The Outsiders

Well, it's the beginning of the school year, and it's the first time in four years that I'm not teaching The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I'm feeling a little nostalgic, so it seemed fitting that I write about this story that has been in my life off and on since I was 11 years old.

I first read, or heard this book in fifth grade. My fifth grade teacher held my classmates and I completely spellbound as she read us this story of friendship, fighting for honor, and the struggle to "stay gold". Some might say we were too young to hear such a violent story. However, I remember a few specific messages I took in from my fifth grade experience of this book. Well, first, I remember marveling at the unique names in this book - Ponyboy and Sodapop Curtis, Two-Bit Matthews, Cherry Valance...pure genius. I will always remember how my teacher talked about the beginning of the story when the author (Ponyboy - because he ostensibly wrote this for his high school English class) describes himself in a more roundabout way than simply saying "This is me, this is what I look like, etc." He instead compares himself to Paul Newman, and catches the audience's attention in a more unique way. I also remember being completely devastated when Johnny died. It seemed so unfair that someone who cared so much - too much - was in worse shape because of it. Finally, I remember being so shocked that a 16-year old girl wrote this book. My fifth grade teacher argued that the characters were so well-developed that it had to be the work of a woman!

Later, early in my high school years, I re-read The Outsiders and I started slowly seeing more of the bigger picture behind this book. I kept thinking about what Randy said to Ponyboy before the big rumble between the Greasers and the Socs, "You can't win, even if you whip us. You'll still be where you were before - at the bottom". The Greasers constantly have an uphill battle to fight, and yet even right before his death, Johnny is hopeful. He tells Ponyboy to "stay gold" and to not succumb to the personality that the Greasers seem to feel they have to take on. For Dally, it's too late, and he ends up letting his anger destroy the best parts of him. Likewise, the Socs have a personality to live up to as well. Cherry Valance (sadly the only strong female character in this book) remains an individual despite the peer pressure. She manages to "dig sunsets" and realize that "things are rough all over". I started realizing that this book is really about choosing what kind of person you want to be in life. 

Teaching The Outsiders to 8th graders has been a completely different experience than reading it of course. I always made sure to get right into reading the first chapter out loud, so my students could see that this book was going to be exciting. In the very first part, Ponyboy gets jumped by the Socs, so that was always enough to get the students hooked. I found that in general, the girls loved the characters in this book, and the boys loved the fights. There was something for everyone. I had the most amazing class discussions with this book. We had endless debates about whether or not Johnny should have killed Bob, we dissected the true meaning of "Stay Gold, Ponyboy. Stay Gold", we compared the Socs and the Greasers to gangs around the world, talked about what it really means to be the type of person who notices sunsets, and what it means to be a hero. Knowing that Ponyboy is 14, and had experienced so much, always blew my14-year old 8th graders away. It never fails to amaze me that this book, written in 1967, set in Oklahoma, still manages to capture the minds and hearts of modern day urban teenagers. This story truly is timeless. People are constantly on different sides of issues and groups, and the stories of love and loss are so easy to relate to. 

When I sat down to re-read this book, cover to cover, I realized that I hadn't actually read the book straight through in years, although I basically know it by heart. I was awestruck again by how this book ends just as it begins, with Ponyboy sitting down to write his story. This book, although technically kid/young adult lit, tells universal truths. That's why it has stuck with me throughout all of these years. 

Julie

The Horse On The Roof

When I made my initial inquiry about finding a supposedly long-lost book about a girl living in Manhattan who convinces her parents to let her keep a horse on her apartment roof, I have to admit that I was picturing a long quest in order to actually find this book. Together, my readers and I would puzzle out the details of the book, slowly but surely. When I finally found it, I would know the book instantly.

Well, as luck would have it, within weeks of my first blog post, two friends solved the mystery for me. The book I was looking for, they told me, was The Horse On The Roof by Bob Wells. One friend actually brought the book to me:

Amazing, right? Well, here's the only problem. I discovered, as we adults so often do, that when you've been building something up in your head for about twenty years, often the real thing falls short. 

Don't get me wrong. I sat down read this book, and was instantly mesmerized. It's so wonderfully charming. Even though it's one of those books that when you start it, you know exactly how it'll turn out, you still enjoy every twist and turn along the way.

Melinda (like every young girl) dreams of a horse, and even though her family moves from the country to Manhattan, her Uncle Buck makes it happen. He rents out the roof of the building they are living in (twelve stories up), he finds dirt that no one wants, plants seeds, makes a pasture, and manages to raise $153.30 to buy the horse. I love how this simple need to have a horse seems to be universal for young girls. I know I always dreamed of having my own horse, and I grew up in DC where keeping a horse wasn't realistic, hence my initial connection to this book. Even Mrs. Pontey, the crabby tenant who petitions to get Marshmallow the horse off the apartment roof, finally caves - realizing that she had the childhood dream of having a horse as well.

