Day 20: The List (we love teachers)

As the first day of school looms, here is the Kelley Sisters’ salute to teachers.

These are books that teachers made us read, but stuck with with us beyond the school day, like a good education does.

Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman: Even though our dad put this one in my hands around the time I was 6, he’s a teacher, so it counts. Nate was my first experience with mysteries, the stage before Nancy Drew took over my life. Nate is slightly salty, whip smart, has an awesome dog, and always gets to eat pancakes at the end of every book. He’s living The Dream. -- MK (save on Goodreads)

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar: My memory is getting a little fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure my third-grade teacher Ms. Lindsey read this book out loud to us. She had the same kind of wacky humor as Sachar that made her a hero to all of us. It’s 30 stories about the abnormal kids who occupy the classroom on the top floor of a school that was accidentally built 30 stories tall. How weird is it? In the first chapter, all of the students are turned into apples. In the second chapter, the new teacher thinks all of the students are monkeys. Then, there’s Sammy the new kid, a surreal chapter that would make Samuel Beckett proud. As Sachar says in the intro, “It has been said that these stories are strange and silly. That is probably true. However, when I told stories about you to the children at Wayside, they thought you were strange and silly. That is probably also true.” -- AK (save on Goodreads)

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith: Again, another Ms. Lindsey pick, so a great sense of absurd humor. I have to say, even in these post-Shrek days, this picture book still is the best when it comes to subverting fairy tales in fairly stupid ways. And Lane Smith’s art is terrific. -- AK (save on Goodreads)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle: This wasn’t a book assignment. There was an assembly where a few actors took on multiple roles to tell The Last Unicorn. It was captivating, how a story could come to life with a few props and costume changes. I borrowed the book from the library and it’s the same magic, in a different way. A lonely unicorn leaves her safe haven to find out what happened to the others. It’s more Hobbit than My Little Pony. -- AK (save on Goodreads)

Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander: Vesper Holly is a globetrotting teen-age millionaire archeologist. Yeah, it’s as exciting as it sounds. Her stories have a dash of irony, via narration by the Watson to her Holmes, her legal guardian Brinnie, who complains about the danger and is a little naive but obviously enjoys the adventure. -- AK (save on Goodreads)

Poppy by Avi: I read this in fourth grade, off a list of books Mrs. Harris gave me. I’d heard the story of David vs. Goliath plenty of times, but never felt affected by its themes until I read this book. Poppy is a tiny, tiny thing in a massive world, being ruled by fear of something much bigger and more powerful than her. The writing sucked me in, and it took me a long time before I could think of owls without having my gut twist. -- MK (save on Goodreads)

Holes by Louis Sachar: My fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Eckert, read this to my class daily, and by the second session, I’d already read ahead and finished it by myself. The silly things hooked me, like how Stanley’s last name is his first name spelled backwards, and the terrible luck all the Yelnats seem to have. What kept me on that hook was the mystery, and the utter amazement as two seemingly separate storylines fell into place as if everything really was fate. As a bookseller, I love to put this book into kids’ hands. There’s mass appeal, themes everyone can relate to, and a no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. -- MK (save on Goodreads)

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli: Fifth grade again! Dealing with homelessness and racism, this was one of the first books I can remember researching and using history to add to my understanding of the events of the story. I enjoyed the magical realism of it before I even understood what magical realism was, and still feel my heart throb when I think of Earl Grayson. It may be a little outdated at this point, but it was an important book for me. -- MK (save on Goodreads)

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: This is one of those old-looking paperbacks that were always on the shelves at home, so obviously I had no interest. But fifth-grade teacher Ms. Chase assigned it in class and once I started reading I couldn’t stop. Only two things interrupted me that night: dinner and Maggie trying to eat an ink pad. -- AK (save on Goodreads)

Troubling a Star by Madeline L’Engle: Ms. Chase had this on her classroom shelves and it changed my life. Through Madeline L’Engle, I learned that we all have doors in our heads and an author can open it with the right words. L’Engle is deservedly known for A Wrinkle in Time, but she also wrote a series about a sensitive teenage girl who is trying to figure out the best way to live her life. This is the final book in the series, but can be read as a standalone. Vicky goes on a trip to Antarctica where she finds penguins and a mystery. It’s a gripping start, with Vicky trapped on an iceberg and remembering exactly how she got there. -- AK (save on Goodreads)

Hamlet by William Shakespeare: I don’t remember why my heart was set on reading “Hamlet,” but I remember asking for it when my AP English teacher Dr. Schofield was trying to decide which Shakespeare tragedy to teach. Not only did we read the book, we went to see it performed at MSU. It’s not my first Shakespeare, but it is still my favorite. It’s pure angsty drama but articulated way better than any teenager could articulate. Every time I read it or watch it performed, I discover something new. -- AK (save on Goodreads)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard: Here’s a Dr. Schofield/Hamlet two-fer. We watched the movie version and Schofield introduced me to one of my favorite playwrights. Stoppard has a love for language and logic and feelings, as evidenced in this play about Hamlet’s hapless frenemies. Text from the Shakespeare play is cut up by “behind the scenes” conversations between the two tragic(?) fools(?). You might know Stoppard from his other, more mainstream Shakespeare-related project, “Shakespeare in Love.” This won’t be the only time you see Stoppard on this blog. -- AK (save on Goodreads)

The Iliad by Homer: Literally epic. I would have never picked up this book of my own volition in high school, but like Annie, I also had Dr. Schofield for AP English, and it opened up an entire new world for me to delve into. Admittedly, I think a large part of my enjoyment in it came from Dr. Schofield’s enthusiasm. She would literally beat her breastbone as she described every complex ache the characters experienced. The drama, the war, the weird creatures gods had sex with -- high School Maggie was entranced. -- MK (save on Goodreads)