Lily's Crossing
Chapter 10 — Teaching Companion
Patricia Reilly Giff · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Albert asks to feed the cat by himself. Is Lily right that he doesn't want to be friends?
The tension On the dock they look at each other, smiling, and Lily thinks “He looked like another person, almost like a friend”; in the Dillons' kitchen Albert asks for the key so “You don't have to bother,” and Lily decides “He didn't want to be friends,” wanting to say “It's my cat too” and not saying it.
Today's focus
How the rescue on the dock draws Lily and Albert close, and what each of them holds back once they are inside the Dillons’ kitchen.
Two core ideas
- Saving the kitten is the first thing Lily and Albert do together, and for a moment on the dock she really likes him: he looks to her “almost like a friend.”
- Lily wants to share the cat but never says so, and she reads Albert’s offer to feed it alone as a no to her; the chapter gives only his words and her reading of them.
The shape at a glance
The chapter opens on the fishing pier in Rockaway during the war. The rider on the bicycle turns out to be a teenage boy, and he pedals off into the lanes through the reeds. Albert, almost babbling, points down at a paper bag sinking in the water and says, “It is a cot.” Lily understands that he means a cat and rolls into the water, which is deeper than she guessed, maybe seven or eight feet. The bag shreds in her fingers, and she comes up with a kitten that lies still. Albert takes it and wraps it in his shirt, and Lily shakes it and rubs its fur until it coughs and sneezes. They smile at each other, and for a moment Albert looks to Lily almost like a friend. Then he looks around, starts to say he saw the boy put the cat in the bag, and breaks off: the kitten must be warmed and dried. Gram would never let Lily keep a cat, so she leads Albert to Margaret’s shuttered house and lets them in with the key she wears around her neck, telling him it is not trespassing. When she says the people are gone because of the war, he says, “Like Budapest.” Albert says the kitten is too little for food; she needs milk, and her mother. Lily thinks of her own mother. Her purse, with all her summer savings, is lost in the water, but Margaret’s wet letter is still in her pocket, and she spreads it on the counter to dry. Albert slips out to get milk. Alone, Lily carries the kitten into Eddie’s hot, closed bedroom and remembers him tossing her a dime when she was seven and saying “Nice catch.” She reads Margaret’s letter: at Willow Run the houses are slapped up in rows, the bomber factory is a mile long, and Margaret hates the whole thing. Lily wonders what Margaret would think of Albert. Albert comes back with a bottle of milk. Lily skims off the cream, nearly gagging, and Albert licks the spoon and takes the last of it, then says his sister, Ruth, loves cream, just as the kitten nearly jumps off the counter. The kitten drinks from a bowl and purrs. Albert asks if they could keep her in the house, then asks to borrow the key so he can feed her himself; Lily need not bother. Lily is so disappointed that she decides he does not want to be friends. She wants to say the cat is hers too and that she saved it, but she says nothing. While he watches, she hides the key behind a rock and walks home without saying goodbye, planning to read The Three Musketeers all afternoon.
A way in
Before reading, ask the student about a time they helped someone with something hard, and what it was like between them afterward. Then read aloud from the start to “He looked like another person, almost like a friend.” Ask what Lily sees in Albert just then. Read on to the end, and have the student listen for each thing Albert does for the kitten, and for each thing Lily wants to say and does not.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in four parts: the dock, from the sinking bag to “She is alive”; the walk to Margaret’s house and the talk inside the back door; Lily alone with the kitten, in Eddie’s room and over Margaret’s letter; and the kitchen, from the milk and the cream to the key behind the rock. Look for the order, and for Lily’s verdict on Albert told as what Lily thinks, not as a fact.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes two or three sentences of their own about helping with something that took both hands. Ask for one long sentence that follows the hands: two actions joined by “and,” a phrase set off by commas, and an ending that begins “until at last,” the way Giff writes “kneaded the fur, holding her head down, until at last she coughed and sneezed.” Then ask for one sentence with a phrase tucked between two commas in the middle, like “she opened the door and, knowing he was watching, went to the back.” Look for both commas around the tucked phrase.