I think one of the most magical parts of this book is that even though the story is fairly far-fetched, the author tells it in such a matter-of-fact manner. Having a horse twelve stories up in Manhattan? Probably never would happen. Yet often when I'm in the city, I find myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, there's a pasture with grass, flowers, a frog pond, and a horse and her colt wandering about high above me. 

So why has this book stuck with me throughout the years? Is it the message of the book, or the allure of the mystery behind finding the book? Something about the texture of the words in the book I remembered really stuck with me. I remember the experience of reading this book very clearly even twenty some odd years later, and I've always remembered it as an experience that added to my developing childhood character. I truly believe that books you read, especially as a kid, can change you, or influence you in some way. My childhood was so rich in books - books from my parents, books from the public library that we walked to every week, and books from my school. I imagine every book weaving it's way into the tapestry of the person I am today. 

The Horse On The Roof is everything it should be, and yet - it's not as I remembered it. I don't remember this book feeling so old-fashioned. Then again, I must have read this book in the early 90's, and the world has changed a great deal since then. I don't remember the character of the uncle at all, and Uncle Buck's twangy voice doesn't really ring a bell for me. Also, in the book in my head, the girl is really more of the sole instigator behind actually getting the horse. The way I remembered it, her parents weren't really in on it at first, and then once she had the horse up on the roof, she got her parents on board. I'm currently looking into the possibility that I'm just trying to poke holes in this book because it's different from how I remembered it!

So, there are two explanations. One - I'm just remembering this book plain wrong. Two - there is another book about a girl living in Manhattan who arranges for a horse to live on the apartment roof. Hmm.....

At any rate, it's good to know that there are a couple people out there reading my blog. Thank you for helping me in my quest to find this book!

Julie

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery seemed like the natural choice to pick up first when returning to kid lit. I don't remember when I was first handed AOGG, but I also can't remember how many times I've read this book, and the seven other books in the series. In fact, I’ve read it so many times that I’ve completely worn off the front cover. I love how I felt the need to "brand" this book - in case anyone forgot whom it belonged to! I wish I could say that my signature had improved/changed since then...



I have found that in my experience, most people know about the lovable character of Anne from seeing the AOGG movies. I'll be the first to admit that the first two moves do a great amount of justice to the book (the third one in my opinion is terrible, and goes completely off-script), and that Gilbert Blythe is terribly handsome in the movies, but the books have always been pure magic for me.

Especially in this day and age, I find the world of Avonlea so alluring. I love how the original “mistake” of Marilla wanting an orphan boy, and getting a girl instead was made because she sent the message through word of mouth. The characters have to ride in horses and buggies to get anywhere. Anne goes to school in a one-room schoolhouse with children of every age. The girls wear dresses with puffed sleeves, and put flowers in their hair. Eating ice cream is a luxury almost never dreamed of. Everyone writes letters! I've spent hours immersing myself in this world that seems further and further away from reality.

Thanks to Anne (spelled with an e!), I've always wanted red hair, even though she never could stand hers. I guess I've always associated red hair with Anne's unique personality. She is such a wonderfully complex character. As Anne says herself, she has so many different Annes inside herself that she can be a "troublesome person." She's the Anne who is very girly and obsesses about her hair, nose, and clothes all the time. She's also the Anne who plays in the woods and walks the ridgepole of the Barry's house on a dare. She writes stories about falling in love in castles in Spain and being the damsel in distress, and then she cracks her slate over Gilbert Blythe's head when he makes fun of her red hair. She won't blindly submit to authority, as we see with her first encounter with Mrs. Lynde, but she is kind and nurturing to Marilla and Matthew.

Like Anne, I find myself in many scrapes and unique situations. Anne accidentally gets Diana drunk off Marilla's currant wine, dyes her hair green by mistake, and puts liniment in the layer cake for Mrs. Allan. I've messed up countless recipes in a ridiculous fashion, I've cut my own hair (and then tried to have my friend fix it), and I've managed to build Ikea bookshelves that simply collapsed.

Having this imperfect heroine is one of the reasons that this book has resonated so much with me. I remember reading Pollyana by Eleanor H. Porter and getting so fed up with Pollyana because she never did anything wrong! From Anne, I've learned that even if you make mistake after mistake, there's always a new day "fresh with no mistakes in it". I think that's an important lesson, whether as a kid or as an adult - that even if mistakes are made, there's always room to make everything better. You can really start over the next day.

