This paper describes a graduate course using biographical materials for teachers to work through their understandings of reading and writing as personal, valuable processes. The course consists of three parts; each session begins with the reading of a children's picture book that deals with reading and writing; next, the class reads the recollections of several famous authors, such as Jack London, Eudora Welty, and James Agee; and finally, each member of the class works on a personal life story to share in class. The paper lists some of the picture books used in the course as: Chris Van Allsburg's "The Wretched Stone"; Patricia Polacco's "Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair"; Marie Bradby's "More Than Anything Else"; William Miller's "Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree"; and Zora Hurston's "Mules and Men." A question on the final exam asked how life stories specifically helped teachers; teachers' answers fell into two categories--what they learned about reading and writing, and what they learned to help children in learning to read and write. Contains 23 references. (CR)