--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reading to kids is to ordinary reading…" description: "\"Reading to kids is to ordinary reading what jazz is to a string quartet.\" — Sean Wilentz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/sean-wilentz-54845_books_reading-to-kids-is-to-ordinary-reading-w_2494711.jpg" --- # Reading to kids is to ordinary reading what jazz is to a… ![“Reading to kids is to ordinary reading what jazz is to a string quartet.” quote by Sean Wilentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/sean-wilentz-54845_books_reading-to-kids-is-to-ordinary-reading-w_2494711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/sean-wilentz-54845_books_reading-to-kids-is-to-ordinary-reading-w_2494711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/sean-wilentz-54845_books_reading-to-kids-is-to-ordinary-reading-w_2494711.jpg) > “Reading to kids is to ordinary reading what jazz is to a string quartet.” [Sean Wilentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-wilentz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading to children transforms ordinary storytelling into an improvisational, dynamic experience. **In simple terms:** Reading to kids is like jazz. Key Takeaway Make reading lively and expressive. Themes education creativity storytelling Mood playful thoughtful Type pedagogical artistic When to use this quote - family bedtime - classroom reading - storytime events Key Concepts literary improvisation engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can you add spontaneity to reading? - What jazz elements can you emulate? A Different Perspective Children may lose attention if reading feels static. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Quartets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quartets/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [String quartets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/string-quartets/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Some people write string quartets, some grow lettuce and tomatoes. There have to be a few who build railroad stations,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-write-string-quartets-some-grow-lettuce-and-tomatoes/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [There was one thing Beethoven didn't do. When one of his string quartets was played, you can believe the second violin wasn't improvising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/there-was-one-thing-beethoven-didn-t-do-when-one-of-his-string/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [I would like to hear Elliot Carter's Fourth String Quartet, if only to discover what a cranky prostate does to one's polyphony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-sellars/i-would-like-to-hear-elliot-carter-s-fourth-string-quartet-if-only-to/) James Sellars > [Part of me is probably more conservative than people realise. I like my old string quartets, I don't like music that's trippy for trippy's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjork/part-of-me-is-probably-more-conservative-than-people-realise-i-like/) [Bjork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjork/) > [I don't know that I make a big distinction between the big pieces and the little pieces, because I don't experience them in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-glass/i-don-t-know-that-i-make-a-big-distinction-between-the-big-pieces-and/) [Philip Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-glass/) > [A Beethoven string-quartet is truly, as some one has said, a scraping of horses' tails on cats' bowels, and may be exhaustively described in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/a-beethoven-string-quartet-is-truly-as-some-one-has-said-a-scraping/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [A noble space, unlike any other of our time, for it is both strong and delicate. 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Brahms lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/the-detroit-string-quartet-played-brahms-last-night-brahms-lost/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [The great thing about string quartets is the players are kind of like family. They work really well as a unit, so you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-riley/the-great-thing-about-string-quartets-is-the-players-are-kind-of-like/) [Terry Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-riley/) > [Beethoven's string quartets express pain itself; it is not MY pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/beethoven-s-string-quartets-express-pain-itself-it-is-not-my-pain/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [The most perfect expression of human behavior is a string quartet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tate/the-most-perfect-expression-of-human-behavior-is-a-string-quartet/) [Jeffrey Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tate/) > [One is that you have to take time, lots of time, to let an idea grow from within. The second is that when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/one-is-that-you-have-to-take-time-lots-of-time-to-let-an-idea-grow/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [I suppose subconsciously I was thinking in terms of having the scale of it matching the scale of the images. Hence the sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-greenwood/i-suppose-subconsciously-i-was-thinking-in-terms-of-having-the-scale/) [Jonny Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-greenwood/) ## More by Sean Wilentz > [ To say that poverty explains terror is to slander those caught in poverty who choose to lead worthy lives. \[Terrorists\] are not the oppressed,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-wilentz/to-say-that-poverty-explains-terror-is-to-slander-those-caught-in/) [Sean Wilentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-wilentz/) > [I think that's what Dylan's trying to do: to create a space artistically where something else can take shape, can take life - where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-wilentz/i-think-that-s-what-dylan-s-trying-to-do-to-create-a-space/) [Sean Wilentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-wilentz/) > [Politics is about who wins and loses. 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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 > [But editors are still the world's readers. 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