My Twelve

While searching for something fun and interesting yet meaningful to do with English students I came across an assignment that another teacher uses. It is based on an introduction to a book and it talks about the importance of telling stories not just for entertaining, but as a record of who we are. Now, I've known that is a reason for storytelling. The tradition of oral storytelling is an ancient one and was used to keep tradtions and personal histories alive.
However, the teacher from whom I was poaching this assignment goes on to suggest that we can have stories that are meaningful to us because they define who we are. The assignment is to make a list of the Twelve Stories that Tell Us Who We Are. These are the stories that touch a part of our being, our soul and speak to us long after the cover is closed. Below is the list of My Tweleve.

1. The Monster at the End of the Book It taught me to have courage and that perhaps the only thing to fear is my own reluctance to try new things and go new places. Eventually, and somewhat ironically, I face that fear and spend a summer making absolutely no money working for Seasame Street--the home of that monster at the end of the book.

2. The Red Tent It taught me the beauty of womanhood and the bonds that all women share. It made me want to experience childbirth and was read at a time in my life was particularly memorable for many discouraging reasons.

3. Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus It taught me about having fun no matter what your age. Written and illustrated by Mo Willems from Sesame Street, it harkens back to the fun of being a kid and of wanting the impossible.

4. Gone with the Wind Its filled with the romantic notions of a bygone era and I relate to Scarlet's love of the "bad boy" as well as her strong willed determination to get what she wants despite the obstacles. "As God is my witness, I shall never go hungry again!"

5. Tuck Everlasting This book was nearly impossible to get your hands on when I was in sixth grade. It was my first taste of literature in the fantasy genre and I loved it! Whenever I think that I can't read a book recommended by a student because its fantasy, I have to remember that doesn't necessarily mean its scifi--it could be a Tuck Everlasting!

6. Are you There God? Its me, Margaret. Really, all the Judy Blume books touch me childhood in some way, but this one in particular stands out. I read the book at a time when it was being challenged in my childhood school district so my mom also read it to see what all the fuss was about. It was the first (and really the only time) my mom read a book I was reading in order to protect me. She felt it was appropriate, but it was the catalyst for "the talk" if you call giving your daughter a short book about puberty "the talk". Nonetheless it marks this time for me.

7. Paradise Lost Yes, Milton makes my list. I took a college course from a professor who I deeply admire and respect. His area of research and expertise is John Milton. I earned an A in this course from this professor and to this day am extraordinarily proud of it. Add to that, the fact that I never attended Sunday school or church as a child and John Milton's Paradise Lost becomes the most in depth study of any Bible story that I've ever done.

8. The Best Little Girl in the World It's about a teenager who wants to become a prima ballerina and develops anorexia in her quest to become thin enough. I learned the dangers of eating disorders at a critical age as well as the dangers of trying to please other people. Plus I always wanted to be a ballerina so this fed that desire when ballet lessons just weren't in the cards.

9.To Kill a Mockingbird At different points in my life it has meant different things to me, but it invaribly holds a significance.

10. The Great Gatsby Like Gone With the Wind it feeds my inner romantic. Set in the heyday of the Roaring Twenties, flappers and mobsters, party goers and bootleggers this book is my fantasy--up until Myrtle gets killed that is.

11. Wonderful Thing about Tiggers This was the first book I claimed to be able to read. I was 5 and I can recall my mother being amazed that I could read. Then she figured out that she had read it to me so much that I'd memorized it, but it solidified the fact that books were destined to be part of who I was and my love of reading was established.

12. The count of Monte Cristo I never finished this book--in fact I never really liked what I read and I can't begin to tell you what its about. But, when I was in twelfth grade I was a student helper for Ms. M, my favorite teacher in high school. When she didn't have me making dittoed copies or filing papers she had me reading this book and creating a list of vocab words. It was a taste of what it was like to be a teacher behind the scenes, and I knew I loved it. Sadly, Ms. M passed on a few years ago, but this memory sticks with me as one of the reasons I went on to teach. I wanted to be just like her.

There you have it, my twelve. It was hard to make the choices and it was hard to say what these twelve say about me. There are certainly hundreds of other books that I've enjoyed, but these twelve stand out.