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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage will teach the writer how George Selden uses dialogue between two very different characters to do the work of characterization. Notice how Tucker's exaggerated emotional speech tells us he is dramatic, sentimental, and a little bit performative — and how Harry's dry response tells us he is calm, observant, and gently mocking of his friend's dramatics. In a few lines of dialogue, the entire dynamic of their friendship is established.
Open Chapter 1 of Tucker's Countryside. Find the passage where Tucker says his dramatic goodbye to Times Square — the one that Harry compares to an Italian opera. Choose 2-4 sentences that capture bot...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell the chapter, paying special attention to the moment Tucker decides to leave New York City. What is the difference between his words and what we can guess he is really feeling underneath?
Discussion Questions
- Tucker the mouse loves his stuff. He has spent the first book of the series collecting treasures from the New York City subway, and he knows where every coin and every scrap of food is in his pile. When he agrees to leave for the countryside, what is he ACTUALLY giving up — and what is he hoping to find?
- George Selden chose to begin the second book of his Cricket series with the cricket OFFSCREEN — Chester is in Connecticut, and the chapter starts with his friends in New York receiving a message from him. Why might the author have made this choice? What does it accomplish to begin the book without the title character of the previous book in the room?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
an open grassy field, especially one used for grazing or growing wildflowers — a setting that has its own ecosystem of small animals and insects
Item 2
overly attached to physical things and possessions, especially when this attachment gets in the way of valuing other things like friendship or experience
Item 3
a formal or ceremonial goodbye, often used when the parting is meaningful or might be permanent
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Critical Thinking
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