Miami Memories: The Book that Changed my Life

The articles "A" and "The" make a major difference in how the reader interprets the line.  Using "A" book in the title suggests that any book might work, whereas, using "The" plainly states that only one book fits this description.  Naturally, my mind wonders and can make a list, a long list of books that have made a difference in my life, but I'm asking myself and my readers to name only one and how did it change your life.

At age five my mother enrolled me in first grade at a Catholic school for several reasons:  one, I had a new baby sister at home and mother's hands were full (after all she was nearly forty!); two, she called me precocious and inquisitive, not two highly prized skills in that first grade class ruled by a nun with a ruler in her hand.  I quickly learned that straight lines, formal behavior, no talking, no chewing gum were the keys to survival.  This little five year old became lost in the structure, but luckily, the windows were tall and wide and the trees outside beckoned my eyes and imagination to wonder.  

By the end of the year we moved away and a book character, found on the shelves of the Miami, Oklahoma Public Library, entered my life and lifted my tiny trodden spirits.

 Madeline and her many adventures showed me then, and to this day, that even the tiniest of us could be strong and courageous.  My tonsillitis surgery at age four rivaled her appendix surgery; we both nearly drowned.   She was everything I wanted to be: lively, curious, adventurous, and willing to stand up for herself.  She changed my life.

Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans (excerpt)

In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines

Lived 12 little girls in two straight lines,

They left the house at half past nine.

The smallest one was Madeline.

She was not afraid of mice,

She loved winter, snow, and ice.

To the tiger in the zoo

Madeline just said, "Pooh Pooh!"

And nobody knew so well

How to frighten Miss Clavel--

Until the day she slipped and fell.

Poor Madeline would now be dead

But for a dog that kept his head, 

And dragged her safe from a watery grave.

"From now on, (spoke Clavel) I hope you will listen to me,

And here is a cup of camomile tea."

What Book Changed Your Life? How or Why?  Please fix a hot cup of tea, reflect, and respond to my question.

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