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Copywork
About This Passage
Paterson compares the need to give a gift to the need to eat — making generosity a bodily necessity rather than a social obligation. This single sentence reveals the depth of Jess's connection to Leslie: his need to express gratitude and love is as basic as hunger. The comparison is simple enough for young readers to feel but profound enough to reward close attention.
it was not that she would expect something expensive it was that he needed to give her something as much as he needed to eat when he was hungry
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell someone what happened in this chapter in order. When you get to the most important part, slow down and tell it carefully — what happened, why it mattered, and what you think about it.
Discussion Questions
- Jess gives Leslie a puppy and Leslie gives Jess a box of watercolors with 24 tubes and brushes. Both gifts show that each person understands what the other truly needs. What makes a gift perfect — is it about the thing itself, or about how well the giver knows the person? What in the story makes you think so?
- When Leslie opens her gift, she takes the puppy to the pine grove and says 'this is a time of greatest joy.' In chapter 3, she said the pine grove was for times of 'greatest sorrow or greatest joy.' Why does Leslie go to the sacred place at this happy moment? What in the story makes you think so?
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Critical Thinking
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