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Lily's Crossing
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Why can't Lily tell Poppy how she really feels about the piano?
The tension What Lily says out loud at the table (“I love music,” “Amazing”) against what she keeps inside: her crossed fingers, her silent curse at the instrument, and the star she kisses where her mother's hand once was.
Notice the gap between Lily's spoken words and her private thoughts, from the packed bedroom to the dinner table, and what that gap costs her.
The chapter is one hot evening in St. Albans in 1944, a couple of weeks after D-Day, in two places: Lily’s bedroom and the kitchen table. Upstairs, Lily is meant to be packing for the house in Rockaway, where she hopes to write stories and go to the movies with her friend Margaret, with no homework and no piano to practice. Gram calls up from the kitchen, impatient, with the war news blaring on the radio. Lily tells her she is “Almost finished” and whispers “almost started.” With Poppy’s paint scraper she peels a gold star off her wall. Her mother pasted it up when Lily was a baby, and Lily kisses the glue on its back, wishing she could remember her mother, who Poppy says played the piano with Lily on her lap. She tucks the star into her book, Evangeline, and runs down to meet her father. At dinner, Poppy starts to tell a surprise just as Lily announces that Mr. Egan, who is building something in his garage, is a Nazi spy; Poppy plays along and Gram says he is not. Then Poppy says, “The piano.” Lily says she will miss it and that she loves music, with her fingers crossed, and Poppy answers, “Like your mother.” His surprise is a hired truck to bring the piano to Rockaway for her birthday. Gram asks what it will cost. Lily cuts her beef into little pieces and at last says, “Amazing.” Gram says, “Yes, it is.”
Before reading, ask the student whether they have ever said they liked a present when they did not, and why. Then read aloud up to “Lily wished she could remember it.” and stop: what does Lily keep that no one else sees? Read on to the end, and stop each time Lily says something at the table, to ask whether it matches what she thinks.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in two parts: upstairs (the packing, Gram calling, the star and the kiss on the glue, the book it goes into) and the kitchen (Poppy home, the spy talk, the piano, “Like your mother,” the truck, and “Amazing”). Ask for each part in three or four sentences of the student’s own, in order.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes three or four sentences of their own about a crowded room on the day before a trip. Ask for one sentence with two halves joined by a semicolon that begin the same way, like “She could hardly breathe” and “she could hardly walk”, one colon that opens a list, and one line of speech with something else said “under her breath.”
Debate Take sides on the last written question. First make two lists from the chapter: what Lily says out loud (“Ready,” “I’ll miss it this summer,” “I love music,” “Amazing”) and what she keeps inside (the crossed fingers, “The damn piano,” the star, the kiss). One side argues Lily stays quiet for Poppy’s sake; the other argues she stays quiet for her own, because of her mother. Each side gives a reason and answers one from the other side. No one may say Poppy knows how she feels; the chapter shows him only eager to please her.
Purpose Close with a choice the author makes at the table. Poppy starts, “I have a surprise,” and at the same minute Lily bursts in with “Mr. Egan is a Nazi spy.” Upstairs, the floor is covered with “papers with stories she had written,” and she wants a summer to write stories for herself. Ask why the author has Lily break in with a story of her own at the very moment Poppy begins his surprise, and what that shows about her. Then set it beside the end of the chapter, where she “could hardly talk”: Lily is quick with a story and slow with what she feels. Leave Mr. Egan open; the chapter does not say what he is building.
Easier Read aloud together from “Lily turned it over.” to “Lily wished she could remember it.” and from “You said you had a surprise” to the end. Retell what Lily says at the table and what she thinks. Talk through the first and fourth discussion questions, then answer the last written question aloud.
On level Talk through all four discussion questions in order, then have the student write answers to the three written questions in complete sentences, each with a reason and a line from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to write the last written question as an argument: a claim, the strongest reason against it, and an answer to that reason. Then have them set the bedroom beside the table: Lily alone with the star, and Lily with Poppy waiting. Ask which place shows more of who she is, and why.
