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Lily's Crossing
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Lily still daydreams but no longer lies. Is a daydream really so different from a lie?
The tension The same cat is read two ways: at first Lily decides “The Orbans must have kept her after Albert went back to Canada,” and outside the Orbans' house she sees it again: “Of course Albert had kept the cat. That meant . . .”
Lily’s first evening back at Rockaway: what she does with the cat and the star, what she thinks at the mirror, and who is waiting down the road.
Lily, Gram and Poppy have just come back to Rockaway for the summer. On the boardwalk steps Lily finds Albert’s cat. She tells Poppy the Orbans must have kept her after Albert went back to Canada. The cat backs away a step each time Lily steps forward, until Lily asks, “Don’t you remember?” Then the cat is in her arms, warm from the sun and purring, and Lily thinks of Albert, and last summer, and Ruth. The church bells chime five. Gram has opened the door and the porch windows, “Blowing the winter out.” On the porch Lily smells the bay and waves to a girl fishing from a rowboat, and the girl waves back. The floor is gritty. Before Gram can tell her to sweep, Lily finds the star in her book (she took it off her ceiling the night before as she packed), glues it up behind the bed with the others, smiling a little, and goes for the broom. Gram says the Orbans want them for Friday dinner. Lily hurries to wash, sure that Mrs. Orban will have news of Albert and Ruth. At the mirror she wonders if she looks different this year, remembers last summer’s Friday night when Gram held a washcloth over her red eyes after she cried for Poppy, and wishes Albert were there. She thinks of her old problem list: “Lies, and Daydreaming, and Friends, need.” She doesn’t lie anymore: every time she starts to, she thinks of Albert and closes her mouth. She still daydreams, though, and Sister Benedicta has told her that all writers do, and that knowing the difference between lies and daydreams keeps you in good shape. Gram knocks; Poppy has gone ahead, and everyone is waiting. Lily and Gram walk down the road with the cat. Lily can smell fish cooking and hear Poppy and Mr. Orban. Mr. Orban’s Ford still has its headlights painted black, and she plans to help him scrape them off first thing tomorrow. Gram suddenly kisses her cheek and says it was a long, terrible war, but that sometimes, even in the worst times, something lovely happens. Lily cannot remember Gram ever kissing her except at school time or bedtime. She hugs Gram and whispers “Szeretlek,” so softly she does not know if Gram heard. Then Gram is pointing, nodding and smiling. Lily looks toward the Orbans’ house, almost knowing what she will see and not believing it, and thinks of the cat: of course Albert had kept it. There he is, with the same dark hair and blue eyes, and beside him a girl with the same eyes, smiling too. Lily stops to kiss Gram and walks toward them, shy only for a moment, as Albert pulls Ruth down the steps, saying, “It’s Lily, it’s my best friend, Lily.”
Before reading, tell the student that this is the last chapter, and that Lily is back at the house on the bay for the summer. Read aloud to “If only Albert were there.” Stop and ask what the student thinks will happen at the Orbans’ tonight. Then read to the end without stopping, and ask which moment surprised the student, and which one they saw coming.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order, from the cat on the boardwalk steps to Albert pulling Ruth down the steps. Look for the cat backing away and then purring, the girl in the rowboat, the star and the glue, the mirror and the problem list, the black headlights, Gram’s kiss and the whispered word, Gram pointing, and Albert’s words. Listen for whether the student keeps the small things, the star, the wave and the kiss, and not only the meeting at the end.
Imitate the author After copying, the student writes two sentences of their own. The first holds an animal or a thing and adds, after a comma, what it is like in a list of three, the way “its orange coat short, rough, and warm from the sun” does. The second tells people walking somewhere and adds, after commas, what is around them and what someone is carrying, the way “the tufts of grass bright against the sand, Lily carrying the cat along with her” does. Look for a sentence that is whole before the first comma, commas in the list, and details a reader can see or feel.
Debate Take sides on the last written question. First list from the chapter what makes a daydream different from a lie: “She didn’t lie anymore,” but “She still daydreamed, though”; Sister Benedicta’s rule about knowing “the difference between lies and daydreams”; Lily only wishes, “If only Albert were there,” and does not pretend it is true. Then list what makes them alike: both are made up; Sister Benedicta says “all writers” daydream, and writers make up stories; Lily stops a lie by closing her mouth, and the only thing between the two is the knowing. The student argues one side and you argue the other; then switch. Keep to the chapter: claim nothing about Lily becoming a writer, or about her never lying again.