I love the friendship between Anne and Diana. It's so pure, without any backstabbing or pettiness or gossiping. Sometimes when I've been trying counsel my students,  who seem to switch friends by the hour, I want to point them to Anne and Diana as an example. These two girls decided they were going to be "bosom friends" at the age of eleven, and stuck with it, despite their differences. 

Even though Anne and Gilbert's romance doesn't really develop in AOGG, I would be remiss to not at least mention their relationship as one of the reasons I love this series so much. They start off as competitors, Anne holds a grudge against Gilbert for years, they become friends, and Anne eventually realizes she's been in love with him all along. I love that even through all the misunderstandings and different ideas of what the two of them think they want, they end up together.

Anne's outlook on life is contagious. She's had such a hard childhood, and yet she uses her imagination to get through it. She constantly sees the glass as half full. She's always thinking about that next "bend in the road" where she can't see what the future holds. She manages to see this admittedly scary concept as so exciting. I think all of us could use a little more of that philosophy in our own lives.

In Anne's world, there is no separation between humans and nature. To her, flowers are to be named, trees dream in their sleep, and brooks laugh. Anne says early on to Marilla that she doesn't understand why people pray in a church, because sometimes when she is in nature, she "feels" a prayer. I grew up going to camp every summer. We used to hold Sunday meetings in a pine grove, and I remember looking up at the pine trees against the blue sky and thinking that at those moments, I felt the most spiritual.

Anne's rambling speeches sometimes last for pages, and they are so self-reflective in a way that only a child could express. Adults just wouldn't say everything they are thinking or feeling. Anne is passionate about everything. She makes me think about everyday occurrences in a different way. Anne teaches me to look at the world with fresh eyes, to see nature and people anew, and to always keep an eye out for that "scope of imagination".

So this is why I simply need to pick up this book (and the subsequent seven) every once in a while. I need to return to the bossiness of Mrs. Lynde, the budding romance between Anne and Gilbert, the escapades of Anne's Story Club, and a world in which every detail is celebrated.

Julie

Can't Quit Kid Lit

I am a 30- year old who can't stop reading kid's books. It's not the worst of addictions, I'll admit. It's just slightly embarrassing when I'm asked what my favorite book is, and I secretly want to say Anne of Green Gables, although I'm wont to reply Atlas Shrugged instead.

I've always been an avid reader. I remember reading Dr. Seuss books on my own before I even entered kindergarten. Not that I want you thinking I'm a genius or anything. In 4th grade since we were studying colonial times, we all had paper ships with our names on them that were positioned at one end of a bulletin board. When a student successfully mastered the multiplication tables, the ships were moved to the other end of the bulletin board. Needless to say, my ship was moved dead last. But - I was a reader. Despite my bi- weekly trips to the library, where the librarian would always have three or four new books waiting for me, and a well- stocked library at home, I was always running out of books. I devoured them. I was the kid who got in trouble for reading under the comforter at night with a flashlight. I was the one who couldn't hold a conversation at the dinner table because I was trying to eat with one hand and hold a book under the table with another. Books moved me, and changed my way of thinking, and once I finished a particularly meaningful book, I was never the same.

During high school, the stresses of time management kicked in, and I no longer regarded reading as a priority. I hit a reading rough patch during college and in my early 20's. I was reading for my English and Comparative Literary Studies Major, but I had no desire to read anything else. I sold myself as a reader but truth be told, I had no desire to read. Everything seemed too boring and depressing.

When I decided to become a teacher (in addition to wanting to help kids of course) I was remembering the height of my reading career - middle school. I think about 50 percent of my decision to be an 8th grade English teacher came from my desire to read books like The Giver and The Outsiders again. I will be teaching 3rd grade next year, and one aspect that really sold me on the switch was the chance to reread Charlotte's Web and Ramona Quimby, Age 8. When Harry Potter and the Hunger Games came out I was so excited because I now had a socially acceptable way to read kid's books and then to discuss them with my friends.

Of course, I have fallen in love with several adult books. I've discovered Jhumpra Lahiri and Barbara Kingsolver, Lisa See and Isabel Allende. I've been moved and entranced by Marisa de los Santos and Italo Calvino. Yet I still find myself wanting to curl up with my battered copy of Where The Red Fern Grows on occasion, despite the fact that it's written for ages 7-10.

So - my goals in writing this blog:

1) Give myself permission to read/re-read my way through the kid's section of the library.
2) Rediscover through writing why these books have made such an impression on me.
3) Connect with other like-minded kid's books connoisseurs.
4) Discover new kid's books!
5) Find one book in particular that I loved as a kid, but have never been able to find since. This is what I remember about it: a girl, living in Manhattan, convinces her parents to let her keep a horse on her apartment roof. No title or author comes to mind. Anyone??


Julie