1. Lily slips the perfect star between two pages of her book. Is she hiding it, or keeping it safe?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to read what Lily does with the star once it is off the wall. She works at it with Poppy’s paint scraper until it comes off “in one piece,” and it is “perfect, the points still as sharp as when they were new,” unlike last year’s star, which “had torn a little.” She kisses the trace of glue on its back, where her mother was “the last one to touch that spot.” No one sees her do it. Then, with Gram calling, she puts it between two pages of Evangeline. The student decides whether this is care for something fragile, or one more thing Lily keeps to herself, like the silver mirror she hid in the closet. It is the first step toward the last written question: the chapter opens on what Lily keeps inside before it shows what she says out loud.
Keeping it safe. Last year’s star tore, and this one is perfect. A flat book is a good place to carry a paper star to Rockaway without bending the points.
It was perfect, the points still as sharp as when they were new.
The star she had scraped off last year had torn a little
Hiding it. Lily keeps her mother’s things out of sight. She hid the mirror in the back of the closet, and no one sees her kiss the glue. The star goes where no one will look.
She had even found an old silver mirror of her mother’s she had hidden away in back of the closet last winter.
She put her mouth against it, a kiss.
A strong answer A strong response might say Lily is keeping the star safe: this one is “perfect,” last year’s “had torn a little,” and a book keeps paper flat. Another might say she is hiding it, the way she hid her mother’s silver mirror “in back of the closet,” and the way no one sees the kiss. A careful answer may notice that the two can be true together: what is precious to Lily is also private.
2. Poppy plays along with the spy story. Gram has said no “about fourteen times.” Which grown-up takes Lily more seriously?Character
What it asks It asks the student to compare how two grown-ups meet one of Lily’s stories. Lily announces, “Mr. Egan is a Nazi spy,” at the same minute Poppy starts his surprise. Poppy stops to listen, as he always does, though he is “biting his lip” as if he might laugh. He says, “Certainly sounds suspicious,” grinning, and “You have to be alert.” Lily smiles: “She knew he was teasing.” Gram says, “Mr. Egan is not a spy,” and that she has told her “about fourteen times.” She asks what Lily thinks “poor Tom Egan” is doing, and argues with her answer. The student decides which response treats Lily’s story as worth taking on. It ties to the last written question: how each grown-up hears what Lily says.
Poppy. He stops what he is doing to listen to her, and the chapter calls it one of his nicest ways. He gives her story room instead of shutting it down.
Poppy stopped to listen to what she was saying. He always did that. It was one of his nicest ways.
Gram. Poppy is teasing, and Lily knows it. Gram answers Lily’s claim as a real claim: she asks what Mr. Egan is doing and argues back, even if the answer is no.
He was biting his lip, though, almost as if he’d laugh.
She knew he was teasing.
And what do you think poor Tom Egan is doing?
A strong answer A strong response might say Poppy takes Lily more seriously: he stops to listen, which is “one of his nicest ways,” and plays along. Another might say Gram does: Poppy is “biting his lip” and Lily “knew he was teasing,” while Gram asks what “poor Tom Egan” is doing and argues with the answer. A careful answer may notice that Lily is happy with Poppy’s teasing, and narrows her eyes at Gram.
3. Lily says she will miss the piano. Gram turns to look at her quickly, and Lily stares right back. What is Lily saying to Gram with that stare?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to read a look with no words in it. This is the second time Gram seems to see through Lily. When Lily tells Poppy she is “Ready,” Gram rolls her eyes “in back of Poppy, but Lily didn’t even blink.” Now Lily says, “I’ll miss it this summer,” and crosses her fingers. “Gram turned to look at her quickly over her shoulder.” Lily says, “I love music,” and “stared right back.” The student decides what Lily means Gram to take from the stare: a dare or a warning, or no message at all but a way of keeping her face still. It ties to the last written question: Gram is the one at the table Lily does not seem able to fool, and Lily keeps going anyway.
