--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Making fiction for children, making books…" description: "\"Making fiction for children, making books for children, isn't something you do for money. It's something you do because what children read and learn an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/neil-gaiman-29_and-love_making-fiction-for-children-making-books_2746133.jpg" --- # Making fiction for children, making books for children… ![“Making fiction for children, making books for children, isn't something you do for money. It's something you do because what children read and learn and see and take in changes them and forms them, and they make the future. They make the world we're going to wind up in, the world that will be here…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/neil-gaiman-29_and-love_making-fiction-for-children-making-books_2746133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/neil-gaiman-29_and-love_making-fiction-for-children-making-books_2746133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/neil-gaiman-29_and-love_making-fiction-for-children-making-books_2746133.jpg) > “Making fiction for children, making books for children, isn't something you do for money. It's something you do because what children read and learn and see and take in changes them and forms them, and they make the future. They make the world we're going to wind up in, the world that will be here when we're gone. Which sounds preachy (and is more than you need for a quotebyte) but it's true. I want to tell kids important things, and I want them to love stories and love reading and love finding things out. I want them to be brave and wise. So I write for them.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating children's books is driven by the desire to shape young minds, not profit; stories influence future generations. **In simple terms:** Children's books aim to shape kids, not earn money. Key Takeaway Write to inspire and empower young readers. Themes education influence future storytelling Mood hopeful reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational literary When to use this quote - Teaching values - encouraging reading - building empathy - fostering curiosity Key Concepts Child development literary impact cultural formation Questions to Reflect On - How can authors balance profit and purpose? - What stories most change a child's worldview? A Different Perspective Money can limit creative freedom and market reach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-book/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love of reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-of-reading/) [Love story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-story/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I cannot think of any work that could be more agreeable and fun than making books for children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-lobel/i-cannot-think-of-any-work-that-could-be-more-agreeable-and-fun-than/) [Arnold Lobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-lobel/) > [Writing for children is bloody difficult; books for children are as complex as their adult counterparts, and they should therefore be accorded the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/writing-for-children-is-bloody-difficult-books-for-children-are-as/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I believe that a good children's book should appeal to all people who have not completely lost their original joy and wonder in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-lionni/i-believe-that-a-good-children-s-book-should-appeal-to-all-people-who/) [Leo Lionni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-lionni/) > [I started writing books for children because I could illustrate them myself and because, in my innocence, I thought they'd be easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-started-writing-books-for-children-because-i-could-illustrate-them/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [Children's reading and children's thinking are the rock-bottom base upon which this country will rise. Or not rise. In these days of tension and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/children-s-reading-and-children-s-thinking-are-the-rock-bottom-base-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have written, probably, more books for children than any other writer, from story-books to plays, and can claim to know more about interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enid-blyton/i-have-written-probably-more-books-for-children-than-any-other-writer/) [Enid Blyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enid-blyton/) > [Had I not had children of my own, I would have never written books for children, nor would I have been capable of doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/had-i-not-had-children-of-my-own-i-would-have-never-written-books-for/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [I never set out to write books for children. I don't have a feeling that I'm gonna save children or my life is devoted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-never-set-out-to-write-books-for-children-i-don-t-have-a-feeling/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [ I love those adult writers with the pranking ethos, \[Don\] DeLillo and \[Donald\] Barthelme and David Foster Wallace. I don't see any reason not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-love-those-adult-writers-with-the-pranking-ethos-don-delillo-and/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [I have so little patience with the whole Y.A. book thing. As far as I'm concerned, you either read books for children or you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-k-morgan/i-have-so-little-patience-with-the-whole-y-a-book-thing-as-far-as-i-m/) [Richard K. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-k-morgan/) > [In our time, when the literature for adults is deteriorating, good books for children are the only hope, the only refuge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/in-our-time-when-the-literature-for-adults-is-deteriorating-good/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [Why then, if these new books for children must be retained, as they will be, should not the Bible regain the place it once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fisher-ames/why-then-if-these-new-books-for-children-must-be-retained-as-they/) [Fisher Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fisher-ames/) > [There is the myth that writing books for children is easier than writing books for grownups, whereas we know that truly great books for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/there-is-the-myth-that-writing-books-for-children-is-easier-than/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [Fiction came quite a while later. I began with short stories and fiction for children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/fiction-came-quite-a-while-later-i-began-with-short-stories-and/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [I enjoy receiving and giving realistic fiction, for both children and adults, with strong characters, beautiful language, and humane visions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-enjoy-receiving-and-giving-realistic-fiction-for-both-children-and/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“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/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. 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If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? 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It's something you do because what children read and learn and see and take in changes them and forms them, and they make the future. They make the world we're going to wind up in, the world that will be here when we're gone. Which sounds preachy (and is more than you need for a quotebyte) but it's true. I want to tell kids important things, and I want them to love stories and love reading and love finding things out. I want them to be brave and wise. 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