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Lily's Crossing
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Albert now wants to swim out to a ship because of the story Lily made up. What does she owe him?
The tension Albert explains that his words on the beach were “Teasing” and that “I know you were coming for me,” and Lily thinks of him as “Lily's best friend”; in that same moment she asks herself, “How could she tell him the truth now?”
What Albert reveals in the dark rowboat, about the beach, the plane and Budapest, and why each makes Lily's silence heavier.
Late on Monday night, Lily lies under her red quilt, ready to sneak out with Albert to watch for convoys. She is uneasy. They have not talked about her going to Europe since that day at the beach, and she tells herself he may have forgotten, or may have worked out that she was lying. She falls asleep, wakes very late, when Gram’s radio and all the lights are off, and drops out the window into the rowboat. At the Orbans’ there is only silence, and she is so angry at herself she could cry. Then Albert drops into the boat, splashing, with the cat inside his open jacket. Cats hate the water, Lily says; “This one does not,” says Albert. She almost lies about why she was late, then just says she fell asleep. She rows across the bay, explaining that you save your arms if you are going far. Albert asks her to teach him to swim. He never had an ocean, only the Danube, which runs between Buda and Pest and is gray, not “blue like the waltz.” As the reeds close in, he asks how long it takes to learn: he wants to go with her to Europe. Lily tells herself to tell him right now that it is just too far and the water too rough, and instead says he could never learn to swim the Atlantic in a summer; she has swum since she was four, and even she was nearly swept under going after him. She reminds him he said she was the better swimmer. Albert shakes his head. He knows she is a good swimmer, and he knows she was coming for him. While he hunts for a word, Lily asks herself, “How could she tell him the truth now?” He is the first friend she has ever made, her best friend. The word, Albert says, is teasing. He decides she will not take him because she thinks he cannot keep up, or thinks he is a coward because of the plane. He was only thinking it was Europe, he says, and he tells her about the yellow house with blue birds on the shutters, an orange cat named Paprika who looks like this cat, and Nagymamma. He has only Ruth left. Then he points: a troop ship moves out of the mist and back into it. Albert says he will learn to swim, they will go out to a ship, and he will go back to Europe to find Ruth. Lily turns the boat toward the canal, “her mouth dry.”
Before reading, ask the student about a time they hoped someone had forgotten something they said. Then read aloud from the start to the line where Albert asks, “Will you teach me to swim?” Ask what it would be like out on the bay that late at night, and what the student would see and hear from the boat. Read on to the end, and have the student listen for each thing Albert tells Lily about himself.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in four parts: the wait, from the red quilt to the silence at the Orbans’; the start of the row, from the cat in Albert’s jacket to the Danube; the hard talk, from “How long?” to the word teasing; and Albert’s story, from the plane to the troop ship in the mist. Look for the order, for what Lily says instead of the truth, and for what Albert says last: he will learn to swim, go out to a ship, and then find Ruth.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes two or three sentences of their own about a place at night: a yard, a street, a beach. Ask for one long sentence joined by a comma and “and” that ends with two -ing phrases, the way Giff writes “the dry rustle of the reeds hitting the sides of the boat and scraping the bottom.” Then ask for one sentence with a phrase tucked between commas, like “They sat there watching, the rowboat rocking gently, until the ship disappeared into the mist again.” Look for the commas in the right places and for words that let the reader hear the place.
Debate Take sides on the last written question. First list from the chapter what Albert’s hope rests on: Lily’s story, his trust (“I know you were coming for me”), the yellow house, and “I have only Ruth left.” Then list what Lily stands to lose if she speaks: the first friend she has ever made, and the way he sees her, as a good swimmer who came to help. The student argues one side and you argue the other. Then ask what each side would say about her answer in the boat, “You could never learn to swim the Atlantic in a summer.” Keep the talk off whether she tells him, or when, and off whose ship it was; the chapter gives neither.
Purpose Close with the last lines. After the troop ship goes back into the mist, Albert says he will learn to swim, go out to a ship, and then go back to Europe to find Ruth. Lily says nothing. She turns the boat toward the canal, “her mouth dry.” Ask why Giff ends the chapter there, on Lily’s dry mouth, rather than with her answer. Leave open what Lily says or does next; the chapter tells neither.
Easier Read aloud together from the line where Albert asks, “How long?” to the end of the chapter. Retell what Albert asks for and what Lily says back instead of the truth. Talk through the fourth and fifth discussion questions, then answer the last written question aloud.