A dare, or a warning. Lily knows Gram can tell, and she stares to say: do not say a word in front of Poppy. She held steady the same way when Gram rolled her eyes at “Ready,” and she narrowed her eyes at Gram over Mr. Egan.
Gram rolled her eyes in back of Poppy, but Lily didn’t even blink.
her eyes narrowed at Gram
Lily stared right back.
A mask. The stare is not a message at all. Lily has things in her head that Gram must never see, and looking straight back is how she keeps her face from giving her away.
The damn piano, she called it deep inside her head.
If Gram ever thought she even knew that word, she’d be in trouble for a month.
A strong answer A strong response might say the stare is a dare or a warning: Gram can tell, and Lily is asking her to stay quiet, just as she “didn’t even blink” at Gram’s eye-roll. Another might say it is a mask: Lily keeps “The damn piano” deep inside her head, and a steady stare keeps it there. A careful answer may notice that Gram does stay quiet.
4. Lily says, “I love music.” Inside, she thinks, “Music, yes,” but “not the piano.” So is what she said a fib?Character
What it asks It asks the student whether a sentence can be true and still hide something. Poppy says, “The piano.” Lily takes a deep breath, says, “I’ll miss it this summer,” and crosses her fingers. Then she says, “I love music.” Inside she thinks, “Music, yes,” but “not the piano,” and she calls it “The damn piano” deep inside her head. Upstairs she looked forward to “The summer without a piano to practice every afternoon.” The student decides whether “I love music” is a fib, or a true sentence that Lily lets Poppy hear the wrong way. The question keeps the talk from treating Lily as simply a liar. It is one part of the last written question: what Lily says, set against what she feels.
Not a fib. Lily does love music. What she dislikes is the piano, and she says that only in her head. Her words are true, even if they are not the whole truth.
Music, yes, she thought, but not the piano.
The summer without a piano to practice every afternoon.
A fib all the same. Poppy has just said “The piano,” and she answers him right after crossing her fingers. She means him to hear that she loves the piano, and he does.
“The piano,” said Poppy.
She crossed her fingers.
A strong answer A strong response might say it is not a fib: Lily thinks “Music, yes,” so the words are true, and only the piano is “The damn piano.” Another might say it is a fib all the same: Poppy has just said “The piano,” she has just crossed her fingers, and she lets him hear that she loves it. A careful answer may notice that a true sentence can hide more than a false one, because it is easier to believe.
1. When Lily says she loves music, Poppy answers, “Like your mother.” How do those three words change what she has just said?
What it asks It asks the student to connect two parts of the chapter. The prompt names only the dinner line; the link upstairs is the student’s to find. After she kisses the star, Lily remembers what Poppy once told her: her mother was “playing the piano with you on her lap.” The chapter says, “Lily wished she could remember it.” At dinner, Lily says, “I love music,” and Poppy answers, “Like your mother.” Then: “Well, you won’t have to be without the piano this summer.” The student explains what those words do to Lily’s sentence: whether they make it heavier to take back, or give her something she wants, a tie to a mother she cannot remember. It is one part of the last written question: it adds the mother to the piano.
They make it heavier. Before, it was a small fib to please Poppy. Now it is about her mother. Saying she does not like the piano would sound like saying she is not like her mother, and Poppy’s next words are about the piano coming along.
Like your mother.
Well, you won’t have to be without the piano this summer.
They give her something. Lily wants to remember her mother and cannot. The piano is one of the few things she knows about her. Being “Like your mother” may be a part of the fib Lily would like to be true.
playing the piano with you on her lap
Lily wished she could remember it.
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and shows it with a line. A student who says the words make it heavier might point out that Lily’s fib is now tied to her mother, and that Poppy goes straight on: “you won’t have to be without the piano this summer.” A student who says the words give her something might use “Lily wished she could remember it,” and argue that being like her mother is something Lily wants. A careful answer may hold both: the words she wants to hear are the ones that hold her to the piano.
