When I lock myself up to write, I cannot allow myself to think about the censor or the reviewer or anyone but my characters and their story!
Judy BlumeRead
When I see kids standing next to their mothers at book signings, clutching a copy of 'Forever,' I know what's coming. They'll say to me, 'How old do I have to be to read this?' hoping I'll give them permission. But I can't do that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects children's curiosity about what they can read, indicating a desire for permission and guidance.
In this quote, Judy Blume shares a moment of interaction she often experiences with children during book signings. These children, eager to explore her book 'Forever,' seek validation from her regarding their readiness to read it, highlighting the innocence of youth and the role of adults in guiding them toward age-appropriate material. Blume's inability to provide a definitive answer underscores the subjective nature of readiness in reading and the importance of personal exploration in literature.
Themes
ChildrenReadingBooksLiteracyPermission
In practice
Example use cases
A teacher might share this quote to discuss the importance of encouraging children to read.
More from Judy Blume
All quotes βWhat I remember when I started to write was how I couldn't wait to get up in the morning to get to my characters.
Judy BlumeRead
What can happen if a young reader picks up a book he/she isn't yet ready for? Questions, maybe. Usually, that child puts down the book and says, 'Boring.' Or, 'I'm not ready for this.' Kids are really good at knowing what they can handle.
Judy BlumeRead
Concentrate on how good if feels to be alive. No matter what. Just to see the color of the sky, just to smell the air, and feel the wind in your face
Judy BlumeRead
I wrote 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' right out of my own experiences and my own feelings when I was in sixth grade.
Judy BlumeRead
Nobody ever asks me why my characters don't text each other. Besides, as soon as you put something 'electronic' in a book, it's already out of date by the time it's published: everything will have changed. Human emotion, on the other hand, will never change.
Judy BlumeRead
Similar quotes
Children want to mimic adults. They notice when you choose to prepare fresh vegetables over calling in another pizza pie for dinner. They will see that food made with love and care outweighs going through the drive-through window.
Marcus SamuelssonRead
No man can be a compleat Lawyer by universalitie of knowledge without experience in particular cases, nor by bare experience without universalitie of knowledge; he must be both speculative & active, for the science of the laws, I assure you, must joyne hands with experience.
Edward CokeRead
It may be said that an education which does not succeed in making poetry a resource in the business of life as well as in its leisure, has something the matter with it.
John DeweyRead
When I was growing up, my mother would always say, 'It will go on your permanent record.' There was no 'permanent record.' If there were a 'permanent record,' I'd never be able to be a lawyer. I was such a bum, in elementary school and high school... There is a permanent record today and it's called the Internet.
Alan DershowitzRead
Most of these students are so conditioned to success that they become afraid to take risks. They have been taught from a young age by zealous parents, schools, and institutional authorities what constitutes failure and success. They are socialized to obey. They obsess over grades and seek to please professors, even if what professors teach is fatuous. The point is to get ahead, and getting ahead means deference to authority. Challenging authority is never a career advancer.
Chris HedgesRead
Let us treat them [children], therefore, with all the kindness which we would wish to help to develop in them.
Maria MontessoriRead