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A True Home
Last updated Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Author: Kallie George
Illustrator: Stephanie Graegin
Date of Publication: 2017
ISBN: 1484731611
Grade Level: 4th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Nov. 2020
Synopsis:
When Mona the Mouse stumbles across the wondrous world of the Heartwood Hotel in the middle of a storm, she desperately hopes they'll let her stay. As it turns out, Mona is precisely the maid they need at the grandest hotel in Fernwood Forest, where animals come from far and wide for safety, luxury, and comfort. But the Heartwood Hotel is not all acorn souffle and soft moss-lined beds. Danger lurks, and as it approaches, Mona finds that this hotel is more than a warm place to spend the night. It might also be a home.
| Discussion topics for before reading: |
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Have you heard of the expression “home is where the heart is”? What do you think it means?
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What do small animals living in the wild do when they face danger? (run or hide) As we read the story, see if you can guess what Mona does whenever she senses danger.
Vocabulary
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Stone hearth: an area in front of the fireplace paved in stone
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Garland: a wreath of flowers or leaves
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Elusive: difficult to find or identify
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Reluctantly: not eager, unwilling
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Ferocity: extreme aggressiveness or fierceness
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| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
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What do you think “home” means to Mona?
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What do you think Mona means when she says “this must be the heart of the forest, somewhere she had never been”? (the most vital or important part)
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Mr. Heartwood opened the hotel to give animals a safe place to stay. The sign in the lobby of the hotel reads “We live by Protect and Respect, Not by Tooth and Claw”. How are the ways the animal guests staff behave and treat each other different from Mona’s previous experiences?
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| Craft ideas: |
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Mona sees a table filled with roasted acorns, cheese crumbles, buttery seedcakes, and acorn souffles. Pretend you are the master chef for the Heartwood Hotel and create your own dinner menu with all the favorite
foods (main entrées, side dishes, desserts, and drinks) that your animal guests would like to eat. (Blank menu on Pinterest)
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The hotel had sinks made from shells, beds made of feathers, twigs, or leaves, and brooms using upside down dandelions. Design a room for your favorite animal using things that you would find in a nature.
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Make a watercolor bubble art tree https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/watercolor-bubble-art-trees/
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Make a paper bag tree https://innerchildfun.com/2013/09/autumn-tree-sculptures-froma-paper-bag.html or check out our Pinterest page!
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Normally at the November reading clubs we give an item with a college logo to each kid, so this time we could have the kids create their own college logos based on the college logo the volunteer(s) share on something they are wearing or otherwise display.
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Thanksgiving month! - have the kids make a thank you card or write a thank you letter to someone, or make a list of things they are thankful for!
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Check our craft ideas on Pinterest!
https://www.pinterest.com/readingtokids/november-2020-seasons-and-the-natural-world/
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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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