--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not really sure what makes a book a…" description: "\"I'm not really sure what makes a book a 'classic' to begin with, but I think it has to be at least fifty years old and some person or animal has to die..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/jeff-kinney-4064_animal_i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a_1879890.png" --- # I'm not really sure what makes a book a 'classic' to begin… ![“I'm not really sure what makes a book a 'classic' to begin with, but I think it has to be at least fifty years old and some person or animal has to die at the end.” quote by Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/jeff-kinney-4064_animal_i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a_1879890.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/jeff-kinney-4064_animal_i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a_1879890.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/jeff-kinney-4064_animal_i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a_1879890.png) > “I'm not really sure what makes a book a 'classic' to begin with, but I think it has to be at least fifty years old and some person or animal has to die at the end.” [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A classic book is defined by age and a memorable, often tragic, ending that resonates. **In simple terms:** Classic requires age and a notable ending. Key Takeaway Consider longevity and impact. Themes literature tradition legacy Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type question observation When to use this quote - school curricula - library collections - book clubs Key Concepts Narrative structure cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story timeless? - Does age guarantee value? A Different Perspective Not all old books are classics; quality matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-die-1546857/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-classic-2648840/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) [Classic Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic-begin-2648841/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Fifty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty/) [Fifty year olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty-year-olds/) [Old person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-person/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I am fifty years old and I have never known what it is to love. 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not really sure what makes a book a 'classic' to begin with, but I think it has to be at least fifty years old and some person or animal has to die at the end.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeff Kinney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a-classic-to-begin-with-but-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a-classic-to-begin-with-but-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/jeff-kinney-4064_animal_i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a_1879890.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/jeff-kinney-4064_animal_i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a_1879890.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/jeff-kinney-4064_animal_i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a_1879890.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not really sure what makes a book a 'classic' to begin with, but I think it has to be at least fifty…” — Jeff Kinney", "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": "Jeff Kinney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not really sure what makes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a-classic-to-begin-with-but-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-m-not-really-sure-what-makes-a-book-a-classic-to-begin-with-but-i/#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 } } ] } ```