Purpose Close on the last line: “It’s Lily, it’s my best friend, Lily.” Ask the student why the book ends on Albert’s words and not on Lily’s. Leave it open; the chapter does not say.
Easier Read aloud together from “Lily thought about her problem list” to “you were in good shape.” Name the three problems on the list and say which ones Lily thinks about. Talk through the third discussion question, 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 say in their own words what a lie is and what a daydream is before choosing a side.
Harder Have the student make two lists from the chapter. On one, what Lily keeps from before: the star behind the bed with the others, Albert’s cat, Friday dinner at the Orbans’, and Albert with “the same mop of dark hair.” On the other, what she leaves behind: the crying before last summer’s Friday dinner, and the black paint she means to scrape off tomorrow. Then ask which list Gram’s kiss on the road belongs on, since Lily cannot remember one like it, and have the student write a paragraph on it. Claim nothing about how Albert and Ruth came to Rockaway.
1. Lily holds out her hand to the cat and asks, “Don’t you remember?” What does she hope the cat remembers?Character
What it asks It asks about the first thing Lily meets on the boardwalk. The cat backs away a step each time she steps forward, and Lily reaches out: “It’s me,” she says. “Don’t you remember?” Then the cat is in her arms, and she thinks of Albert, and last summer, and Ruth. The student decides what Lily hopes the cat remembers. It ties to the hinge from the side of what Lily keeps: the cat is one piece of last summer still here, and she needs to know it still knows her. If a student says the cat should remember Lily, ask what she wonders at the mirror a little later. If a student says it should remember last summer, ask whose cat it is, and what Lily thinks of as soon as she holds it. Leave Lily’s guess about who kept the cat, and her second thought about it outside the Orbans’ house, for the first written question. Claim nothing about how Albert came to Rockaway.
She hopes the cat remembers her. She has been gone all winter, and the cat backs away as if she were a stranger. Later, at the mirror, she wonders if she looks different. She wants to know she still belongs here.
moving back a step each time she moved forward
wondering if she looked different this year
She hopes the cat remembers last summer. It is Albert’s cat, and as soon as she holds it she thinks of him. If the cat remembers, then last summer is still here, even with Albert gone.
It’s Albert’s cat.
She thought of Albert, and last summer, and Ruth.
A strong answer A strong response might say Lily hopes the cat remembers her: it keeps “moving back a step each time she moved forward,” and she has been away so long that she wonders at the mirror if she looks “different this year.” Another might say she hopes it remembers last summer: it is “Albert’s cat,” and holding it, she thinks “of Albert, and last summer, and Ruth.” A thoughtful student may notice that the cat does come to her, so something from last summer has kept. Look for a reason tied to what Lily says, does or thinks with the cat.
2. Lily took the star off her ceiling last night. Now she glues it up here, “with the others.” Does the star belong with Lily, or with this house?Theme
What it asks It asks about the star. On the porch, with the floor still gritty, Lily flips through her book until she finds it. She had taken it off her ceiling the night before as she packed. Now she puts “a dab of glue” on it and pastes it behind the bed “with the others,” smiling a little, and only then goes for the broom. The student decides whether the star belongs with Lily, wherever she goes, or here at the house with the others. It ties to the hinge from the side of what Lily keeps and what she leaves behind: the star is one small thing she carries from one place to the other. If a student says it belongs with Lily, ask who took it down last night, and why she packed it. If a student says it belongs here, ask where the others are, and what she does before the sweeping. Claim nothing about whose stars they are or where they came from; the chapter does not say.
It belongs with Lily. The star was on her ceiling while she was away, and she took it down herself to pack it. It is hers, and it goes where she goes.
She had taken it off her ceiling last night as she packed.
Lily reached for her book and flipped through until she found the star.
It belongs here. Gram is opening up the house for the summer, and the other stars are behind the bed. Lily puts this one up with them before she does anything else, smiling a little, as if the house is not ready until it is there.
Blowing the winter out
pasted it behind the bed with the others, smiling a little
A strong answer A strong response might say the star belongs with Lily: she took the star off her ceiling herself as she packed and carried it in her book, so it goes where she goes. Another might say it belongs here: the others are behind the bed, and with Gram “Blowing the winter out,” Lily puts the star up with them before she does anything else, “smiling a little.” A thoughtful student may say she is doing both: the star belongs to her and to this place. Look for a reason tied to where the star was and where it goes.