On level Talk through all five 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. For the last one, have the student find the moment Lily first thinks of Albert as her best friend and say how it changes what she can tell him.
Harder Early in the row, Lily dreams of Poppy on a troop ship, watching her swim toward him; the book calls it “a wonderful dream.” Near the end, a real troop ship moves out of the mist. Ask the student to write a paragraph on how the dream and the real ship differ, and what the real one does to the dream, using only this chapter. Claim nothing about whose ship it is.
1. Rowing out, Lily tells Albert how to go far: “save your arms.” A little later, he asks her to teach him to swim. Why might he ask right then?Character
What it asks It asks about the first thing Albert asks of Lily. She pushes the boat out and plans the trip: they will cut across the bay and stay away from the surf. Albert says it is closer the other way. Lily explains that the surf is harder to fight than the bay, and if you are going far you want to save your arms. He nods, watching her pull on the oars, and after a while he asks, “Will you teach me to swim?” The student decides why he asks right then. It feeds the last written question: Lily says nothing about Europe here, yet she sounds like someone who knows how to go far, and Albert believes she is going there. If a student says only that he wants to learn, ask what he has just watched her do. Lily hoped he had forgotten about Europe; the card claims nothing about what Albert was thinking before he asked beyond what the chapter shows.
Because of what he has just heard and seen. Lily talks like someone who knows the water. She knows which way is easier and how to save your arms on a long trip. Albert watches her row and decides she is the one to teach him.
If you’re going far you want to save your arms.
He nodded, watching her pull on the oars.
Because he has been waiting to ask. Lily hoped he had forgotten about Europe, but he has not. He asks after a while, as if he was working up to it. Her talk about rowing only gives him his chance.
Maybe he had forgotten, she told herself
he asked after a while
A strong answer A strong response might say Albert asks because of what he has just heard: Lily knows the bay and the surf and how to row a long way, “If you’re going far you want to save your arms,” and he is “watching her pull on the oars.” Another might say he has been waiting to ask: Lily told herself “Maybe he had forgotten,” but he asks “after a while,” as if working up to it. A thoughtful student may notice that Lily says nothing about Europe here and still sounds like a girl who could go far. Look for a reason tied to what Albert sees or hears in the boat.
2. Lily knows the Danube only from a song in her piano book. What does Albert’s gray river tell her that the song can’t?Inference
What it asks It asks about the river from Lily’s side. Lily asks why Albert can’t swim, and he says he did not have an ocean; he had a river, the Danube, which runs between Buda and Pest. Leaning forward, he says it is not blue like the waltz but gray, and sometimes silver. Lily says nothing. She has never heard of Budapest split into two halves, and she knows “The Blue Danube” only as one of the songs in her music book for the piano. The student decides what Albert’s river shows Lily that the song cannot. It feeds the last written question: in this chapter Lily’s Europe is “a wonderful dream” of Poppy watching her swim toward him, and Albert’s is a real river in a real city he means to go back to. If a student says only that the river is a different color, ask what else Lily learns about the place she has said she will go. Albert never hears about the piano book, so the card does not say he is correcting Lily.
That Europe is a real place, not a tune. A song makes the river blue and pretty. Albert grew up beside it, and he knows its true colors, gray and sometimes silver. For him it is home, and he leans forward to say so.
It is gray, and sometimes silver.
I had a river, the Danube.” He leaned forward.
How little she knows about where she says she is going. She has never heard of Buda and Pest, and she says nothing back. The girl who talked about going to Europe knows it only from a piano book. Albert knows it for real.
She had never heard of Budapest split up that way in two halves.
Lily didn’t say anything.
A strong answer A strong response might say the river shows Lily that Europe is real: the song is blue, but Albert’s river is “gray, and sometimes silver,” and he leans forward to say it, like someone who grew up beside it. Another might say it shows her how little she knows: she has “never heard of Budapest split up that way,” and “Lily didn’t say anything.” A thoughtful student may set Lily’s own Europe in this chapter, “a wonderful dream,” beside Albert’s gray river. Look for what Albert says set beside what Lily knows.
