Chapter 28

Lily's Crossing

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

And then the cat was in her arms, its orange coat short, rough, and warm from the sun. Lily bent her head, rubbing her chin against the cat’s head, listening to the sound of its rusty purring.

They walked down to the Orbans’ on the road side, the tufts of grass bright against the sand, Lily carrying the cat along with her.

Giff could have called the cat’s purr soft. She calls it “rusty” instead. What can you hear in “rusty” that you can’t hear in “soft”?

For the educator Two passages, three sentences: the cat in Lily’s arms on the boardwalk, and the walk down the road to the Orbans’. Both teach the comma that adds a picture to a sentence that is already whole. “And then the cat was in her arms” could stop there; after the comma Giff adds what the coat is like, in a list of three joined by commas and “and”: “short, rough, and warm from the sun.” The next sentence does it twice more. “Lily bent her head” is whole, and each phrase after a comma adds what she does at the same time: “rubbing,” then “listening.” The second passage works the same way with a longer reach. “They walked down to the Orbans’ on the road side” is whole; then come the grass, and then Lily and the cat, each after its own comma. Point out the apostrophe in “cat’s” (the head belongs to the cat) and the one at the end of “Orbans’,” which stands for the Orbans’ house without saying “house.” The vocabulary words rusty and tufts stand in the passages. For the talk prompt, one student may hear a purr that has not been used in a long time. The house has been shut all winter, like the gritty floor and the tap where “The water came in spurts at first.” Another may hear how close Lily is: a rough, small sound you catch only with your head bent to the cat, “rubbing her chin against the cat’s head.” Either is good if it points to the page. If a student stops at the sound, ask what else at the house has gone unused all winter. Leave “Don’t you remember?” for the first discussion question, and both of Lily’s thoughts about who kept the cat for the first written question.

Discussion

Narration Tell the chapter back in order. Start with the cat on the boardwalk steps. Stop when Albert pulls Ruth down the steps.

1. Lily holds out her hand to the cat and asks, “Don’t you remember?” What does she hope the cat remembers?Character

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

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

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

5. Gram kisses Lily on the road, before Lily sees who is waiting. How long has Gram known?Inference

Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time in your own life, when something a person wished for really happened. How was it different from what they had pictured?

Vocabulary

Crossword

1	2	3



		4

Across

Across 1. Rough underfoot with tiny bits of sand or dirt, the way a floor feels before it is swept.
Across 4. Short, sudden bursts that start and stop, the way water comes from a tap that has not run all winter.

Down

Down 2. Rough and scratchy in sound, like an old hinge that has not been oiled.
Down 3. Small, thick bunches of grass growing close together.

The words in the chapter

gritty Under her feet, the porch floor was gritty.
spurts The water came in spurts at first

tufts the tufts of grass bright against the sand
rusty listening to the sound of its rusty purring

Critical thinking

1. Lily thinks, “Of course Albert had kept the cat. That meant . . .” Why doesn’t Giff let her finish the thought?

2. Lily still daydreams but no longer lies. Is a daydream really so different from a lie?