Primary Sources

Growing Pains. Created by Neal Marlens. Perf. Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cmeron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller. ABC. 1985. ¹

Berenstain, Stan and Jan. The Berenstain Bears. New York: Ramdom House, 1974. ²

Sachar, Louis. Sideways Stories from Wayside School. New York: Avon Books Inc., 1978. ³

The Lion King. Directed by Roger Allers. Perf. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones. Disney. 1994. ⁴


¹ Although I was only three years old when Growing Pains ended, I watched the Disney Channel reruns religiously. At first I wanted nothing more than to be a Seaver, but then I found out cooties weren’t real and soon realized that Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) and I were destined to be together. That was until Luke Brower (Leonardo DiCaprio) decided to crash on the Seavers couch. He became a part of the family and the heart throb of every preteen girl that watched the show. I was convinced that Mike would understand that my feelings had changed, and that we could still be friends. To say the least, Growing Pains showed me that life isn’t perfect, family will always be there for you, and that boys aren’t always gross.

² My favorite animals as a child were bears. They were just so cute and cuddly. This might be one of the reasons I clung to The Berenstain Bears books as a small child. A family of bears living like humans grabbed my attention before any other source of entertainment did. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Brother Bear, and Sister Bear were my roadmap to learning lessons and structuring some basic morals and values that everyone should follow. I knew if I stole honey from Mama Bear, I would have to suffer the consequences from Papa Bear. Basic concepts – yet immensely important in life.

³ Once I started school and graduated from my Hooked on Phonics kit, I was ready for chapter books. Sideways Stories from Wayside School was my first insight to what “big kid” school would be like. Louis Sachar’s Wayside School and its energetic students and all their exciting adventures made me excited to go to school every day. I was eager to leave kindergarten and never look back.

⁴ Right around the time I began to read, I was frequently found sprawled out across the living room floor watching Disney’s The Lion King. Don’t get me wrong, I was an active kid and spent much of my time outside running around with my friends, but when it came to sitting back and having a laugh, Timon and Pumbaa did it best. I like to think that The Lion King opened my eyes to the world around me. How was I supposed to know there were so many different places in the world besides my backyard? Now that I’m older, I plan on traveling to as many regions of the world as I can, and I thank The Lion King for that.