Debate Take sides on the last written question. First list from the chapter everything Albert does and says for the kitten, from “It is a cot” to the towel bed. Then list what Lily wants to say and does not. The student argues one side of the hinge and you argue the other. Look for a student who uses Albert’s exact words, “You don’t have to bother,” and weighs them against “Could we keep her here?” Keep the talk off guessing Albert’s reason as a fact; the chapter gives only his words and Lily’s reading of them.
Purpose Close with the end of the chapter. Lily tells herself “Never mind” and “Too bad about being friends,” and plans to read The Three Musketeers all afternoon. Ask why Giff lets that book lead her straight back to Albert’s sister in France. Leave open who the boy on the bicycle was, whose cat this will be, and whether anyone finds out about the Dillons’ house; the chapter tells none of them.
Easier Read aloud together from Albert coming back with the milk to the end of the chapter. Retell what Albert asks for and what Lily wants to say. Talk through the fourth discussion question, 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 two written questions in complete sentences, each with a reason and a line from the chapter.
Harder In Eddie’s empty room Lily remembers him tossing her a dime and saying “Nice catch,” and Margaret’s letter ends “I hate the whole thing.” Ask the student to write a paragraph on what these two reminders of the Dillons who are gone add to the kitten’s rescue, and how they might shape what Lily hopes for from Albert. Use only this chapter, and claim nothing about what has happened to Eddie.
Discussion
- On the dock, Albert’s smile lasts only a moment. What takes it away?Character
What it asks It asks about the first time the two of them are close. The kitten coughs and sneezes, Albert says, “She is alive,” and they look at each other, smiling. Lily likes his face, and she thinks “He looked like another person, almost like a friend.” Then the next line turns: “But he smiled for only a moment.” He takes the cat from her, dries her with his shirt and looks around. He starts with “That boy,” says “I saw him put the cat in the bag,” breaks off, and says he has to make her warm. The student decides what ends the smile. This is the first piece of the last written question: the closeness ends once here, long before he asks for the key. The card does not say who the boy is, or that he is ever found.
One reading
The boy. Albert looks around, and the first thing he says is about the boy he saw put the cat in the bag. He is angry, or still shaken by what he saw, and the smile cannot last while he thinks of it.
“That boy,” he said.
He took the cat from her, rubbing her fur with his shirt, drying it, and looking around.
Another reading
The kitten. She is alive, but she is still wet and cold. Albert breaks off about the boy and goes straight back to her. The job is not done, and there is no time to stand there smiling.
“I have to make her warm,” he said. “I have to dry her.”
They walked slowly, stopping every few minutes to make sure the cat was breathing.
Listen for
- Tells what happens just before the smile: the coughing kitten, “She is alive,” the two of them smiling.
- Uses what Albert does and says right after: drying the cat, looking around, “That boy.”
- Names what ends the smile, and gives a reason from the dock.
- Notices how Lily sees him in that moment, “almost like a friend,” without deciding yet whether they will be friends.
If stuck
- What do Lily and Albert do right after the kitten sneezes?
- What does Albert do and say once he stops smiling?
- Who is Albert thinking about when he looks around? Who else needs him right then?
A strong answer A strong response might say the boy takes the smile away: Albert looks around and says “That boy,” the one he saw put the cat in the bag, and he cannot stay happy while he thinks of it. Another might say the kitten does: she is alive but still wet, and Albert turns at once to “I have to make her warm.” A thoughtful student may notice that this is the very moment Lily sees him as “almost like a friend,” and that the smile ends before either of them says anything about it. Look for what Albert does after the smile, and for no claim about who the boy is.
