Short Story Selection Menu Individual Reading Selections Select a short story from this menu to read and analyze. Title Textbook About the selection Page # “Checkouts” by Cynthia Rylant 82-85 “The Girl Who Can” by Ama Ata Aidoo 86-92 “Sonata For Harp and Bicycle” by Joan Aiken 46-56 “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth” by Arthur C. Clarke 162-166 “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer 240-252 “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko 292-297 “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan 316-328 “Blues Ain’t No Mockingbird” by Toni Cade Bambara 350-358 In this story, a girl and a boy fall in love, but never really meet. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 Seven-year-old Adjoa challenges her grandmother’s views about a woman’s place in society. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 This story combines the elements of mystery, romance, and the supernatural- with a wink at Greek Mythology as the hero challenges the absurd fears of his office and his co-workers. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 Ten-year-old Marvin lives on a space station and is taken on a trip by his father to the outside world. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 Elena, a Puerto Rican girl living in a tenement in New Jersey, becomes friends with a boy named Eugene. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 The death of an elderly Native American, Teofilo, serves as a backdrop to illuminate the actions, reactions, and interactions of the living. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 This story focuses on the relationship between a mother who was born and raised in China and her daughter, born in America. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 This story explores the issues of family dignity and the right to privacy. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 “The Invalid’s Story” by Mark Twain “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber 363-370 128-134 The narrator tells the story of the train trip he takes to bring the body of his newly deceased friend to his final resting place. Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 Did you see the movie? The movie was based on the original story about a man who feels ineffectual and cannot cope with the world around him, so he retreats to a daydream world where he becomes dashing, powerful, and in control. “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry 260-266 Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 This story is about self-sacrificing love- and its ironic consequences. “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst 384-395 Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 This story demonstrates how cruelty and selfishness can be entwined with love. 396-400 Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011 This fable highlights the negative consequences when competition is the only form of interaction. “The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind” by Ray Bradbury Pearson, Prentice Hall Literature, Grade 9, 2011