2. Poppy is waiting for a hug. Instead, Lily cuts her beef into “a bunch of little pieces.” Why might the author make us wait before she speaks?
What it asks It asks the student to judge a slow moment the author builds on purpose. Poppy has told his surprise: a hired truck to bring the piano to Rockaway for her birthday. Lily looks down at her plate, “three piles of stuff.” She knows Poppy is waiting for her to say something; he is waiting for her “to throw her arms around him and tell him how wonderful it was.” She picks up her knife and cuts her beef into “a bunch of little pieces.” Only then, “at last,” does she say one word: “Amazing.” The author could have gone straight from the truck to her answer. The student decides what the wait does: whether it makes the reader wait with Poppy, hoping, or whether it lets Lily’s eyes and hands show what she will not say. It is one part of the last written question: the moment Lily does not tell Poppy, before the question of why.
To make us wait with Poppy. He is hoping for a hug, and the reader waits as long as he does. When the answer comes, it is one word, not a hug, and we feel how small it is next to what he hoped for.
She knew Poppy was waiting for her to say something.
“Amazing,” she said at last.
To let Lily’s eyes and hands show what she will not say. She looks at her plate, not at Poppy, and cuts and cuts. Upstairs she was glad of a summer with no piano practice. The little pieces may show a feeling she cannot say out loud.
Lily looked down at her plate, three piles of stuff, cabbage, and beef, and potatoes.
She picked up her knife and cut her beef into a bunch of little pieces.
The summer without a piano to practice every afternoon.
A strong answer A strong response names what the wait does and backs it with a line. A student might say the author makes the reader wait with Poppy: Lily “knew Poppy was waiting,” and when the word comes “at last,” it is one word instead of a hug. Another might say the wait lets Lily’s eyes and hands speak: she looks down at “three piles of stuff” and cuts her beef into “a bunch of little pieces,” which may show a feeling she will not put into words. A careful answer may notice that the two fit together: the longer Poppy waits, the harder it is for Lily to say anything but “Amazing.”
3. Poppy always stops to listen to Lily. It is “one of his nicest ways.” Why can't Lily tell Poppy how she really feels about the piano?
What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. Upstairs Lily keeps things to herself: the hidden mirror, the star tucked into a book, the kiss on the glue, the wish to remember her mother at the piano. At dinner she says, “I’ll miss it this summer” with her fingers crossed, and “I love music,” while inside she calls it “The damn piano.” Poppy answers, “Like your mother,” and tells her the surprise: a hired truck for her birthday. “I just couldn’t resist.” He waits for a hug. She can hardly talk, and says, “Amazing.” Poppy is a listener, so the question is what stops her. The student weighs the reasons the chapter offers: not wanting to spoil Poppy’s gift, the tie between the piano and her mother, the fibs she has already told, and the habit of keeping what she feels inside. The earlier questions took up the star, the spy talk, the stare at Gram, whether “I love music” is a fib, “Like your mother” and the long wait before “Amazing”; this one asks what holds Lily back.
Because of Poppy. He is so happy with his surprise. He hired a truck because he “couldn’t resist,” and he is waiting for her to hug him. The truth now would spoil his gift.
I just couldn’t resist.
He was waiting for her to throw her arms around him and tell him how wonderful it was.
Because of her mother, and because of what she has already said. Lily keeps what matters most inside, and the piano is tied to the mother she cannot remember. Poppy linked the two out loud, and Lily has said twice that she loves it. Taking it back now is too much.
Lily wished she could remember it.
Like your mother.
She could hardly talk, though.
A strong answer A strong response takes a position, gives a reason and answers the other side. A student might argue that Lily cannot spoil Poppy’s gift: he “couldn’t resist,” and he is waiting for her to “throw her arms around him.” Another might argue that the piano is tied to her mother (“Like your mother”) and that Lily keeps her mother to herself, like the star and the mirror. A careful answer may notice that Poppy’s kindness, the very thing that makes him easy to talk to, is part of what makes this hard to say.