TTT is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl . If you want to quadruple the size of your TBR AND find a bunch of great book blogs to follow head on over and check it out!
The topic this week is: Characters That Remind Me of Myself
But I'm struggling with that one. So then I was thinking "Characters I admire and/or aspire to be more like," and then that got confused with Teacher Appreciation Week being this week, so I present to you
Top Ten Teachers in Books
1. James Herndon in The Way It Spozed to Be. Published in 1968, Herdon's memoir of a year spent teaching in an inner city school is both tragic and a delight. Herndon is a teacher who excelled at "kid watching" long before that was a thing. He just GETS kids, and doesn't get the system they're all part of.

2. Christy in Catherine Marshall's book of the same name. This is a book I will never re-read, because I'm pretty sure many aspects would make me wince, but as a tween and teen I loved it, and when I first started teaching in a fishing village in Latvia, I kept remembering Christy in her Appalachian one room school house.
3. Frank McCourt in his memoir, 'Tis. Angela's Ashes gets all the glory, and fine, it's well deserved, but as a teacher, I loved the stories of how he went about getting an education and growing into his role. It's not a particularly happy book, but it's a good one.
![]() |
Is this about middle school? I feel like this is about middle school. |
4. Coach Swieteck, Mr. D'Ulney and Mrs. Halloway in Orbiting Jupiter. The first two judge Joseph on who he shows them he is, not on who they've been told he is. Mrs. Halloway missteps at first, but when she learns better, she apologizes and makes things right.
![]() |
This was clearly made this year. |
5. Professor McGonnagal in the Harry Potter series. She is smart and brave, kind but nobody's fool. Kids work hard in her classroom, and I rather imagine they're terrified of her at first, then slowly come to realize how much she loves them despite her firm demeanor.

6. Sylvia Ashton-Warner in her 1963 book Teacher, a sort of diary of her time teaching Maori children in New Zealand. Again, dated as all get-out, but she was an early proponent of connecting with kids before you try to teach them things, and of student-led learning.
7. Ms. Laverne in Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson. She makes those kids feel so safe and respected.
8. Mrs. Dunphrey in Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix. First, you gotta love a teacher that gets kids writing like that. Tish gradually realizes she has to tell someone what is going on in her life, and she lets Mrs. Dunphrey in. Mrs. Dunphrey handles it beautifully.

9. Which leads us directly to Ms. Stretchberry in Sharon Creech's Love That Dog. She teaches poetry. She empowers students. She brings Walter Dean Myers to her school. She's a rock star.
10. John from Gary Paulsen's Nightjohn. The man risks literal death and dismemberment in order to teach his fellow slaves to read.
Lol...I love all the teacher memes. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! I'm headed in shortly for my doughnut from the PTA :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the treats!
DeleteI loved your twist to this week's prompt. Very nice. Teachers definitely deserve respect!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT.
I love your topic! Awesome memes. There’s a good teacher in Vivian Apple at the End of the World. She opens her classroom after the apocalypse so her newly orphaned students will have a place to go.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I like to think I'd be supportive after the apocalypse as well.
DeleteLove that McGonagall gets a shout-out in your list! I feel like she's so underappreciated, and she has to deal with so much. Not to mention how bad-ass she is in general. Great list!
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT post.
I've dressed up as her for Halloween a few times.
DeleteGood topic and an interesting list. I'd add Pat Conroy's the Water is Wide (aka Conrack)and To Serve Them All My Days by RF Delderfeld--I've read tons of teacher books.
ReplyDeleteI have not read any of those books, but I love the topic (and the fun memes too)
ReplyDeleteHey, I think that you ARE writing about yourself because you're a teacher who inspires. (You certainly inspire me!)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The only book I've read from this list is Harbor Me. This is an appropriate topic for this week though, since you are a teacher and it's obvious that you care, just like the people in these books!
ReplyDeleteThis is a timely tweak of the prompt, perfect for Teacher Appreciation Week. I love reading books about the struggles of teachers. I have forty-four books on my shelf for "Teaching" at Goodreads. Some of my favorites are Educating Esme; There Are No Shortcuts; Work Hard, Be Nice; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Rain School; Fire in the Ashes; Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America; All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island, New York's Most Notorious Jail; Reading with Patrick; and (the story of one of my favorite teachers) The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers.
ReplyDelete