- When Lily says the people here are gone, Albert answers, “Like Budapest,” and she shakes her head a little. What is she saying no to?Inference
What it asks It asks about one small gesture inside Margaret’s house. At the back door Lily says “it really isn’t trespassing,” and Albert repeats the word, calling it a “Funny word.” Inside, he whispers, “Why?” Lily tells him, “It’s the war,” and “The people are gone now.” He answers, “Like Budapest.” His eyes look “sad maybe, or frightened.” Lily shakes her head a little and says Margaret gave her the key: “I’m being careful.” The student decides what the head shake answers. It belongs to the last written question because it shows the two of them hearing the same words in different ways. The card does not say what happened in Budapest or who is gone from there; the chapter does not tell.
One reading
No, not like that. Whatever Budapest means to Albert, it makes his eyes sad or frightened. The Dillons are only away: Margaret writes to Lily from Willow Run. Lily does not want this house to mean what Budapest means to him.
She saw his eyes, blue in the dim light, sad maybe, or frightened.
There is no ocean here at Willow Run, no paint on the houses.
Another reading
No, I am not doing anything wrong. Albert has just asked “Why?” about all the sneaking, right after the word “trespassing.” Lily shakes her head and at once explains that Margaret gave her the key. She may think he still believes she is breaking in.
“Why?” he asked, whispering.
Gave me the key. I’m being careful.
Listen for
- Says what Lily tells Albert about the people who lived here.
- Uses Albert’s eyes, “sad maybe, or frightened,” or what Lily says right after she shakes her head.
- Names what the head shake answers, and gives a reason from the house.
- Keeps Budapest as Albert’s word, without telling what happened there.
If stuck
- Why do Lily and Albert have to be so quiet going into this house?
- Where are the Dillons now? How do we know?
- What does Lily say right after she shakes her head?
A strong answer A strong response might say Lily means it is not like that: the Dillons are only away, and Margaret writes to her, while Albert’s eyes look “sad maybe, or frightened,” and Lily does not want this house to mean what Budapest means to him. Another might say she is answering his “Why?”: she has just said “trespassing,” and she shakes her head and tells him at once that Margaret gave her the key. A thoughtful student may say she does not quite know what he means, which is part of why she cannot explain. Look for what Lily says after the head shake, and for no claim about what happened in Budapest.
- Lily tells the kitten that Albert likes cats, and then she says, “That’s something.” Is that a lot to say about him, or not much?Character
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Lily’s own small verdict on Albert, the one she gives before the key. She is alone on the kitchen floor with the kitten in her lap. Margaret’s letter has come through the water “damp but still readable”: no ocean at Willow Run, houses where you can hear everything, a bomber “every 103 minutes,” and “I hate the whole thing.” Lily thinks of Margaret “without an ocean, without Rockaway” and wonders “what Margaret would think about Albert.” Then she leans over the kitten and says it. A little earlier, alone with the kitten, she has already borrowed Albert’s way of saying “worry”: “Don’t werry.” The student decides how much “That’s something” holds. It sets up the last written question: it shows what Lily was hoping for before Albert asks for the key, without asking whether she reads him right. The card does not say the two become friends.
One reading
A lot. Lily’s best friend is far away and hates where she is. Lily wonders what Margaret would make of Albert, as if he were news worth telling. She has already borrowed his “werry” to comfort the kitten. And the first thing she finds to say about him is good: liking cats is something the two of them share, and they have just saved this one together.
She wondered what Margaret would think about Albert.
“Coming,” Lily said, “milk is coming. Don’t werry.”
Another reading
Not much. “Something” is a small word. It is what you say when you are not sure of a person yet and are hunting for one good thing. Lily does not even know where he has gone for the milk. And she says it to the kitten, not to Albert.
“Albert likes cats,” she said. “That’s something.”
Where was he going? To Mrs. Orban’s? To Milton’s?
Listen for
- Tells what Margaret’s letter says, and where Margaret is now.
- Uses what comes just before she says it: her wondering what Margaret would think about Albert, or her “Don’t werry” to the kitten.
- Decides whether “That’s something” is a lot or not much, and gives a reason from the kitchen.
- Notices that Lily says it to the kitten and not to Albert.
If stuck
- Where is Margaret, and what does she say she hates?
- Who is Lily thinking about just before she talks to the kitten?
- Who hears Lily say “That’s something”? Who doesn’t?