3. Lily has known Margaret since they could walk, but Margaret doesn’t count. What makes a friend count for Lily?Theme
What it asks It asks about the moment the chapter turns on. Albert says, “I know you were coming for me,” and while he hunts for a word, Lily asks herself how she could tell him the truth now. He is the first friend she has ever made, she thinks. Margaret doesn’t count, though she has been in Rockaway every summer since they could walk and talk. Then the thought climbs: “a friend, a good friend, Lily’s best friend.” The student decides what makes Albert a friend in a way Margaret is not. It feeds the last written question: this friendship is what Lily stands to lose. The card says nothing about Margaret beyond what Lily thinks here and the one time she comes to mind earlier, “Like Margaret in Detroit,” when Albert says he had no ocean.
A friend she made herself. Margaret was just there, every summer, from the time they could walk. Nobody had to choose anybody. Albert is someone Lily found on her own.
You couldn’t count Margaret
Margaret, who had been in Rockaway every summer from the time they could walk, from the time they could talk.
A friend who wants to be where she is. Margaret was just there. Albert asks Lily to teach him to swim so he can go with her. He wants to follow her, even across the ocean.
Will you teach me to swim?
I want to go with you to Europe.
A strong answer A strong response might say a friend counts when Lily makes the friend herself: Margaret was simply there “every summer from the time they could walk,” while Albert is “the first friend she had ever made.” Another might say a friend counts when the friend wants to be with her: Albert asks, “Will you teach me to swim?” so he can go with her to Europe. A thoughtful student may notice that the friendship and the question “How could she tell him the truth now?” arrive in the same breath. Look for Margaret and Albert both weighed.
4. Albert tells Lily he was teasing her that day on the beach. Is that good news for her, or bad news?Tone
What it asks It asks about the word Albert finally finds. Lily has been trying to talk him out of the plan. She reminds him she was nearly swept under going after him, and then, “You even said you thought I was a better swimmer.” Albert shakes his head: he knows she is a good swimmer, and he knows she was coming for him. He stops, cannot find the word, and then finds it: teasing. The student decides whether this is good news or bad news for Lily. It feeds the last written question: what Albert said on the beach was a reason Lily was using against the plan, and now it means something else. The card does not say Albert suspects Lily is lying; he never says so.
Good news. Albert never thought she was a poor swimmer. On the day she remembers going under, he saw her coming to help him. That is a friend’s way of seeing her.
I know you are a good swimmer
I know you were coming for me.
Bad news. Lily was using what he said on the beach to talk him out of the plan. Now that reason is gone, and he trusts her more than ever. The truth is harder to tell than before.
You even said you thought I was a better swimmer.
How could she tell him the truth now?
A strong answer A strong response might say it is good news: Albert says “I know you are a good swimmer,” so the day Lily remembers going under is, to him, the day she came to help. Another might say it is bad news: she had been using “You even said you thought I was a better swimmer” to talk him out of the plan, and now that reason is gone just as she asks herself, “How could she tell him the truth now?” A thoughtful student may say it is both, and that what makes it good news is the very thing that makes it bad. Look for what Lily was using the beach for.
5. Albert guesses Lily won’t take him because she thinks he can’t keep up, or thinks he is a coward. Why is he so sure the problem is him?Character
What it asks It asks how Albert reads Lily’s no. Lily has told him he could never learn in a summer and tried to talk him out of the plan. Albert decides the reason must be him: “You do not want to take me,” then “You think I will not be able to keep up,” then “You think I am a coward because of the plane that day.” Lily keeps shaking her head. He says he was only thinking it was Europe, his lip trembles, and he goes on to the yellow house, Paprika, Nagymamma and Ruth. The student decides why Albert is so sure the trouble lies in him. It feeds the last written question: Albert blames himself for a no that comes from Lily’s story, and the student will weigh what she owes a friend who reads her that way. The card does not say Albert suspects the plan is made up; he reads her no as doubt about him, never about the plan, and the card claims nothing about what happened on the day of the plane beyond what he says here.
He already thinks it of himself. Something happened the day of the plane, and he has been carrying it. He explains it before Lily says a word about it, and his lip trembles. His shame makes him hear her no as being about the plane.
It was just that I was thinking it was Europe.
His lip trembled a little.
He trusts her too much to look anywhere else. He never wonders whether Lily is really going to Europe. If she is going and won’t take him, the only reason left must be him.
You do not want to take me
You think I will not be able to keep up.
A strong answer A strong response might say Albert already blames himself: he explains, “It was just that I was thinking it was Europe,” before Lily says anything about the plane, and “His lip trembled a little.” Another might say he trusts Lily too much to doubt her plan: he takes it for granted that she is going, so “You do not want to take me” is the only reason he can find. A thoughtful student may notice that Albert works hard to answer a worry Lily does not have, and that his trust is what keeps him from looking at the plan. Look for what Albert says about himself tied to why he says it.
