--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thing that was very different for me is…" description: "\"Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.\" — Laila Lalami" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/laila-lalami-25030_americans_thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is_1662858.png" --- # Thing that was very different for me is that an American… ![“Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.” quote by Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/laila-lalami-25030_americans_thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is_1662858.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/laila-lalami-25030_americans_thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is_1662858.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/laila-lalami-25030_americans_thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is_1662858.png) > “Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.” [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American children's literature is dominated by American voices, limiting exposure to diverse perspectives. **In simple terms:** Reading lacks global diversity. Key Takeaway Seek varied narratives. Themes diversity education culture Mood thoughtful concerned Type educational reflective When to use this quote - school curriculum - library selection - parental reading choices Key Concepts cultural representation literary canon Questions to Reflect On - How can curricula incorporate more global voices? - What benefits arise from diverse reading material? A Different Perspective Broadening perspectives requires intentional effort from educators and families. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) ## Related quotes > [When you read with your child, you show them that reading is important, but you also show them they're important - that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/when-you-read-with-your-child-you-show-them-that-reading-is-important/) [Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/) > [I always feel like my book is a success when I see a child reading it, and they have their pointer finger out, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brett/i-always-feel-like-my-book-is-a-success-when-i-see-a-child-reading-it/) [Jan Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brett/) > [“If you are concerned for the future of our civilization, there is no more cheering sight than a boy or girl who is lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/if-you-are-concerned-for-the-future-of-our-civilization-there-is-no/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [“Think of me, the uneducated child reading books in my room at 22 Hyde Park Gate -- now advanced to this glory... Yes; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/think-of-me-the-uneducated-child-reading-books-in-my-room-at-22-hyde/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I mean, yeah, I'm sure that Python and the other things have paved the way for a greater understanding of the British sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/i-mean-yeah-i-m-sure-that-python-and-the-other-things-have-paved-the/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [Japanese attitudes toward work seem to be critically different from American attitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/japanese-attitudes-toward-work-seem-to-be-critically-different-from/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) > [When I walk into a market I may see a different cut of meat or an unusual vegetable and think, ‘I wonder how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-beard/when-i-walk-into-a-market-i-may-see-a-different-cut-of-meat-or-an/) [James Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-beard/) > [When we came to America, the movies here needed a "new wave." European films looked totally different than American movies, which were these lush,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/when-we-came-to-america-the-movies-here-needed-a-new-wave-european/) [Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/) > [What I am doing is creating a language. A different American language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-taylor/what-i-am-doing-is-creating-a-language-a-different-american-language/) [Cecil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-taylor/) > [I feel a little schizophrenic because my life is so totally different from here, obviously. And the French values are so different from American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-lyne/i-feel-a-little-schizophrenic-because-my-life-is-so-totally-different/) [Adrian Lyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-lyne/) > [The old style of British wrestling is a lot different than the American style, and that's what I was trained in. It's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-dunne/the-old-style-of-british-wrestling-is-a-lot-different-than-the/) [Pete Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-dunne/) > [The downside to defining everything Chinese as different than American is that all things Chinese then become exotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-kamau-bell/the-downside-to-defining-everything-chinese-as-different-than/) [W. Kamau Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-kamau-bell/) > [“The average American child, by age eighteen, is estimated to have seen eighteen thousand murders and two hundred thousand acts of violence on television.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-borden/the-average-american-child-by-age-eighteen-is-estimated-to-have-seen/) [Richard J. Borden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-borden/) > [I'm proud to say that there is not a single Russian nuclear missile pointed at an American child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/i-m-proud-to-say-that-there-is-not-a-single-russian-nuclear-missile/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [“Amount of time an American child spends watching television, annually: 1,500 hours. Amount of time an American child spends in school, annually: 900 hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-strupp/amount-of-time-an-american-child-spends-watching-television-annually/) Peter Strupp ## More by Laila Lalami > [There is a insularity within American fiction even for adults. It's very tough for books in translation in the US.