Narrative Compass

Betsy Hearne is the former director of the Center for Children's Books and a professor emerita in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Roberta Seelinger Trites is a professor of English at Illinois State University.

"In each elegant interpretation, the author traces the ripple effects of a story that thrilled or provoked her, a story that became a catalyst for a lifelong passion, and a story that became a virtual home, to return to for clarification. Rich and mind-opening testimony to the profound, even chthonic power of tales well told."--Booklist "A uniformly stellar volume."--Children's Literature Association Quarterly "Rich and inspiring."--Research on Children's Literature"Beautifully written, exquisite in conception, and full of substance."--Shirley Brice Heath, author of Ways with Words: Language, Life, and Work in Communities and Classrooms "Never before have I read such insightful and unique accounts about the power of books in determining the paths that we take in our lives. These extraordinary stories are counter-narratives to the dominant male discourse of academia, revealing how academia has benefited from stories that it has sought to exclude."--Jack Zipes, author of Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre "The essayists in this thoughtful collection reflect upon the diverse stories that were influential as they journeyed toward lives of achievement. These stories about stories engage the reader and invite meditation on our own narrative compasses."--Judy Nolte Temple, professor of women's studies and English, University of Arizona "This compelling and memorable collection is impressive in the range of works discussed, the diversity of voices and disciplinary perspectives, the depth of autobiograhical exploration and reflection, and the lucidity and thoughtfulness of the essays."--Jan Zlotnik Schmidt, editor of Women/Writing/Teaching

• Introduction   ix ROBERTA SEELINGER TRITES AND BETSY HEARNE PART 1. FINDING THE COMPASS1. The Tea Fragrance Chamber   1 RANIA HUNTINGTON 2. Academic Grief: Journeys with Little Women   8 ROBERTA SEELINGER TRITES 3. Girl: Stories on the Way to Feminism   19 KIMBERLY J. LAU 4. A Language Journey   31 OFELIA ZEPEDA 5. A Thousand and One Tales   39 MARIA TATAR 6. A Passage to, and from, India   47 WENDY DONIGER PART 2. LITERARY AND CRITICAL DIRECTIONS7. Balancing on Interpretive Fences or Leaping into the Void: Reconciling Myself with Castaneda and The Teachings of Don Juan   57 BONNIE GLASS-COFFIN 8. Wet Work and Dry Work: Notes from a Lacanian Mother   68 KAREN COATS 9. The Pleasures of Dreaming: How L. M. Montgomery Shaped My Lifeworlds   80 EBONY ELIZABETH THOMAS 10. Her Story and History: Journeys with Laura Ingalls Wilder   96 PAMELA RINEY-KEHRBERG 11. A Moral Compass: Dorothy Sterling's Mary Jane   102 DEYONNE BRYANT 12. Uniquely Qualified   115 ANN HENDRICKS PART 3. ESCAPING HOME, FINDING HOME13. Wondering with Alice   125 BEVERLY LYON CLARK 14. Romancing the Muse of History: The Secret Garden, Mary Lennox, and Me   131 CHRISTINE A. JENKINS 15. The Ghost in the Borrowed Story: A Mystery in Twenty Chapters   141 CINDY L. CHRISTIANSEN 16. Generations of Melodrama: A Cinderella Story   156 CLAUDIA QUINTERO ULLOA 17. My Journey Home   170 MINJIE CHEN 18. Birth Maps   180 JOANNA HEARNE 19. Bringing the Story Home: A Journey with Beauty and the Beast   194 BETSY HEARNE Contributors   213Index   217