I recently finished a personal project where I read as many of the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction as I could. Since 1918 there have been 89 winners (some years have gone without an award being given) and over the course of 22 months I read 58 of them. (I was unable to find 23 in an e-book version and I had read eight previously.) Of all those books, there were only a handful that I really loved. And upon reflection, I realize that my favorite books and books that hold special memories for me are ones that I was exposed to as a student in the Verona School System. When you consider how long ago I was a student (something that is painful to admit), you realize what an integral part these teachers and their literature choices had in my life. So let’s forget the prize winners; I’m going to tell you some of books that are my all-time favorites thanks to the teachers that I had.
The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh: In third grade Mrs. Williams read aloud to her class almost every afternoon. I can remember most of the books even today: The Flight of the Doves, Don’t Take Teddy, The Prince and the Pauper, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Long Secret. A great story (even better in my opinion than the book that Ms. Fitzhugh is best known for: Harriet the Spy). What child hasn’t felt like an outsider (which Beth Ann is) or wanted to be a spy like Harriet. While considered a young adult book, it has themes that will resonate with adults, which makes me want to go find and read it again right now! It’s also a wonderful piece of “history” as it was published in 1965 and is very much a product of that time.
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene: My love of reading partially is the result of those elementary school teachers who taught me how to read. There were no 20-minute reading logs to be filled out when I was at Laning Avenue. But because of all the class reading that was done (and not just by Mrs. Williams) and my mother reading this book out loud to me, I became a devoted reader. This is the first of the Nancy Drew series which I devoured as a girl. My mother read from her copy of the book, which meant the original language from the 1930s versus the “updates” that were done in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I can vividly remember the morning that I realized that I didn’t have to wait for my mother to read the next chapter; I COULD do it. Despite challenging language (a blue roadster?), I fell in love with the series and read every single Nancy Drew I could get my hands on. The ones my mother handed down to me still reside on my shelf.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson: Would Mrs. Messer still be allowed to read this to her 6th graders today? Probably not, but there’s a lesson in this funny tale that still needs to be told and it isn’t just about the true meaning of Christmas. A great story for children, tweens and adults. Now is the perfect season to read or re-read it. Once you have, you’ll forever hear in your head: “Hey! Hey! Unto you a child is born!”
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Sure it won the Pulitzer in 1961, but I didn’t realize that when it was assigned reading in Mrs. Young’s freshman English class. It immediately drew me in and its story and message will never leave me. I’ve re-read it several times since then and am always happy that I did. When he is a little older, I will insist my son read it (he’s already seen the movie) and I wish every single person in this country would read it. I think it’s one of the most important books ever written.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: I had Mrs. Young again my junior year and she had us reading non-stop. Of everything we read (from Aeschylus to Arthur Miller), this was my favorite, although many of the things we read have stayed with me such as O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra and Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. None of the movie adaptations of the book do it justice in my opinion. Fitzgerald captures the 1920s jazz age so perfectly you’ll feel like you are there. Once again, the tale is still of the division of the classes and is as relevant now as it was then.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey: This might have been the last book I read as a senior in Mr. Luks’ class. Like Mrs. Young, he had us reading non-stop. (Until undertaking my Pulitzer project, Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad was the book I most hated. That title has now been replaced by William Faulkner’s A Fable.) Of all the things we read (including All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren which won the Pulitzer in 1947), this is the one that spoke to me. Could there be similarities between being in an institution and being in public school? Who is insane and what is insanity? How is it “cured’? I cried and cheered at The Chief’s actions at the end of the book.
I would never have challenged myself to read the Pulitzer Prize winners if it weren’t for the teachers of Verona. I have not mentioned them all; there are too many to name. Reading was always encouraged, no matter what the book or subject was. My love of a good book was, of course, also encouraged by my family. (The stacks of books that remain in my parent’s house is a testament to that.) Verona is also home to a wonderful library (which now has a way for us to borrow from 25 other libraries) and school libraries which I spent much time. I think I often bought books “to keep” after I took them out of the school library and read them. (Does anyone else recall the a little book shop in Verona on the south side of Bloomfield Avenue? I don’t remember the name, but I DO remember that I bought The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs there. A spooky story that scared me mostly because of the artwork by Edward Gorey.)
As I continue my passion for reading (one that I hope rubs off on my son), I’m so glad that I grew up in a community with great teachers, librarians and neighbors that encouraged it. It’s just one more thing that makes me proud to be a lifelong resident!
Beth Shorten is a life-long resident of Verona. For more than three years she has been chronicling life here on her personal site, Bfth’s Boring Blog.
