"One rainy Sunday when I was in the third grade, I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered that even though I did not want to, I was reading. I have been a reader ever since"
About this Quote
A small domestic moment holds a lifelong turning point: a bored third grader idly flips through pictures on a rainy Sunday and realizes that, despite herself, she is reading. The discovery happens not through duty but through absorption, a quiet surrender to story that bypasses intention. That phrase, "even though I did not want to", is tender and telling. Children often resist what feels imposed, yet when the right book appears, resistance melts and reading becomes self-propelled. It marks the difference between literacy as an assignment and reading as a chosen identity.
Beverly Cleary often recalled that early school readers bored her; she became a reader when she encountered stories about ordinary children like herself. That insight shaped her career as a librarian and as the creator of Ramona, Henry Huggins, and others. Her books open the door in the same way pictures did for her: with scenes from everyday life, humor, and language that feels natural in a child’s mouth. She wrote to reduce friction, trusting that delight would do the rest. Illustrations in her books echo that first invitation, easing reluctant eyes into text until the words take over.
The rainy Sunday evokes not only the Pacific Northwest weather of her upbringing but the conditions that nurture reading: quiet, time, and the low-stakes curiosity of an idle afternoon. From such unremarkable circumstances comes the durable claim, "I have been a reader ever since". The memory functions as both origin story and gentle argument. Make space for serendipity. Put stories within reach that reflect a child’s world. Respect the moment when attention tips from looking to reading. Cleary’s simple sentence carries the power and humility of her art: let the book do its work, and the reader will arrive almost without noticing, one page at a time.
Beverly Cleary often recalled that early school readers bored her; she became a reader when she encountered stories about ordinary children like herself. That insight shaped her career as a librarian and as the creator of Ramona, Henry Huggins, and others. Her books open the door in the same way pictures did for her: with scenes from everyday life, humor, and language that feels natural in a child’s mouth. She wrote to reduce friction, trusting that delight would do the rest. Illustrations in her books echo that first invitation, easing reluctant eyes into text until the words take over.
The rainy Sunday evokes not only the Pacific Northwest weather of her upbringing but the conditions that nurture reading: quiet, time, and the low-stakes curiosity of an idle afternoon. From such unremarkable circumstances comes the durable claim, "I have been a reader ever since". The memory functions as both origin story and gentle argument. Make space for serendipity. Put stories within reach that reflect a child’s world. Respect the moment when attention tips from looking to reading. Cleary’s simple sentence carries the power and humility of her art: let the book do its work, and the reader will arrive almost without noticing, one page at a time.
Quote Details
| Topic | Book |
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