“You are Lisa Simpson.” This is what’s written on the poignant note that Lisa’s beloved substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom writes to her as he boards a train to be whisked away to another underpaid and underappreciated substitute teaching job. But Lisa does appreciate him, so much so she’s developed an intense crush on him. The Simpsons episode “Lisa’s Substitute,” which aired thirty-two years ago on April 25th, is surprisingly sentimental. Mr. Bergstorm (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) is witty, thoughtful, and charming. Like Lisa, he’s a nerdy iconoclast who challenges accepted beliefs and traditions. Lisa’s connection to him is more intellectual than romantic. He’s everything Lisa’s ever wanted in an adult role model, especially in a father. When Mr. Bergstorm reads the end of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web to the class, he, Lisa, and all of us watching are left in tears. But it’s his departure from Springfield that’s most gutwrenching. As he is about to board the train, Lisa arrives in a panic—she must stop him! Of course, she can’t stop him, but he does comfort her. In a moment of brilliance, Mr. Bergstorm scribbles a note for Lisa to look at whenever she feels alone.
“You are Lisa Simpson.” That’s it. That’s all he wrote. But it’s enough. It’s a simple and empowering message that she is enough. It’s also a reminder that our most intense crushes are often less about the person we desire and more about ourselves. Sometimes we don’t actually want to be with the object of our affection; we want to be them. And it’s in that powerful moment that many of us watching realized we, too, are Lisa Simpson.
If I could define the ideal reader of Moonbow, it would be Lisa. So I’m dedicating this month’s “5 Things” newsletter to her. How could I not be obsessed with a young feminist rebel who reads authors like Sylvia Plath, Maurice Sendak, Daniel Clowes, and Lewis Carroll? And whose favorite album is Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis? Or what about when she challenged the sexist “Malibu Stacy” Barbie doll by creating her own doll, “Lisa Lionheart,” who she claimed would have “The wisdom of Gertrude Stein, the wit of Cathy Guisewite, the tenacity of Nina Totenberg, the common sense of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. And to top it off, the down-to-earth good looks of Eleanor Roosevelt.” And I would add, “The heart of Lisa Simpson.”
I hope you enjoy watching some of my favorite Lisa Simpson moments and listening to my “Lisa Simpson Moon Dreams” playlist. This was the most fun “5 Things” newsletter I’ve made!
Lisa: “The Land of the Wild Beasts—that’s the first book I read all the way through.”
Bart: “You read a book all the way through? WHY?!”
LISA SIMPSON’S READING LIST
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Journal of Joyce Carol Oates by Joyce Carol Oates
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Emma by Jane Austen
Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Ulysses by James Joyce
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
Grimms’ Fairy Tales by The Grimm Brothers
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Works of Gore Vidal
The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin
The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
“I can’t get enough of “The Baby-Sitter Twins,” — they arrested the counterfeiters, rescued the president, and made four dollars!”
THE LISA SIMPSON BOOK CLUB
If you want to see more funny memes and images of Lisa reading, head to Lisa Simpson’s Book Club on Tumblr!
"I'm not going to give up. Solitude never hurt anyone. Emily Dickinson lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful poetry the world has ever known...then went crazy as a loon.”
LISA SIMPSON IS A MOON LOVER
Today is the start of the full moon, the flower moon! Is it any surprise that Lisa appreciates the moon?
LISA SIMPSON MOON DREAMS: A PLAYLIST
Lisa Simpson has an interesting and eclectic taste in music. She passionately plays the saxophone and dreams of becoming a famous jazz musician. In honor of her love of the avant-garde, I’ve created a playlist that speaks to her uniqueness.
"Well, I'm going to be a famous jazz musician. I've got it all figured out. I'll be unappreciated in my own country, but my gutsy blues stylings will electrify the French. I'll avoid the horrors of drug abuse, but I do plan to have several torrid love affairs, and I may or may not die young. I haven't decided."


LOOK! I found these old “Lisa Simpson For President” Vans sneakers on eBay, and they’re basically in Moonbow’s brand colors.
More Moonbow:
In the Half Room by Carson Ellis. (And a Poem by Gertrude Stein.)
Stinky Cheese, a Ginormous Goat, and Other Fairly Stupid Recommendations
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