3. Lily’s old problem list says “Lies, and Daydreaming, and Friends, need.” She thinks about the first two. What would she say about the third one now?Inference
What it asks It asks about the problem list Lily remembers in the bathroom, “for the first time in a long time.” She settles the first item: “She didn’t lie anymore.” She settles the second, with Sister Benedicta’s help: “She still daydreamed, though.” Then Gram knocks at the door, and the third item, “Friends, need,” is never taken up. The student decides what Lily would say about it if she got that far, standing at the mirror before she knows who is waiting. It ties to the hinge from the side of the list: one item is gone, one stays, and one is left open for the chapter to answer. If a student says it is still a need, ask who Lily was thinking about just before the list. If a student says it is not a problem anymore, ask what happens with the girl in the rowboat, and who comes into Lily’s mind every time she starts to lie. Keep the talk off whether a daydream differs from a lie; that is the last written question. Do not explain why Lily stopped lying; the chapter gives one plain sentence and leaves it there.
She would say it is still a need. Just before the list she is thinking about Albert, and he is not there. She could stop lying. She cannot make a friend appear.
And she thought about Albert, with his dark hair and blue eyes.
If only Albert were there.
She would say it is not the problem it was. She waves to a girl she does not know, and the girl waves back. And Albert is with her even far away: she thinks of him every time she starts to lie.
Lily raised her arm to wave, and smiled as the girl waved back.
Every time she started to lie, she thought of Albert and closed her mouth.
A strong answer A strong response might say Friends is still a need: Lily is thinking about Albert, “with his dark hair and blue eyes,” and wishing “If only Albert were there,” so it is the one item she cannot settle by herself. Another might say it is not the problem it was: she waves to the girl in the rowboat and gets a wave back, and Albert is in her mind every time she starts to lie. A thoughtful student may notice that the chapter answers the item at the very end, when Albert calls her “my best friend.” Look for a reason tied to the list and to what happens before it.
4. Mr. Orban’s headlights are “still painted black.” Lily will help him scrape them off “first thing tomorrow.” Why is she in such a hurry?Character
What it asks It asks about Mr. Orban’s Ford in the driveway, “the headlights still painted black.” Walking down the road, Lily decides she will help him scrape them off first thing tomorrow. The page does not say why the headlights were painted. The word “still” says the paint has stayed past its time, and a few steps later Gram says, “It was a long war, a terrible war.” The student decides why Lily wants that job so soon. It ties to the hinge from the side of what is left behind: here is one thing the chapter shows Lily ready to clear away, with a real plan and a time to do it. If a student says the war is over, ask what Gram says right after. If a student says Lily wants to be part of the Orbans’ summer, ask what she can hear and smell from the road. Claim nothing about what is waiting at the Orbans’ house; Lily does not know yet.
She wants the war gone. The black paint is something the war has left behind, and Gram calls it “a long war, a terrible war” only a moment later. Scraping the paint off is a way of saying it is over.
the headlights still painted black
It was a long war, a terrible war
She is ready to start the summer and wants a part in it. She can already hear Mr. Orban from the road, and she plans her first morning working beside him.
She could hear Poppy talking, and the rumble of Mr. Orban’s voice.
She’d help him scrape them off first thing tomorrow.
A strong answer A strong response might say Lily wants the war gone: the paint is “still” on the headlights, Gram calls it “a long war, a terrible war” a few steps later, and scraping the paint off is a way to finish it. Another might say Lily is ready for the summer: she can hear “the rumble of Mr. Orban’s voice” from the road and is already planning her first morning beside him. A thoughtful student may notice that this is a plan with a time on it, “first thing tomorrow,” not a wish. Look for a reason tied to the paint, the plan or Gram’s words.
5. Gram kisses Lily on the road, before Lily sees who is waiting. How long has Gram known?Inference
What it asks It asks about Gram on the walk to the Orbans’. Back at the house she passes on the invitation and starts, “Wash your face and . . .” Lily does not wait to hear the rest. At the bathroom door she says, “They’re all waiting . . .” On the road she leans over “suddenly” to kiss Lily’s cheek, which Lily cannot remember her ever doing except at school time or bedtime, and says that “sometimes, even in the worst times, something lovely happens.” Lily hugs her and whispers “Szeretlek.” Then Gram is pointing, nodding and smiling. The student decides whether Gram knew all along or found out only a moment before Lily, and says why. It ties to the hinge through the ending: what waits at the Orbans’ is real, and the chapter prepares it rather than dropping it from the sky. If a student says Gram knew all along, ask what she says on the road before Lily sees anything. If a student says she just found out, ask what the word “suddenly” tells us. Claim nothing about how Albert and Ruth came to Rockaway, or how long they will stay, and do not say that Gram heard the whispered word.