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/there-is-a-insularity-within-american-fiction-even-for-adults-it-s/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [ I \[read\] "The Book of Unknown Americans," which is by a friend of mine, Cristina Henriquez, and is about two Latino, immigrant families who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/i-read-the-book-of-unknown-americans-which-is-by-a-friend-of-mine/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [The ones that were relevant while I wrote my book were books like "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, which is based on a historical fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/the-ones-that-were-relevant-while-i-wrote-my-book-were-books-like/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“He needed time to adjust to real life, where heroes and villains could not be told apart by their looks or their accents, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/he-needed-time-to-adjust-to-real-life-where-heroes-and-villains-could/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [Every book leaves its mark on you. It might leave you hungry for that kind of book or you may be satiated, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/every-book-leaves-its-mark-on-you-it-might-leave-you-hungry-for-that/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [A name is precious; it carries inside it a language, a history, a set of traditions, a particular way of looking at the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/a-name-is-precious-it-carries-inside-it-a-language-a-history-a-set-of/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [In some ways, I think it's the closest that we come to the truth — is in the form of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/in-some-ways-i-think-it-s-the-closest-that-we-come-to-the-truth-is-in/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“His anger took many shapes: sometimes soft and familiar, like a round stone he had caressed for so long that is was perfectly smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/his-anger-took-many-shapes-sometimes-soft-and-familiar-like-a-round/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [When I was a child, I was reading books filled with people different from me, all French, all foreigners. There was a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/when-i-was-a-child-i-was-reading-books-filled-with-people-different/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“It was a communion of pain, and no one in the city could pretend not to have heard it. The women had made witnesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/it-was-a-communion-of-pain-and-no-one-in-the-city-could-pretend-not/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“know now that these conquerors, like many others before them, and no doubt like others after, gave speeches not to voice the truth, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/know-now-that-these-conquerors-like-many-others-before-them-and-no/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [There are writers I return to no matter what I'm working on, writers like the South African J.M. Coetzee. He has an ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/there-are-writers-i-return-to-no-matter-what-i-m-working-on-writers/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [No one wrote better about the sin of pride, the corruption of power and the redemption of love. I will miss you, Gabriel García…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/no-one-wrote-better-about-the-sin-of-pride-the-corruption-of-power/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [ Few \[books\] get translated and the ones that do have trouble making it into the mainstream. It's more likely that Americans will discover another… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/few-books-get-translated-and-the-ones-that-do-have-trouble-making-it/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [“Nothing new has ever happened to aq son of Adam, she said. Everything has already been lived and everything has already been told. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/nothing-new-has-ever-happened-to-aq-son-of-adam-she-said-everything/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) [Explore all 23 Laila Lalami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) ## More Americans quotes > [“People – Americans, mostly – realise how attached they are to material comforts when they arrive in India.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-william-roberts/people-americans-mostly-realise-how-attached-they-are-to-material/) Paul William Roberts > [Music has an intrinsic value that touches Americans - they love their music, and want more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-rosen/music-has-an-intrinsic-value-that-touches-americans-they-love-their/) [Hilary Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-rosen/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [My parents don't care what Americans think of us; we just care what the other Indian people in our community think of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himanshu-suri/my-parents-don-t-care-what-americans-think-of-us-we-just-care-what/) [Himanshu Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himanshu-suri/) > [When Americans, who have no idea who I am, laugh at my jokes, it's exactly the same if someone loves you even if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/when-americans-who-have-no-idea-who-i-am-laugh-at-my-jokes-it-s/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/americans-will-put-up-with-anything-provided-it-doesn-t-block-traffic/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [Most Americans believe in fairness; we believe that people should work hard but there should be a safety net. We believe in saving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/most-americans-believe-in-fairness-we-believe-that-people-should-work/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [“Using a wide variety of media, we could demonstrate for our fellow Americans their anxieties, desires, insufficiencies, and frustrations--and how to assuage them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/using-a-wide-variety-of-media-we-could-demonstrate-for-our-fellow/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [So many Korean Americans like me came to this country with the hope of achieving their own American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/so-many-korean-americans-like-me-came-to-this-country-with-the-hope/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Browse all 1,536 Americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laila Lalami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is-that-an-american-child-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Americans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is-that-an-american-child-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/laila-lalami-25030_americans_thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is_1662858.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/laila-lalami-25030_americans_thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is_1662858.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/laila-lalami-25030_americans_thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is_1662858.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thing that was very different for me is that an American child's reading is filled with Americans.” — Laila Lalami", "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": "Laila Lalami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Thing that was very different for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is-that-an-american-child-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/thing-that-was-very-different-for-me-is-that-an-american-child-s/#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 } } ] } ```