Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old
Teacher’s Page
by Willie Turnage (p. 33)
Plot Summary
It is Saturday and Willie wants his mom to take him to see TV personality, Mr. Amazing, at the
mall at 3:00. Instead, his mom takes him to the department store so she can shop for clothes. Willie gets into trouble for
accusing the clerk of killing Willie’s favorite mannequin. Willie and his mom go to a Chinese restaurant where Willie tries
Moo-Goo-Gai-Pan for the first time. Willie translates the name of the dish imaginatively into “baby male cow cooked in a
pan” and promptly throws up. Willie and his mom leave the mall. In a desperate attempt to see Mr. Amazing, Willie convinces his mom to stop at a Texaco station so he can use the bathroom. Willie sprints back to the mall, hides in several
stores, and makes it to the Mr. Amazing show just in time. Unfortunately, in his enthusiasm, he runs onto the
stage where he is told to get lost by Mr. Amazing himself. Deeply disappointed, Willie matures on the spot,
or so he claims.
Interpreting the Story
1. Invite your students to describe Willie’s initial impressions of Mr. Amazing. Willie admires Mr. Amazing
because he is on TV every day, because he does neat science tricks, and because he never yells at his kids or spanks
them. Invite the students to contrast Mr. Amazing with Willie’s mother. Willie’s mother, quite naturally, yells
at Willie and spanks him. Willie’s mother limits Willie’s freedom and demands that he behave. Mr. Amazing is Willie’s
hero, in part, because he is the opposite of Willie’s mom.
2. Invite your students to examine the lesson Willie learns from Mr. Amazing. After Mr. Amazing disappoints
him, Willie says, “Most kids mature at ten or eleven, but I matured right then.” What does he mean by this? What has
his experience with Mr. Amazing taught him? Certainly, Willie is disappointed to learn that Mr. Amazing rejects Willie’s
enthusiasm and energy. In this way, Mr. Amazing turns out to be similar to Willie’s mom, just another responsible adult.
Willie claims that his mom has settled down, which implies that she no longer has to chase after Willie. In reading
Willie’s final list of rules, he seems to be saying that you have to learn to live with the adult world.
Responding Creatively to the Story
The Student’s Page invites your students to think about a time when they learned the disappointing
truth about a person or object, just as Willie learns a truth about Mr. Amazing. Some students may have trouble
thinking of such an experience, so it might be a good idea to let students brainstorm individually for a few minutes and
then share their ideas. The students can then use the directions on the Student’s Page to recall the details of the experience. This memory could become the basis for a humorous story like “Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old” or for a more serious
story. Encourage students to capture the particular details of their own experience.
Connecting with Cultural Values and Students’ Lives
These questions may guide your students to a deeper understanding of how the story relates to their own lives. The discussion of the story may also be used to foster the positive values of maturity and responsibility.
1. Throughout the story, Willie is searching for rules to live by. In Lesson #1, he says to “Always ask Mom. Never ask
Dad.” By the end of the story he reverses this rule. Lesson #2 is “At all times, weasel your way out of paying extra
money.” Lesson #3 is “No matter who it is, never upset an apparently calm adult.” What do these rules tell you about
Willie? What rules do you live by, and what do these rules say about you?
2. Willie’s mom is in a constant struggle to keep him under control. She spanks him for yelling at the department store
clerk about Bruce the mannequin. She ignores his request to see Mr. Amazing. She chases him through the mall. In
spite of these problems, Willie’s mom seems to be a good parent. How might an objective observer describe her parenting? What are her strengths? How would you deal with a child like Willie?
Guide to Freshmen
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Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old
Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old
(p. 33)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Before You Read
Part of growing up is realizing that even heroes have faults and that what looks good to the outside world may not be all
good. Think about a time when you learned the truth about something or someone you admired. It might be an experience
as universal as discovering the truth about Santa Claus, or it might be the time you got that toy you really wanted, only to
discover it didn’t really work like it did on TV. Use the directions below to remind yourself about the experience. This “raw material” may become the basis for a story.
Name the person or object. __________________________________________________________________________________
Describe the person or object. ________________________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Describe the qualities you originally admired about the person or object. ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Describe the moment when you learned a truth about the person or object. _________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Explain what you learned about the person or object and how this new knowledge made you feel. _____________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Connecting with Other Stories
Other stories in Freshmen also deal with people who are less admirable than they first appear. Dr. Dalen, a
respected scientist, reveals a surprise about his true identity in “The End.” The narrator in “The Boarder” admires her father,
but the reader soon senses a problem. In “Death’s Fortress” Silverleaf learns a disappointing truth about himself.
Guide to Freshmen
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Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old
Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old
(p. 33)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Vocabulary from “Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old”
Directions: Based on the way each word in bold below is used in the sentence, write what you think the word means.
Then look up the same word in your dictionary and copy the definition that comes closest to the way the word is used in
the sentence. Finally, write a sentence of your own using the word. Make sure the sentence shows what the word
means. Use a separate sheet of paper.
Example: He always did neat science tricks and taught me about spontaneous combustion in lysosomes.
(p. 34)
Definition based on context: uninhibited
Dictionary definition: happening without apparent external cause
Original sentence: Surprisingly, Harriet blurted out the answer spontaneously, even before Mrs. Blue asked
the question.
