--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are some themes, some subjects, too…" description: "\"“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book. In adult literary fict..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/philip-pullman-525_books_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1130698.jpg" --- # There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult… ![“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book. In adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. Other things are felt to be more important: technique, style, literary knowingness… The present-day would-be…” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/philip-pullman-525_books_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1130698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/philip-pullman-525_books_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1130698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/philip-pullman-525_books_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1130698.jpg) > ““There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book. In adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. Other things are felt to be more important: technique, style, literary knowingness… The present-day would-be George Eliots take up their stories as if with a pair of tongs. They’re embarrassed by them. If they could write novels without stories in them, they would. Sometimes they do. We need stories so much that we’re even willing to read bad books to get them, if the good books won’t supply them. We all need stories, but children are more frank about it.”” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adult literature often avoids deep emotional truth, leaving children’s books to carry essential storytelling that adults shy away from. **In simple terms:** Adults dodge big themes; kids tell them plainly. Key Takeaway Embrace honest storytelling. Themes storytelling literature authenticity childhood adult fiction Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - teaching children - writing workshops - publishing decisions - reading groups - literary analysis Key Concepts emotional truth literary criticism genre expectations Questions to Reflect On - Why do adults prefer style over substance? - How can children's literature influence adult perspectives? A Different Perspective Adults may resist confronting uncomfortable truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adult Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-fiction-750325/) [Adult Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-literary-1271890/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children 's books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-books/) [Children 's literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-literature/) [Children'S Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-book/) [Children-s-stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-stories-31341/) [Eliots Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eliots-stories-3105448/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/george-eliot/) [Good book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-book/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Philip-pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philip-pullman-143840/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-need/) [Style Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style-literary-2057987/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[I\]n adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. 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And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" 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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. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book. In adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. Other things are felt to be more important: technique, style, literary knowingness… The present-day would-be George Eliots take up their stories as if with a pair of tongs. They’re embarrassed by them. If they could write novels without stories in them, they would. Sometimes they do. We need stories so much that we’re even willing to read bad books to get them, if the good books won’t supply them. 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