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The Water and the Wild
Last updated Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Author: K.E. Ormsbee
Illustrator: Elsa Mora
Date of Publication: 2015
ISBN: 1452113866
Grade Level: 4th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: May 2020
Synopsis:
For as long as Lottie can remember, the only people who seem to care about her have been her best friend, Eliot, and the mysterious letter-writer who sends her birthday gifts. But now strange things and people are arriving on the island Lottie calls home, and Eliot's getting sicker, with a disease the doctors have given up trying to cure. Lottie doesn't know what she can possibly do - until a door opens in the apple tree. Down through the roots is another world - a world of treacherous, beautiful, impossible magic that just might lead to a cure for Eliot.
| Note to readers: |
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The kids may be familiar with this series and the characters. This is #1 in the series.
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| Discussion topics for before reading: |
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What are you doing with the extra time at home that you have? How is school-at-home going for you? (Lottie is having a pretty miserable time at her school.)
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If you could go away somewhere, where would you go? What kinds of vehicles could you use to travel?
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Could you travel through the inside of an apple tree? How about another kind of tree? What kinds of trees do you know?
Vocabulary
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Finch - a seed-eating songbird that typically has a stout bill and colorful feathers
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Emerald - a bright green color named after a precious stone
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Peridot- another color of green named after another precious stone
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Strudel - a confection of thin pastry rolled up around a fruit filling and baked.
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Vagabonds - homeless people who wander from place to place
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Direst, dire - extremely serious
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Dour - relentlessly sever, stern or gloomy
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Noxious - harmless, poisonous, or very unpleasant
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Porridge-oatmeal or another meal or cereal boiled in water or milk
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Morning Darjeeling - a kind of tea from India
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Sieve - a strainer
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Camaraderie - a mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together. (Question: why would there be camaraderie between a kid and a tree, according to this definition?)
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Trinket - a small ornament or item of jewelry that is of little value
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Barmy - mad, crazy, extremely crazy
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Badger- a heavily built omnivorous nocturnal mammal of the weasel family, typically having a gray and black coat
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Periwinkle - a blueish color named after a flower
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Audacity - a willingness to take bold risks
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Catwalk - a narrow overhead walkway
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Gnarled (tree, or can be applied to a person) - knobbly, rough, and twisted, especially with age
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Cognizance - knowledge, awareness, or notice.
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| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
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What colors do apples come in? (Red, yellow, striped, pink, green)
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Why would anyone plant an apple tree? Why would it be out of place in a "Posh" neighborhood?
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What does a "lemony-haired baby" mean?
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What does it mean to "clean up the mess in the kitchen and at the bank?" Why and how does letting out her home as a boardinghouse do this For Mrs. Yates?
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Who has a nickname in the group? What is it? (Like "Lottie" for "Charlotte.") A mean nickname is like "Oddy Lottie" or "Sir Coughs-a-lot" while a nice nickname might be "Lupe" short for "Guadalupe" or "Michelangelo" for a friend who's an artist. Discuss the difference?
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Have you ever had a pity party? How did it make you feel? Did it help at all?
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Page 9, Lottie makes a friend, Eliot Walsch. Let's keep on watching to see what Lottie does for and with Eliot, and what he does for her, too.
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page 13, one of the other students was trying to sing a "glass-cracking note." See if the kids know what that means, if they can make one, etc.
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p.16, discrimination against Canada "doesn't get much filthier than that.
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Where is Kemble Island? Eliot and Lottie have discussed running away to Boston.
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| Craft ideas: |
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Draw Kemble Island and Thirsby Square.
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Draw an apple tree.
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Cut out paper flowers like those at the front of each chapter, curl the petals, and paste them on colored paper.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFCl3aq8Fpo
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Make a Mother's Day card! Mother's Day is May 10th. (tomorrow) Fold a piece of colored or white paper in half. Draw a flower or bouquet of flowers on the front or inside.
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Check our craft ideas on Pinterest!
https://www.pinterest.com/readingtokids/may-2020-fantasy-folklore-fairytales/
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*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
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