keep the craziness onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-usually-surprised-everyone-and-still-do-as-we-keep-the-craziness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've illustrated many children's books and I feel awfully lucky to be able to do something I love so much, and yes, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-blackall/i-ve-illustrated-many-children-s-books-and-i-feel-awfully-lucky-to-be/) [Sophie Blackall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-blackall/) > [I was inspired to write children's books, but without blood and gore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-williams/i-was-inspired-to-write-children-s-books-but-without-blood-and-gore/) Stanley Williams > [My best ideas come to me at unexpected moments, like when I'm reading children's books to my kids (the pictures inspire me), shopping, driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-engelbreit/my-best-ideas-come-to-me-at-unexpected-moments-like-when-i-m-reading/) [Mary Engelbreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-engelbreit/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [If we weigh the significance of a book by the effect it has on its readers, then the great children's books suddenly turn up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-miller/if-we-weigh-the-significance-of-a-book-by-the-effect-it-has-on-its/) [Laura Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-miller/) > [Children's books are by nature partisan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-walters/children-s-books-are-by-nature-partisan/) [Eric Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-walters/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) ## More by Beverly Cleary > [I particularly enjoy cello music because our daughter plays the cello. I have listened to her practice for so many hours that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-particularly-enjoy-cello-music-because-our-daughter-plays-the-cello/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-don-t-necessarily-start-with-the-beginning-of-the-book-i-just-start/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I think adults sometimes don't think about how children are feeling about the adult problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-think-adults-sometimes-don-t-think-about-how-children-are-feeling/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [What interests me is what children go through while growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/what-interests-me-is-what-children-go-through-while-growing-up/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I know that when I was a children's librarian, that was about 1940, boys particularly asked where were the books about kids like us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-know-that-when-i-was-a-children-s-librarian-that-was-about-1940/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I haven't been very enthusiastic about the commercialization of children's literature. Kids should borrow books from the library and not necessarily be buying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-haven-t-been-very-enthusiastic-about-the-commercialization-of/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“She was surprised to feel his hand on her arm and still more surprised-almost unbelieving-to see his fingers unclasp his identification bracelet and remove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/she-was-surprised-to-feel-his-hand-on-her-arm-and-still-more/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys at school, and although he was not handsome, or even particularly good-looking—there were still some scars on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/he-seemed-grown-up-compared-to-the-boys-at-school-and-although-he-was/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [The key to writing successful YA is to keep the adults out of the story as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/the-key-to-writing-successful-ya-is-to-keep-the-adults-out-of-the/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [In my grammar school years back in the 1920s I used my ten-cents-a-week allowance for Saturday matinees of Douglas Fairbanks movies. All that swashbuckling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/in-my-grammar-school-years-back-in-the-1920s-i-used-my-ten-cents-a/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“Well, she thought, I'm certainly bright. She had wanted to meet a new boy and when she finally did meet one she didn't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/well-she-thought-i-m-certainly-bright-she-had-wanted-to-meet-a-new/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I wrote books to entertain. I'm not trying to teach anything! If I suspected the author was trying to show me how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-wrote-books-to-entertain-i-m-not-trying-to-teach-anything-if-i/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I had a bad time in school in the first grade. Because I had been a rather lonely child on a farm, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-had-a-bad-time-in-school-in-the-first-grade-because-i-had-been-a/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“If there's one thing I can't stand, its a cheeky mouse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/if-there-s-one-thing-i-can-t-stand-its-a-cheeky-mouse/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [I think the best teachers had a real interest in the subject they were teaching and a love for children. Some of the teachers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-think-the-best-teachers-had-a-real-interest-in-the-subject-they/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) [Explore all 94 Beverly Cleary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don't really read children's books.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Beverly Cleary" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-this-but-i-don-t-really-read/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-this-but-i-don-t-really-read/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/beverly-cleary-5332_book_people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-thi_967088.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/beverly-cleary-5332_book_people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-thi_967088.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a9/beverly-cleary-5332_book_people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-thi_967088.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don't really read children's books.” — Beverly Cleary", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Beverly Cleary", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People are usually surprised to hear...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-this-but-i-don-t-really-read/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/people-are-usually-surprised-to-hear-this-but-i-don-t-really-read/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```