She has known since she told Lily about dinner. Her unfinished sentences sound like someone keeping a surprise, and on the road she gets Lily ready for something lovely before Lily can see it.
Wash your face and . . .
They’re all waiting . . .
She has only just found out, a moment before Lily. She kisses Lily all at once, the way you do when something takes you by surprise, and then she points so Lily can see it too.
leaned over suddenly to kiss Lily’s cheek
Gram was pointing, nodding at her, and smiling
A strong answer A strong response might say Gram has known since she told Lily about dinner: she leaves “Wash your face and . . .” unfinished, says “They’re all waiting . . .” at the bathroom door, and on the road she tells Lily that “something lovely happens” before Lily has seen a thing. Another might say she has only just found out: she leans over “suddenly,” as if surprised, and then points so Lily can see too. A thoughtful student may notice that either way, Gram gives Lily something new, a kiss when it is not school time or bedtime, and Lily gives one back in a whisper. Look for a reason tied to what Gram says or does before Lily looks.
1. Lily thinks, “Of course Albert had kept the cat. That meant . . .” Why doesn’t Giff let her finish the thought?
What it asks It asks about the moment outside the Orbans’ house. Gram is pointing, nodding and smiling, and Lily looks toward the house, “almost knowing what she was going to see, not believing it could really happen.” She thinks about the cat: “Of course Albert had kept the cat. That meant . . .” The thought stops, and the next sentence is “And there he was.” The student decides why Giff breaks the thought off, and writes reasons. It brings the hinge’s tension to its second half: on the boardwalk Lily decided the Orbans had kept the cat, and now she reads the same cat another way. If a student says Lily cannot let herself think it, ask what she is “not believing.” If a student says she does not need to finish, ask what the very next sentence shows. Claim nothing about how Albert and Ruth came to Rockaway, or how long they will stay.
Lily cannot let herself finish it. Finishing the thought would mean hoping in words, even to herself, and she still does not believe it can be true. The thought stops where her courage runs out.
not believing it could really happen, that it wasn’t just Mrs. Orban waiting at the door
She does not need to finish it. The real thing arrives faster than the thought. Giff lets what Lily sees answer the thought for her.
almost knowing what she was going to see
And there he was with the same mop of dark hair, and those bright blue eyes
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and answers the other side. A student might argue Lily cannot let herself finish: she is “not believing it could really happen,” so the hope stops before it becomes words. Another might argue she does not need to: she is “almost knowing what she was going to see,” and the next sentence, “And there he was,” finishes the thought with Albert himself. A thoughtful student may set this beside Lily’s first guess on the boardwalk, that the Orbans had kept the cat, and say the same cat means something different once she lets herself look. Look for reasons from the chapter on both sides.
2. Lily still daydreams but no longer lies. Is a daydream really so different from a lie?
What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. In the bathroom Lily goes through her old list: “She didn’t lie anymore,” but “She still daydreamed, though.” Sister Benedicta has told her that all writers daydream, and that “as long as you knew the difference between lies and daydreams you were in good shape.” The student decides whether a daydream is really so different from a lie, and answers the other side. The chapter gives material on both sides: Lily keeps one habit and drops the other; she only wishes, “If only Albert were there,” and does not pretend it is true; and at the end the thing she might have daydreamed turns out to be real. If a student says they are very different, ask what a lie does to the person who hears it. If a student says they are alike, ask what Sister Benedicta says makes the difference. Claim nothing about Lily becoming a writer, and nothing beyond “She didn’t lie anymore” about her lying.
They are very different. A lie tries to make someone else believe something that is not true. A daydream is something you know you are making up. Sister Benedicta’s rule is about knowing, and it lets Lily keep her daydreams.
as long as you knew the difference between lies and daydreams you were in good shape
She didn’t lie anymore.
They are not so different. Both are made up, and Sister Benedicta says all writers daydream. Only knowing that it is made up keeps a daydream from being a lie, so the line between them is thin.
Sister Benedicta had told her that all writers did that
She still daydreamed, though.
A strong answer A strong response takes a position and answers the other side. A student might argue they are very different: a lie is told to someone else as if it were true, while a daydream is something you know you are making up, and Sister Benedicta says knowing “the difference between lies and daydreams” keeps you “in good shape.” Another might argue they are not so different: both are made up, “all writers” daydream, and only the knowing keeps one from turning into the other. A thoughtful student may notice that the chapter ends on something Lily might once have only daydreamed, and that this time she did not have to make it up. Look for reasons from the chapter on both sides.