1. & 2. He always did neat science tricks and taught me about spontaneous combustion in lysosomes. (p. 34)
3. Unfortunately, and unknown to me then, Mom was not that gullible. (p. 35)
4. And every week the same routine—first the lingerie, then the skirts and blouses, and finally, to top it all off, belts and
other accessories. (p. 36)
5. I usually ended up doing one of two things: 1) Being a good boy and following Mom around or 2) Climbing on the
mannequins. (p. 36)
6. It was 1:00. Hopes for Mr. Amazing were dwindling. (p. 38)
7. & 8. Wait a second—I know! Do it subtly, an allusion, calm and casual. (p. 39)
9. & 10. That beige corduroy sport coat that symbolized everything he did. (p. 41)
11. During my state of hysteria, I had unknowingly run up on the stage, yelling. (p. 41)
Reading Check for “Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old”
Circle the letters of all the correct answers. Some questions may have more than one correct answer.
1. Mr. Amazing is
a. a superhero
b. a crime fighter
4. Willie escapes from his mom by
a. convincing her to stop the car so he can go to the
bathroom
b. hiding in the department store bathroom
c. disguising himself as Mr. Amazing’s assistant
d. hiding under the table in the restaurant
c. an alien
d. a television science teacher
2. Willie gets in trouble in the department store for
a. stealing a radio
b. looking for Bruce the mannequin’s killer
c. breaking a lamp
d. spilling his drink
5. When Willie finally meets Mr. Amazing, Mr. Amazing
a. asks Willie to become his assistant for a day
b. tells Willie the secret of his superhuman powers
c. doesn’t notice Willie
d. tells Willie to leave
3. Willie and his mom have lunch at
a. a hamburger place
b. a Mexican restaurant
c. a Chinese restaurant
d. a hot dog stand
Guide to Freshmen
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Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old
Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old
(p. 33)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Language Skills in Context: Commas in
Compound Sentences
When a conjunction such as “and,” “or,” or “but” is used to combine two complete sentences, writers normally use a
comma before the conjunction. When a conjunction is used to join a complete sentence with an incomplete sentence, no
comma is usually required. For instance, no comma is needed between “damage” and “but” in The storm produced a great
deal of coastline damage but not enough to close the nearby marina. Insert commas where necessary in the following
sentences. Conjunctions are in bold. Use the sentences in the story to check your work.
1. That year I learned what the world was really like and I’ll never forget the three rules I learned that I still use today.
(p. 33)
2. He tried to be funny a lot of the time but he was rarely any good at it. (p. 34)
3. He had two kids and never yelled at them or spanked them. (p. 34)
4. I screamed at my mother and received a very stern look. (p. 36)
5. I think she got about thirty gray hairs and many wrinkles from this experience. (p. 37)
6. The lunch conversation was a strange one but that’s to be expected considering this was my first exposure to Chinese
cuisine. (p. 38)
7. I could just see it, frying right there on the grill and they actually served it to people. (p. 38)
8. My dignity would be shattered if I let it loose but I couldn’t stop it. (p. 38)
9. Mr. Amazing has been canceled and I still remember my three rules. (p. 41)
Brainteasers for Critical Thinking
1. Willie’s litany of pet peeves and complaints runs continuously through his “memoirs.” What are some of these problems, hypocrisies, indignities, and general affronts to his young dignity? Are any of them similar to your own, and/or
can you empathize? Explain your answer.
2. Humorous to the stretch of absurdity, Willie’s tone is yet not really “light,” nor are his concerns entirely frivolous. Do
you find issues and needs here that might be more seriously addressed? In other words, do you believe that Willie is
being treated in a reasonably fair and considerate way? If so, would you guess that he is distorting the incident by
relating it from his own young point of view? If not, might his humorous, flippant responses be seen as defenses
against the full impact of a generally unamusing situation?
3. Reread Willie’s brief Pregnant Girlfriend Fantasy. Why might this kind of scenario have popped into his head at that
moment rather than, say, a more standard sympathy-inducing “You’ll-be-sorry-when-I’m-dead” kind of misfortune,
such as his being run down by a truck? Is it possible that his fantasy relates, albeit in a self-parodying and ridiculous
way, to the basic needs he claims he is being denied?
4. Willie is very young, younger than his 10-year-old brother, when all this happens. Mom speaks tot-talk to him, calling
the mannequins “pretty statues,” and Willie is small enough to fling himself up onto the counter after he finds that his
favorite mannequin, Bruce, is missing. At the same time, mature phrases (like “Stop the slaughter!”) arise in his mind,
along with fantasies of teenage paternity. How old do you believe he was at the time of his adventure? Is it possible
that elements of the more mature 13-year-old author are mingling with these early recollections?
5. Everything Willie does—from the mannequin episode to the Moo-Goo-Gai-Pan splashdown to the Texaco restroom
escape—is directly opposed to Mom’s agenda. And everything Mom does or doesn’t do—forcing Willie to tag along
for hours of shopping, spanking him, ordering the disgusting lunch, her indifference to Mr. Amazing—appears to be at
odds with Willie’s agenda. Can you understand and translate the deeper meaning of Willie’s closing “moral”? Has it
any applicability to your own life?
Guide to Freshmen
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Memoirs of a 13-Year-Old