A strong answer A strong response might say it is a lot: with Margaret far off at Willow Run, Lily wonders what Margaret would think of Albert, and the first thing she finds is something they share, just after they have saved a cat together; she has even comforted the kitten with his “werry.” Another might say it is not much: “something” is a small word for a boy she still cannot figure out (she does not even know where he has gone for milk), and she says it to the kitten, not to him. A thoughtful student may notice that this is the kindest thing Lily says about Albert in the whole chapter, and that it comes just before the key. Look for a reason from just before she says it (the letter, her wondering about Margaret, her “werry”), and for no claim that they become friends.
- Albert licks the cream off the spoon while Lily gags. Why does he tell her about his sister, Ruth, just then?Inference
What it asks It asks about the one thing Albert tells Lily about his family in this chapter. Lily skims the cream off the milk, swallowing hard, and drops it, spoon and all, into the sink. Albert asks, “What are you doing?”, sucks the cream off the spoon and runs his tongue over the back. Lily hands him the bottle, lets him take the last of the cream, and tells him to wipe his mouth. Then he says, “My sister, Ruth, loves cream,” and Lily looks up, but the kitten is about to jump off the counter, and the moment passes. On her way home, Lily thinks of the musketeers, “who were in France like Albert’s sister.” The student decides why Albert names Ruth there. Do not let the scene be only a joke; this line is evidence for the last written question. The card says nothing about Ruth beyond the chapter: not why she is in France, and not what has happened to her.
One reading
The cream brings Ruth back to him. He has just tasted the thing she loves, and she is far away. He may be missing her, and the words come out almost to himself.
“What are you doing?” He took the spoon and sucked the cream that was left.
the musketeers, who were in France like Albert’s sister.
Another reading
He is reaching toward Lily. She is gagging while he enjoys it, and he has already asked her what is the matter. So he tells her why cream matters to him. It is a piece of his family, handed across the counter, and she might have answered if the cat had not jumped.
“What is the matter?” He turned the spoon over and ran his tongue over the back.
Lily looked up, but the cat was standing on the countertop, one paw out, ready to sail into the air.
Listen for
- Tells what Lily does with the cream and what Albert does with it.
- Uses Albert’s line about Ruth, and notices it is the only thing he says about his family here.
- Gives a reason he says it just then, from the kitchen.
- Notices what keeps Lily from answering: the kitten about to jump.
If stuck
- What does Lily do with the cream? What does Albert do with it?
- Who is Ruth? Where does Lily think she is, at the end of the chapter?
- What happens right after Lily looks up?
A strong answer A strong response might say the cream makes him think of Ruth: he has just tasted the thing she loves, and Lily later places her in France, far away, so the words may come out because he misses her. Another might say he is reaching toward Lily: she is gagging while he enjoys it, and he tells her why cream matters to him, a piece of his family handed across the counter. A thoughtful student may notice that Lily looks up, as if to answer, and the kitten takes the moment away. Look for the spoon and the line about Ruth used together, and for no claim about what has happened to Ruth.
Critical thinking
- Lily wishes Albert had said “We can feed her together” instead. Why doesn’t she say it herself?
What it asks It asks about Lily’s half of the silence. Albert has just asked, “Could we keep her here?” Lily says “I have the key,” but “almost to herself.” Then he asks to borrow it: “I will feed the cat myself. You don’t have to bother. I will be very careful.” Lily tells him where the Dillons used to leave their key and can hardly finish, she is so disappointed. She thinks of what he could have said: “We can feed her together, or even We can take turns.” While he makes the towel bed, she wants to say “It’s my cat too” and “I was the one who saved her.” Then: “She didn’t, though.” The student explains why Lily does not say the very words she wishes he had said. It opens the last written question without asking it: this question is about Lily, and the last one is about Albert. The card does not say why Albert asks, or whose cat it becomes.
One reading
She is hurt, and asking could hurt more. Lily has already decided that Albert does not want to be friends. If she has to ask to share the cat, the answer might be no, or a yes he does not mean. She wants the offer to come from him.
