---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I learned to read very early so I could…"
description: "\"I learned to read very early so I could read the comics, which I then started to draw.\" — Margaret Atwood"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/607/margaret-atwood-40_books_i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could_2931753.jpg"
---

#  I learned to read very early so I could read the comics…

![“I learned to read very early so I could read the comics, which I then started to draw.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/607/margaret-atwood-40_books_i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could_2931753.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/607/margaret-atwood-40_books_i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could_2931753.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/607/margaret-atwood-40_books_i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could_2931753.jpg)

> “I learned to read very early so I could read the comics, which I then started to draw.”

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Early reading of comics inspired her to draw, highlighting the power of early influences.

**In simple terms:** Comics sparked her artistic path.

Key Takeaway

Encourage early creative exposure.

Themes

creativity reading influence growth

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

educational personal

When to use this quote

- schools
- libraries
- youth programs

Key Concepts

literary development artistic inspiration education policy

Questions to Reflect On

- What early experiences shape lifelong passions?
- How can we nurture creative curiosity?

A Different Perspective

Early exposure may not guarantee sustained interest.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/)

## Related quotes

> [Reading and writing are connected. I learned to read very early so I could read the comics, which I then started to draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/reading-and-writing-are-connected-i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I do still read comics since I started writing for DC, but nowhere near as much as I used to, and I'm finding now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/i-do-still-read-comics-since-i-started-writing-for-dc-but-nowhere/)

[Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/)

> [“Stephen King started to read comics first, I started to watch films and little reading books...Now everything has changed Stephen King reads books and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/stephen-king-started-to-read-comics-first-i-started-to-watch-films/)

Deyth Banger

> [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/)

[Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/)

> [I usually go to bed early to read. I read and I always say that I'm not a "bohemian artist;" I need to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michal-rovner/i-usually-go-to-bed-early-to-read-i-read-and-i-always-say-that-i-m/)

[Michal Rovner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michal-rovner/)

> [I like to get to bed early and read a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-khoo/i-like-to-get-to-bed-early-and-read-a-book/)

[Rachel Khoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-khoo/)

> [I started to draw desert islands. They were just rough, shapes in the middle of the page. Then I began drawing shapes within those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/i-started-to-draw-desert-islands-they-were-just-rough-shapes-in-the/)

[Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/)

> [When I was a kid I would much rather have been a good baseball player or a hit with the girls, but I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/when-i-was-a-kid-i-would-much-rather-have-been-a-good-baseball-player/)

[Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/)

> [I was blown away by being able to color. Then I started to draw... bringing a blank white canvas to life was fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-de-la-vega/i-was-blown-away-by-being-able-to-color-then-i-started-to-draw/)

[James De La Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-de-la-vega/)

> [I discovered there are some messages, left by other artists. I've just started to draw, say, to share the visions with them, or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pawel-althamer/i-discovered-there-are-some-messages-left-by-other-artists-i-ve-just/)

[Pawel Althamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pawel-althamer/)

> [Sitting at the corner, and I ddnt know what to do and so I grabbed my brush and started to draw of what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roo-roosing-potestas/sitting-at-the-corner-and-i-ddnt-know-what-to-do-and-so-i-grabbed-my/)

[Roo Roosing Potestas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roo-roosing-potestas/)

> [I couldn't play ball. I couldn't dance. Luckily, the girls didn't want me. Not much I could do about that. So I started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/i-couldn-t-play-ball-i-couldn-t-dance-luckily-the-girls-didn-t-want/)

[Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/)

> [The plea for the predominance of learning to read in early school life because of the great importance attaching to literature seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-plea-for-the-predominance-of-learning-to-read-in-early-school/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [ Neither were you \[born yesterday\], unless of course I am wrong, in which case welcome to the world, little baby, and congratulations on learning… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/neither-were-you-born-yesterday-unless-of-course-i-am-wrong-in-which/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [My childhood may have been more demented than most, because I learned to read very early and was allowed to read whatever I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-z-brite/my-childhood-may-have-been-more-demented-than-most-because-i-learned/)

[Poppy Z. Brite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppy-z-brite/)

## More by Margaret Atwood

> [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/)

[margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

[Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## More Books 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/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [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/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [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/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

Christopher K. Krebs

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [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/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [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/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I learned to read very early so I could read the comics, which I then started to draw.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Margaret Atwood"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could-read-the-comics-which-i-then/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could-read-the-comics-which-i-then/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/607/margaret-atwood-40_books_i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could_2931753.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/607/margaret-atwood-40_books_i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could_2931753.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/607/margaret-atwood-40_books_i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could_2931753.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I learned to read very early so I could read the comics, which I then started to draw.” — Margaret Atwood",
                "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": "Margaret Atwood",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I learned to read very early...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could-read-the-comics-which-i-then/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-learned-to-read-very-early-so-i-could-read-the-comics-which-i-then/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
