It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Children know perfectly well that unicorns aren’t real, but they also know that books about unicorns, if they are good books, are true books.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Children distinguish between reality and imagination, recognizing the truth in stories, even fictional ones.
Ursula K. Le Guin's quote highlights the unique perspective of children, who understand that while unicorns are mythical, the emotions and truths conveyed through stories about them can be genuine and impactful. It speaks to the power of literature in shaping thought and fostering understanding, showing that the essence of a good story lies in its ability to convey deeper truths, regardless of the fantastical elements it may contain.
Themes
ChildrenUnicornsBooksTruthStories
In practice
Example use cases
During a reading session with children, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of imagination in literature.
More from Ursula K. Le Guin
All quotes →In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little... But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. “Do they expect students not to be anarchists?” he said. “What else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
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