She felt so disappointed, she could hardly finish.
He didn’t want to be friends.
Another reading
She does try, but too softly. “I have the key” is a hint, said “almost to herself,” and Albert takes it as a plain fact. It is hard to ask a boy you are only starting to like. Even “It’s my cat too” stays a wish.
“I have the key,” she said, almost to herself.
She didn’t, though.
Listen for
- Tells what Albert offers, and what Lily wishes he had said.
- Uses what Lily wants to say and doesn’t: “It’s my cat too,” “I was the one who saved her.”
- Gives a reason the words stay in, with a line from the kitchen.
- Answers in complete sentences, says what the other side would say, and does not claim to know why Albert asks.
If stuck
- What does Albert offer to do? What does Lily wish he had said instead? Could she have said it?
- What does Lily say “almost to herself”? Who hears it?
- What two things does Lily want to say while Albert makes the bed? What might happen if she said them?
A strong answer A strong response might argue that Lily is hurt and afraid of a second no: she has already decided “He didn’t want to be friends,” and asking to share would mean hearing that again, or getting a yes he does not mean. Another might argue that she does try, too softly: “I have the key” is said “almost to herself,” a hint Albert does not catch. The best answers use what Lily wants to say and doesn’t, answer the other side, and claim nothing about why Albert asks.
- Albert asks to feed the cat by himself. Is Lily right that he doesn't want to be friends?
What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. On the dock, after the kitten sneezes, Lily thinks Albert looks “almost like a friend.” In the kitchen he asks for the key: “I will feed the cat myself. You don’t have to bother. I will be very careful.” Lily decides “He didn’t want to be friends” and walks home without saying goodbye. The student tests her verdict against what Albert does: he spots the bag, holds and warms the kitten, goes out alone for the milk and comes back, asks “Could we keep her here?”, names his sister, Ruth, and makes a towel bed in the corner. The narrator never says Lily is right; the verdict is hers. If a student says Albert should simply have offered to share, ask whether Lily offered either. The card does not give Albert’s reason, which the chapter leaves to his words, and it does not say whose cat this becomes.
One reading
She may be right. Albert asks for the key for himself, and he tells Lily “You don’t have to bother,” as if her part is over. On the dock, too, his smile lasted only a moment before he took the cat from her. Each time they get close, he turns back to the job.
I will feed the cat myself. You don’t have to bother. I will be very careful.
But he smiled for only a moment. He took the cat from her, rubbing her fur with his shirt, drying it, and looking around.
Another reading
She may be wrong. Albert says “we” too: “Could we keep her here?” “You don’t have to bother” could be him sparing her trouble, since Lily has just told him, “I don’t think Gram . . .” He has also told her about Ruth. His words might be care, not a refusal.
Albert was nodding, looking down at the cat. “Could we keep her here?”
“What are we going to do with her?” Lily asked. “I don’t think Gram . . .”
Listen for
- Takes a position and gives at least two reasons from the chapter.
- Uses Albert’s exact words about the key, and what Lily makes of them.
- Weighs at least one other thing Albert does or says: the milk, “Could we keep her here?”, Ruth, the towel bed.
- Answers the other side, and keeps Albert’s reason unknown: Lily’s reading, not a fact.
If stuck
- What does Albert say when he asks for the key? Say his words exactly.
- What does Lily decide those words mean?
- What else has Albert done or said since the dock? Does any of it change your mind?
A strong answer A strong response takes a position, gives reasons and answers the other side. A student might argue Lily is right, or close to it: Albert asks to feed the cat “myself,” tells her “You don’t have to bother,” and on the dock his smile lasted only a moment before he took the cat from her. Another might argue she is wrong, or too quick: Albert asked “Could we keep her here?”, went for the milk, told her about Ruth, and “You don’t have to bother” could be kindness, since Lily has just said, “I don’t think Gram . . .” A thoughtful student may notice that Lily never says what she wants either, so neither of them knows what the other means. Look for Albert’s exact words used, and for no claim to know why he asked.