Maturing Identities

Kellee Rich's letter to Robert Cormier 14 July 1994

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This three-page typed letter was sent to Cormier by Kellee Rich, a sixteen-year-old student in England. After recounting her disengaged and frustrating experience with Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native, she thanks Cormier for inspiring her to write and tells the story of discovering his novel, I Am the Cheese. She talks about the emotional connection she experienced while reading his book.

"Crazy About Horses" John Fitch IV Column

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Here Cormier talks about his young daughter's interest in horses. First, he outlines some of her past interests including medicine, then veterinary medicine, as well as her thoughts about becoming a jockey. Then, he shares her passion for horses and riding. Finally, he recounts her first rapturous ride on a horse. He thinks of her future when her dreams can no longer be as easily bought with "25 cents on a Sunday afternoon in September."

"And Do On -- Letter To A Child" John Fitch IV Column

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In this John Fitch IV column, Cormier tells the touching story of his daughter's concern over the treatment of horses on television, which he fictionalizes. "The man" urges her to write a letter to the organization, which she reluctantly does, and then, is amazed when she receives a response. The daughter is impressed with the letter's author for using "Ms." and signing with his first name, which she regards as a mark of respect for children.

"Suddenly She's 10 Years Old" St. Anthony's Messenger column 1177 Main St. USA

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This column recounts Cormier's daughter's transitional stage as a ten-year-old. Among the topics of discussion are her love of horses and her new-found preoccupation with getting the right haircut and crushing on television actors.

RELATED LINKS:

Why Do Girls Love Horses, Unicorns, and Dolphins? In this article by Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva aka The Kitchen Sisters on NPR: Special Series-Hidden World of Girls (2011 Feb. 9), the authors theorize reasons why girls are sometimes attracted to horses and use interviews and material from other, published authors to support their position.

What Does Research Say Adolescent Readers Need? In this chapter by Luci Calkins and Mary Ehrenworth from their book, A Guide to the Reading Workshop: Middle Grades (2017, Heinemann Publishers), the authors offer a survey of recent research by notable scholars on the necessity for teachers to create curricular space for youth to have degrees of choice in what they read in order to foster a vigorous independent reading life.

Maturing Identities