I don't think children themselves have changed that much. It's the world that has changed.
Beverly ClearyRead
I hope children will be happy with the books I've written, and go on to be readers all of their lives.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire for children to find joy in reading and to develop a lifelong love for books.
Beverly Cleary expresses her hope that her books will bring happiness to children, encouraging them to engage with literature positively. She emphasizes the importance of fostering a reading habit in young readers, suggesting that a love for books can enrich their lives and contribute to their personal development.
In practice
During a speech at a literacy event, I would quote this to emphasize the importance of reading for children.
I don't think children themselves have changed that much. It's the world that has changed.
I don't think children's inner feelings have changed. They still want a mother and father in the very same house; they want places to play.
I know that when I was a children's librarian, that was about 1940, boys particularly asked where were the books about kids like us, and there weren't any at that time.
I didn't start out writing to give children hope, but I'm glad some of them found it.
Over the years, I have been approached about making Ramona into a cartoon or movie, but I was afraid that no one could really capture the spunky character of Ramona.
I think the best teachers had a real interest in the subject they were teaching and a love for children. Some of the teachers were just doing their job, but others had that little extra. They really cared about children and they wore pretty dresses.
Oh, come off it,” said Ron, striding over to her and whipping her results out of her hand. “Yep— ten ‘Outstandings’ and one ‘Exceeds Expectations’ at Defense Against the Dark Arts.” He looked down at her, half-amused, half-exasperated. “You’re actually disappointed, aren’t you?
The difference between the novice and the master is simply that the novice has not learnt, yet, how to do things in such a way that he can afford to make small mistakes. The master knows that the sequence of his actions will always allow him to cover his mistakes a little further down the line. It is this simple but essential knowledge which gives the work of a master carpenter its wonderful, smooth, relaxed, and almost unconcerned simplicity.
The challenge as a parent is letting your kids fail in the right ways because that's where we do most of our learning.
It said what he would have said, if it had been possible for him to set his scattered thoughts in order. It was the product of a mind similar to his own, but enormously more powerful, more systematic, less fear-ridden. The best books, he perceived, are those that tell you what you know already.
One of the few ways I can almost be certain I'll understand something is by sitting down and writing about it. Because by forcing yourself to write about it and putting it down in words, you can't avoid having your say on the subject. You might be wrong, but you have to think about it very intensely to write about it.
The hardest conviction to get into the mind of a beginner is that the education upon which he is engaged is not a college course, not a medical course, but a life course, for which the work of a few years under teachers is but a preparation.
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