--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spy with my little eye a great story." description: "\"I spy with my little eye a great story.\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/john-green-12_eye_i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story-1_1162064.jpg" --- # I spy with my little eye a great story. ![“I spy with my little eye a great story.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/john-green-12_eye_i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story-1_1162064.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/john-green-12_eye_i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story-1_1162064.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/john-green-12_eye_i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story-1_1162064.jpg) > “I spy with my little eye a great story.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes using a game of observation to hint at a larger narrative **In simple terms:** Uses a simple observation game to suggest deeper storytelling Key Takeaway Observe details to uncover hidden stories Themes observation storytelling curiosity Mood playful intrigued Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - Reading clubs - creative writing workshops - interactive games Key Concepts Narrative technique visual imagination Questions to Reflect On - What story does your observation hint at? - How can you expand a simple clue into a full narrative? A Different Perspective Relying solely on observation may miss context ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eye Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye-great-3331091/) [Great Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-story/) [Little Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-eye-3331090/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Spy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spy/) [Spy Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spy-little-2108233/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [I spy, with my little eye, something that starts with ... G." "Sausages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rex/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-something-that-starts-with-g-sausages/) [Adam Rex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rex/) > [“I spy with my little eye, something that is so beautiful, it leaves me breathless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-michele/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-something-that-is-so-beautiful-it-leaves-me-2/) [Beth Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-michele/) > [Eye was a great discovery. He is one of the great vocalists of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zorn/eye-was-a-great-discovery-he-is-one-of-the-great-vocalists-of-all-time/) [John Zorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zorn/) > [“Artists have to have a good eye. And to be great, I'd recommend having two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/artists-have-to-have-a-good-eye-and-to-be-great-i-d-recommend-having/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I spy with my little eye...bitches everywhere who are bored with their lives and love to spread lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-bitches-everywhere-who-are-bored-with-their/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [Great story how many more times you going to tell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/great-story-how-many-more-times-you-going-to-tell-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I ever come across a great story I wouldn't mind co-producing a web show or a miniseries on TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prachi-desai/if-i-ever-come-across-a-great-story-i-wouldn-t-mind-co-producing-a/) [Prachi Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prachi-desai/) > [Every great story seems to begin with a snake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/every-great-story-seems-to-begin-with-a-snake/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [We are our choices. Build yourself a great story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-are-our-choices-build-yourself-a-great-story/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [Every great love starts with a great story...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/every-great-love-starts-with-a-great-story/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [You know it's gonna be a great story when it starts off with, 'So this b\*tch...'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-it-s-gonna-be-a-great-story-when-it-starts-off-with-so-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you have a great story, any film will work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-madhavan/if-you-have-a-great-story-any-film-will-work/) [R. Madhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-madhavan/) > [Every great story deserves a great ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/every-great-story-deserves-a-great-ending/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [You might not have the biggest budget or resources or cast, but if you have a great story, people will latch onto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/you-might-not-have-the-biggest-budget-or-resources-or-cast-but-if-you/) [Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/) > [Scripture is, at its heart, the great story that we sing in order not just to learn it with our heads but to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/scripture-is-at-its-heart-the-great-story-that-we-sing-in-order-not/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Eye quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [Clearly, when we baptize, our eyes should gaze beyond the baptismal font to the holy temple. The great garner into which the sheaves should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/clearly-when-we-baptize-our-eyes-should-gaze-beyond-the-baptismal/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 16,237 Eye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spy with my little eye a great story.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/john-green-12_eye_i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story-1_1162064.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/john-green-12_eye_i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story-1_1162064.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/john-green-12_eye_i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story-1_1162064.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I spy with my little eye a great story.” — John Green", "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": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I spy with my little eye...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-great-story/#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 } } ] } ```