--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humor is the oxygen of children's…" description: "\"Humor is the oxygen of children's literature. There's a lot of competition for children's time, but even kids who hate to read want to read a funny boo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/sid-fleischman-37357_book_humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-litera_2696692.jpg" --- # Humor is the oxygen of children's literature. There's a… ![“Humor is the oxygen of children's literature. There's a lot of competition for children's time, but even kids who hate to read want to read a funny book.” quote by Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/sid-fleischman-37357_book_humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-litera_2696692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/sid-fleischman-37357_book_humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-litera_2696692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/sid-fleischman-37357_book_humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-litera_2696692.jpg) > “Humor is the oxygen of children's literature. There's a lot of competition for children's time, but even kids who hate to read want to read a funny book.” [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humor engages children, making reading enjoyable even for reluctant readers. **In simple terms:** Humor makes kids want to read. Key Takeaway Use humor in children's books. Themes children reading humor Mood playful encouraging Type educational literary When to use this quote - education - parenting Key Concepts literary technique engagement Questions to Reflect On - What types of humor resonate with children? - How can humor be balanced with educational content? A Different Perspective May not apply to all age groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children 's literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-literature/) [Children literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-literature/) [Children'S Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-literature-2/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Funny book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-book/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Humor Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor-oxygen-2700540/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxygen/) [Read Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-funny-1512366/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [“On the level of high art, in their common efforts to express human truths, relationships, attitudes, and personal visions, children's literature and adult literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/on-the-level-of-high-art-in-their-common-efforts-to-express-human/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [Mr. McGregor's a nasty piece of work, isn't he? Quite the Darth Vader of children's literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/mr-mcgregor-s-a-nasty-piece-of-work-isn-t-he-quite-the-darth-vader-of/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [ They \[Narnia\] are, perhaps, the greatest classics of children’s literature of the twentieth century. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-gresham/they-narnia-are-perhaps-the-greatest-classics-of-children-s/) [Douglas Gresham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-gresham/) > [There are people whom even children's literature would corrupt. They read with particular enjoyment the piquant passages in the Psalter and in the Wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-are-people-whom-even-children-s-literature-would-corrupt-they/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [It is, of course, traditional in children's literature to get rid of the parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/it-is-of-course-traditional-in-children-s-literature-to-get-rid-of/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [I wish that the adults who are 'in power' cared more about what their children read. Books are incredibly powerful when we are young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/i-wish-that-the-adults-who-are-in-power-cared-more-about-what-their/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [ \[My mom\] had always wanted to write a children's book. She was a children's librarian and an elementary school teacher, so of course she… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bush/my-mom-had-always-wanted-to-write-a-children-s-book-she-was-a/) [Jenna Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bush/) > [“Children's literature as a literary aberration or at best a minor amusement is a notion held most strongly by people who read the fewest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/children-s-literature-as-a-literary-aberration-or-at-best-a-minor/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [I'm always loath to make generalizations about what is for children and what isn't. Certainly children's literature as a genre has some restrictions, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-m-always-loath-to-make-generalizations-about-what-is-for-children/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The work of one author or artist may stimulate another author or artist to push the edge, to take the risk, to go where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hesse/the-work-of-one-author-or-artist-may-stimulate-another-author-or/) [Karen Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hesse/) > [I think any good literature, whether it's for children or for adults, will appeal to everybody. As far as children's literature goes, adults should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/i-think-any-good-literature-whether-it-s-for-children-or-for-adults/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [There is no such thing as children’s literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-v-m-gonzalez/there-is-no-such-thing-as-children-s-literature/) [N. V. M. Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-v-m-gonzalez/) > [“There’s a different flavor to children’s literature you read after you grow up than there was reading it as a child. Things that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mizuki-nomura/there-s-a-different-flavor-to-children-s-literature-you-read-after/) [Mizuki Nomura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mizuki-nomura/) > [Of course all children's literature is not fantastic, so all fantastic books need not be children's books. It is still possible, even in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/of-course-all-children-s-literature-is-not-fantastic-so-all-fantastic/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Good children's literature appeals not only to the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/good-children-s-literature-appeals-not-only-to-the-child-in-the-adult/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Sid Fleischman > [The books we enjoy as children stay with us forever -- they have a special impact. Paragraph after paragraph and page after page, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/the-books-we-enjoy-as-children-stay-with-us-forever-they-have-a/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [I remember as a child of eight being told by a young friend that I had killed Christ. That was news to me. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/i-remember-as-a-child-of-eight-being-told-by-a-young-friend-that-i/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“I am Prince Horace!" "And I'm the Grand Turnip of China!" cutwater snickered. "Dim-witted villains!" shouted the Prince. "I command you to turn us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/i-am-prince-horace-and-i-m-the-grand-turnip-of-china-cutwater/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“Glancing back over his shoulder seemed to be habit, for Touch had noticed him do it before, as if the man thought someone might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/glancing-back-over-his-shoulder-seemed-to-be-habit-for-touch-had/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“Jemmy dipped the quill in beet juice and continued scribbling. "I'll tell him you've got reserved seats in Hell." "Aye! That's the ticket!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/jemmy-dipped-the-quill-in-beet-juice-and-continued-scribbling-i-ll/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“What was he looking for, a prince in fine velvets and a crown cocked on his head? Was it clothes that made a prince,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/what-was-he-looking-for-a-prince-in-fine-velvets-and-a-crown-cocked/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“Sir!" he called out. "The Great Chaffalo! My name's Touch, and I brought a bundle of straw. I'd be much obliged if you'd turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/sir-he-called-out-the-great-chaffalo-my-name-s-touch-and-i-brought-a/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [Give weather reports. It helps the reality of a scene if foghorns are blowing or kites are in the sky on a windy afternoon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/give-weather-reports-it-helps-the-reality-of-a-scene-if-foghorns-are/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“Joy was not the raw material of humor . . . The dark source was sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/joy-was-not-the-raw-material-of-humor-the-dark-source-was-sorrow/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“Words were a conjuration, and their charms had begun to bewitch him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/words-were-a-conjuration-and-their-charms-had-begun-to-bewitch-him/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“He peered through a broken window and saw a face. The face of The Great Chaffalo. “You saved me, for certain,” declared Touch, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/he-peered-through-a-broken-window-and-saw-a-face-the-face-of-the/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) [Explore all 12 Sid Fleischman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“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/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humor is the oxygen of children's literature. There's a lot of competition for children's time, but even kids who hate to read want to read a funny book.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sid Fleischman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-literature-there-s-a-lot-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-literature-there-s-a-lot-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/sid-fleischman-37357_book_humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-litera_2696692.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/sid-fleischman-37357_book_humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-litera_2696692.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf1/sid-fleischman-37357_book_humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-litera_2696692.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humor is the oxygen of children's literature. There's a lot of competition for children's time, but even…” — Sid Fleischman", "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": "Sid Fleischman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Humor is the oxygen of children's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-literature-there-s-a-lot-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/humor-is-the-oxygen-of-children-s-literature-there-s-a-lot-of/#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 } } ] } ```