1. Lily tells Albert, “You could never learn to swim the Atlantic in a summer.” Every word of that is true. How honest is she being?
What it asks It asks about what Lily says instead of the truth. Albert asks how long it takes to learn to swim, because he wants to go with her to Europe. Lily opens her mouth and tells herself, “Tell him right now.” What she tells herself to say is “it’s just too far, the water’s too rough,” words that hold for anyone, Lily too. What comes out puts the limit on Albert alone: he could never learn in a summer, it would take months, years, she has been swimming since she was four, and even she was nearly swept under going after him. Each thing she says is true. Earlier, when Albert says he thought she would not come, she opens her mouth ready to lie and tells the truth instead: she fell asleep. The student judges how honest she is being, gives reasons, and answers the other side. It goes a step toward the last written question without asking it: Lily has a choice of words here, and the last question asks what she owes Albert. The card says nothing about whether Lily ever tells him.
Not very honest. Her words are true, but she uses them to keep the made-up plan standing. She tells herself to say it is too far for anyone. Instead she says Albert could never learn, as if she could swim it herself after years of practice.
Tell him it’s just too far, the water’s too rough.
I’ve been swimming since I was four
As honest as she can be right then. She is trying to keep Albert out of the ocean, and every warning she gives him is real. She even tells him she was nearly swept under. The danger she names is a true one.
It would take months, years to be good enough, fast enough.
And remember that afternoon when I went into the surf after you, I was nearly swept under.
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and answers the other side. A student might argue Lily is not very honest: she tells herself to say “it’s just too far, the water’s too rough,” and instead says Albert could not learn “in a summer,” as if she, swimming “since I was four,” could make it. Another might argue she is as honest as she can manage: every warning is true, and reminding him she was “nearly swept under” may keep him out of the surf. A thoughtful student may notice the small truth earlier, “I fell asleep,” which came out when she was ready to lie, and ask why the big one will not. Look for what Lily leaves out, not only what she says.
2. Albert now wants to swim out to a ship because of the story Lily made up. What does she owe him?
What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. Lily told Albert she would go to Europe, and she knows she was lying. Tonight Albert, who cannot swim, asks her to teach him so he can go with her. She does not tell him it is made up; she says he could never learn in a summer. He tells her he was teasing on the beach and knew she was coming for him, and in that same moment she thinks of him as her best friend and asks herself how she could tell him the truth now. Then he tells her about Budapest and Ruth, a troop ship passes in the mist, and he says he will learn to swim, go out to a ship, and then go back to Europe to find Ruth. She rows toward the canal, her mouth dry. The student judges what Lily owes Albert, gives reasons, and answers the other side. Weigh the truth against what Lily fears losing, the first friend she has ever made. If a student says only “the truth,” ask what telling it tonight would cost her, and what keeping quiet might cost him. The card does not say whether Lily tells him or when, that Albert ever tries to swim out, that the ship is Poppy’s, or that Ruth will be found.
She owes him the truth, and soon. Albert means every word, and he cannot swim. His way back to Ruth now rests on her story. A friend who knew she was coming for him should know the plan is not real.
I will learn to swim, Lily, to keep up, and we will go out there, out to a ship.
And then I will go back to Europe to find Ruth.
She owes him care in how she tells him. He has just told her about the yellow house and said, “I have only Ruth left.” He is also the first friend she has ever made. Telling him tonight, all at once, could take away his hope and the friendship together. She owes him a way to keep him safe without losing him.
Lily bit her lip, trying to think of what to say.
He was the first friend she had ever made.
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and answers the other side. A student might argue Lily owes Albert the truth, and soon: he cannot swim, he says “I will learn to swim, Lily, to keep up,” and his plan “to find Ruth” now rests on a story she made up. Another might argue she owes him care in how she tells it: he has just said “I have only Ruth left,” he is “the first friend she had ever made,” and the truth told in the dark rowboat could take away his hope and their friendship at once. A thoughtful student may notice that Albert’s trust sits on both sides of the scale: it is why the truth matters and why it is so hard to say. Look for Albert’s hope and Lily’s fear both weighed, and for no claim about what she does next; the chapter ends with her rowing, “her mouth dry.”