--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that what we need to do is say…" description: "\"I think that what we need to do is say, 'Reading is going to really affect your life.' You take a black man who doesn't have a job, but you say to him,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/walter-dean-myers-2582_30-minutes_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-say-r_1797914.png" --- # I think that what we need to do is say, 'Reading is going… ![“I think that what we need to do is say, 'Reading is going to really affect your life.' You take a black man who doesn't have a job, but you say to him, 'Look, you can make a difference in your child's life, just by reading to him for 30 minutes a day.' That's what I would like to do.” quote by Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/walter-dean-myers-2582_30-minutes_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-say-r_1797914.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/walter-dean-myers-2582_30-minutes_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-say-r_1797914.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/walter-dean-myers-2582_30-minutes_i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-say-r_1797914.png) > “I think that what we need to do is say, 'Reading is going to really affect your life.' You take a black man who doesn't have a job, but you say to him, 'Look, you can make a difference in your child's life, just by reading to him for 30 minutes a day.' That's what I would like to do.” [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading can transform lives, especially for disadvantaged children, by fostering connection and hope. **In simple terms:** Reading changes lives, especially for kids. Key Takeaway Encourage daily reading with children. Themes education empowerment family literacy social impact Mood hopeful inspirational Type motivational educational When to use this quote - after-school programs - parent‑child bonding - community literacy drives Key Concepts developmental psychology social equity parental involvement Questions to Reflect On - How can reading be paired with other supports? - What barriers prevent consistent reading time? A Different Perspective Reading alone may not address deeper systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Difference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Make a difference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-a-difference/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I think there's a point at which you know how you dress isn't going to affect how much you do in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-sawyer/i-think-there-s-a-point-at-which-you-know-how-you-dress-isn-t-going/) [Diane Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-sawyer/) > [Racism doesn't affect me. I've realised now that racism is down to the person doing it. It doesn't affect my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michail-antonio/racism-doesn-t-affect-me-i-ve-realised-now-that-racism-is-down-to-the/) [Michail Antonio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michail-antonio/) > [You never know which people will affect your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/you-never-know-which-people-will-affect-your-life/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [Its amazing how much one person can affect your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/its-amazing-how-much-one-person-can-affect-your-life/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Nothing you or your friends say will affect my life in any way, shape, or form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-barroa/nothing-you-or-your-friends-say-will-affect-my-life-in-any-way-shape/) [Faith Barroa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-barroa/) > [I merely say that all reading for pleasure is escape, whether it be Greek, mathematics, astronomy, Benedetto Croce, or The Diary of the Forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-merely-say-that-all-reading-for-pleasure-is-escape-whether-it-be/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [When I say what I'm reading, this is what I need. I know the ills that plague me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/when-i-say-what-i-m-reading-this-is-what-i-need-i-know-the-ills-that/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“I often say that reading and writing saved my life. I mean that quite literally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-often-say-that-reading-and-writing-saved-my-life-i-mean-that-quite/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Running records capture what young readers say and do while reading continuous text, usually short stories or books. Having taken the record teachers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-clay/running-records-capture-what-young-readers-say-and-do-while-reading/) Marie Clay > [Let me say first that reading is my favorite pastime, bar none. If I couldn't read, I don't know what I'd do. 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He was reading what was given to him in a speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-darman/he-didn-t-say-that-he-was-reading-what-was-given-to-him-in-a-speech/) [Richard Darman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-darman/) > [Now, my mom did not read well and she read 'True Romance' magazines, but she read with me. And she would spend 30 minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/now-my-mom-did-not-read-well-and-she-read-true-romance-magazines-but/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [We don't know anything about racism. We've never experienced it. 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To a large extent this dehumanizes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/when-we-think-of-war-the-tendency-is-to-picture-young-soldiers-only/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/the-most-difficult-idea-to-reconcile-in-war-is-the-notion-that/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/he-was-trying-to-convince-himself-that-he-wasn-t-guilty/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [Within the black community, roughly 60 percent of children are born to single moms. 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They have a talent for doing that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/people-who-want-to-hate-you-can-find-something-in-you-they-don-t-like/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/one-of-the-lessons-learned-during-the-vietnam-war-was-that-the/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [I am very much interested in getting parents to read to children, and trying to get people mentoring children. 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You touch to see what you can stand to touch, what you can to feel with your fingers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/sometimes-everybody-touches-in-the-dark-you-touch-to-see-what-you-can/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [Yeah, that's funny, huh?...Something hurts you real bad and you get used to it. Like being hurt becomes part of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/yeah-that-s-funny-huh-something-hurts-you-real-bad-and-you-get-used/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“Love came to me, but it Just wasn't for me. It touched my heart and left it Lying on the shore, and Love smiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/love-came-to-me-but-it-just-wasn-t-for-me-it-touched-my-heart-and/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“That night the mosquitoes ate us up. I had bites all over my body. 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And she would spend 30 minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/now-my-mom-did-not-read-well-and-she-read-true-romance-magazines-but/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [When I was young, it was fun being in the locker room and shagging balls in the outfield in spring training. But I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-larkin/when-i-was-young-it-was-fun-being-in-the-locker-room-and-shagging/) [Shane Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-larkin/) > [“If you’re both lucky and everything runs smoothly, it will take 27 minutes to reach your destination.   On average, it will only take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/if-you-re-both-lucky-and-everything-runs-smoothly-it-will-take-27/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [Coming from being under the radar, I could sit somewhere and nobody would know me. 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