--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Quite often somebody will say, What year…" description: "\"Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In childhood.\" — Beverly Cleary" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/beverly-cleary-5332_book_quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year_2844782.jpg" --- # Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books… ![“Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In childhood.” quote by Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/beverly-cleary-5332_book_quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year_2844782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/beverly-cleary-5332_book_quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year_2844782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/beverly-cleary-5332_book_quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year_2844782.jpg) > “Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In childhood.” [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. Stories often reflect the timeless, imaginative world of childhood, regardless of the setting’s era. **In simple terms:** Books feel like childhood. Key Takeaway Embrace childlike wonder. Themes nostalgia imagination timelessness Mood warm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - creative writing - family bonding Key Concepts literature education Questions to Reflect On - How does childhood shape your worldview? - What adult lessons can be learned from kids? A Different Perspective Adults may dismiss childlike perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answer Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer-childhood-3750591/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-place-822916/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Say Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-year-1234703/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Year Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-books-2708469/) ## Related quotes > [There's so much stuff being written! Every year, how many books come out? I can't keep up, and I read a lot. It's amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-chang/there-s-so-much-stuff-being-written-every-year-how-many-books-come/) [Victoria Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-chang/) > [“And when the war's over, someday, some year, the books can be written again, the people will be called in, one by one, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/and-when-the-war-s-over-someday-some-year-the-books-can-be-written/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Books can accommodate the proximity of computers but it doesn't seem to work the other way around. Computers now literally drive out books from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/books-can-accommodate-the-proximity-of-computers-but-it-doesn-t-seem/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [To me, the nicest luxury would be to have a room where I could keep all my books in one place - and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabelle-selldorf/to-me-the-nicest-luxury-would-be-to-have-a-room-where-i-could-keep/) [Annabelle Selldorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabelle-selldorf/) > [Books take their place according to their specific gravity as surely as potatoes in a tub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/books-take-their-place-according-to-their-specific-gravity-as-surely/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Books are a place away from routine, a place associated with dreams and fantasies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-gutenberg-elegies/books-are-a-place-away-from-routine-a-place-associated-with-dreams/) [The Gutenberg Elegies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-gutenberg-elegies/) > [I have tons of art books. I have them all over the place. They are in my car, in my bag, and in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mcgee/i-have-tons-of-art-books-i-have-them-all-over-the-place-they-are-in/) [Barry McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mcgee/) > [Happy Birthday. Just one more year and you will be perfect. Yes, I did say that last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-birthday-just-one-more-year-and-you-will-be-perfect-yes-i-did/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'll say the year 2020 will be known as the year of reforms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-thakur/i-ll-say-the-year-2020-will-be-known-as-the-year-of-reforms/) [Anurag Thakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-thakur/) > [I say every year that England is my home now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-bellerin/i-say-every-year-that-england-is-my-home-now/) [Hector Bellerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-bellerin/) > [“Lacey-girl, books take you anywhere. Any place you want to go. You remember that always.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-lynch-williams/lacey-girl-books-take-you-anywhere-any-place-you-want-to-go-you/) [Carol Lynch Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-lynch-williams/) > [The first snowflakes fall Today I see you, no words can say what I Feel, so I say nothing One year ago we walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-first-snowflakes-fall-today-i-see-you-no-words-can-say-what-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There's nothing you're going to say now or in a year that I wouldn't have thought about a hundred times," Alex said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/there-s-nothing-you-re-going-to-say-now-or-in-a-year-that-i-wouldn-t/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [“Therefore books do not take the place of experience, because concepts always remain universal, and so do not reach down to the particular; yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/therefore-books-do-not-take-the-place-of-experience-because-concepts/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Blessed books—they’re a place to be alone, and no one else can come in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/blessed-books-they-re-a-place-to-be-alone-and-no-one-else-can-come-in/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) ## 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": "Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In childhood.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Beverly Cleary" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year-do-your-books-take-place-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year-do-your-books-take-place-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/beverly-cleary-5332_book_quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year_2844782.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/beverly-cleary-5332_book_quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year_2844782.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/beverly-cleary-5332_book_quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year_2844782.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Quite often somebody will say, What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, In…” — 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": "Quite often somebody will say, What...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year-do-your-books-take-place-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/quite-often-somebody-will-say-what-year-do-your-books-take-place-and/#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 } } ] } ```