A List for Tuesday

One of my favorite authors did a post on her website about five books that changed her. It was an interesting list and I decided to do my own. I encourage you to do the same.

Five Books That Changed Me
(in chronological order)

1. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman One of the only books from my childhood that I remember with perfect clarity. I had a pair of pajamas with hula girls on them that I thought of as my Little Black Sambo pajamas. It makes me laugh to know that this is a banned book now. Thinking about it now, this was my first foray into stories written like folktales.

2. Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad I'm not sure why this book had such an impact on me, but I think it had something to do with the descriptive language. There are images from this book that are so well-described I can still see them in my mind's eye.

3. Last Act by Christopher Pike I wouldn't say that this book is in any way fine literature, but it's a book that spoke to me. A bookish girl moves to a new town and finds her place in the theatre department (although things get a little complicated from there). I was in middle school when I first read it and had just moved from Texas to Utah. I had my exact same copy of it until recently, when Baby Dane took it upon himself to tear all the pages out.

4. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy My introduction to this book came in Mrs. Brandt's English class my junior year of high school. We watched the A&E made-for-TV movie starring Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour. I was absolutely in love at first sight! The only library in my area that carried it was the Manti Library, so I had to go and get a library card there. It was a ratty paperback version that was falling apart. The first book that I blatantly imitated, trying to write a story in exactly the same language as Baroness Orczy.

5. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carsone Levine The book that inspired me to write fairy tales. The book that led me to seek out every other fairy tale re-telling I could find. The book that I chose to be my companion as I hiked from rim to rim of the Grand Canyon, where every ounce of weight in my pack mattered. A very important book indeed.

I showed you mine, now show me yours. What are five books that changed you?