TUCK EVERLASTINGby Natalie Babbit AR Level: 5.0 / Lexile Level 720 / Guided Reading Level V

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•Anyone who wants to learn a book (not just read it) should keep a notebook. Any type of notebook will do. If possible, you should also buy your own copy of the book. That way you can highlight in it, underline or circle important parts, and take notes in the margins.

•The first page in a notebook gets lots of wear and tear and frequently tears out, so it’s a good idea to skip the first page. Therefore, starting on the second page, begin numbering the pages—both front and back.

•On page 1 write the title and author of the book. Leave some space because and once you finish reading the entire book, you’ll be asked to come back and draw a picture for this page.

•On pages 2 and 3, create a table of contents. As you work through this book project, continue numbering the pages and adding them to your table of contents.

•Go to the back of your notebook and count inward 5 pages. Label this page “Glossary.” Throughout this document, you’ll be given words to add to your glossary. You’ll need to look up the definition* of these words and include them too. *Be sure to find the definition that fits the story, it may not be the first one listed.

If you’re making your own notebook by stapl ing paper together, you’ll need about fifteen pages.

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Add these words and their meanings to your glossary at the back of your notebook:

tranquiloppressive

meagerforlornslackrueful

Prologue, Chapters 1-21. This story takes place during the “dog days” of

summer. Read about it at this website. How did it get this name? When is it?

2. Authors use what’s called foreshadowing when they are giving hints about what is going to happen later in the story. In the second paragraph of chapter 1, the author uses foreshadowing. Reread that paragraph. What do you think is the hint the author gives about what will happen?

3. Babbit uses personification frequently. Name all the examples of personification Babbit gives to describe where the Foster’s live.

4. Have you ever really wanted something someone else has and once you got it, you didn’t like it as much as you thought you would? Winnie says “nothing ever seems interesting when it belongs to you—only when it doesn’t.” Do you think this is true? Why or why not?

5. Why do you think Tuck almost never smiled except when he was asleep?

Whenever you write about

someone, use his/her first and

last name the first time you

mention them. After that, use

only his/her last name, never just

the first name.

Have you ever cut your nails so short it hurt? That tender skin is known as the quick, so you call it cutting to the quick. Sometimes when a person’s feelings are hurt, they say they’ve been cut to the quick—it’s painful. Babbit says the grass was cut to the quick, which means the grass was cut painfully close. That is personification since grass can’t feel pain. She’s trying to tell you that the grass is kept perfectly trimmed.

Bovine means having to do with cows.

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Begin answering questions

on page 4 of your

notebook. Label it the way

this page is labeled.

1. Winnie carries on a long conversation with the toad. Why? Be sure your answer fits Winnie’s character based on what you know about her so far..

2. The fence is symbolic in this story. What is it symbolizing that Winnie is on one side of the fence and the wood, the toad, and the man in the yellow suit are on the other?

3. How do the descriptions of the weather in the book enhance or add to the description and your understanding of Winnie’s mood?

4. Why do you think Babbit chose to have the stranger wear a “jaunty yellow” suit? Do you think this is somehow a hint as to his character? See what yellow signifies here to help with your answer.

5. Winnie says there’s a difference between what happens to the characters in books because of how they behave and what happens in the real world. What is the difference?

6. Why do you think Jesse is so protective of the spring? Why do you think Mae says, “The worst is happening at last”? What do you think “the worst” could be?

7. Add these words and their meanings to your glossary: cross, grimace, jaunty, irrelevantly

Lines to love! “It’d be nice to have a new name, to start with, one that’s not all worn out from being called so much.”

If you’ve never seen fireflies before, check out this site to learn more about them and see photos.

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Winnie says it is “galling” to admit she was afraid. Galling means irritated or annoyed. Have you ever felt “galled” because you were nervous or afraid and didn’t want to be?

Self-deprecation is

when you make

yourself or the

things you do seem

unimportant.

Chapters 3 - 5

Sometimes it’s difficult to understand or recognize symbolic meaning in books, but you understand symbolic meaning more than you realize! Below are many symbols you probably understand very well. Copy this chart in your notebook, drawing each of these common symbols and then write what each symbolizes. Include the blank spaces.

When you read, the symbols are usually not so obvious. A red heart symbolizes love, but instead of suggesting a person is in love by having him wear a heart on his shirt, an author will just have him wear a red shirt. With a partner or small group, add to your symbol chart at least three other objects or other details from the book that have symbolic meaning. Be sure to explain what you think the object’s meaning is.

Wikimedia Commons Joey Gannon, Wikimedia Commons

Zscout370, Wikimedia Commons Pierre de Coubertin, Wikimedia Commons

Kyle the Hacker, Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons

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Papix, Wikimedia Commons

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1. Why do you think Winnie didn’t scream or call out when they saw the man in the yellow suit on the road?

2. The myth that there is a “fountain of youth” has been around for centuries. Read about it at this site. Who’s the most famous searcher for the fountain of youth? When and where was he looking for it?

3. Winnie says the Tucks made her feel “special and important.”

What do they do or say that

makes her feel this way? How is this different from how

her mom and grandma make her

feel? Use specific examples from the book

to support your answer.4. In Ch. 8, Winnie says she is running away after

all and that since she is with the Tucks, she isn’t all alone. This isn’t entirely true, but she begins to think of them as her friends. What things do Mae, Jesse, and Miles do and say that changes her mind from thinking they’ve kidnapped her? Cite specific examples from the book.

5. Add these words and their meanings to your glossary: burly, elated, scornful

Chapters 6 - 8

A parson is like a minister or a pastor.© smereka - Fotolia.com

Figurative language is a word or phrase that does not have its normal, literal meaning. Authors use figurative language to make their writing more interesting. Metaphor, simile, personification, and hyperbole are just a few types of figurative language. There are many examples in Tuck Everlasting. In Ch. 6 Winnie says, “…her throat closed and her mouth went dry as paper.” This is a simile because she is comparing her dry mouth to paper. Similes typically use like or as—dry as paper.In Ch. 8 it says Jesse “swung like a monkey from the branches of trees.” This is another example of a simile—like a monkey.

Chapters 9-12A metaphor is when a writer says something is something else instead of just like something else (which is a simile). “The sun was dropping fast now, a soft red sliding egg yolk…”“…the trees along the banks were slowly losing their dimensions, flattening into silhouettes clipped from black paper and pasted to the paling sky.”Figurative language helps paint a picture in your mind. Can you see the egg yolk sun? How about the trees cut from black paper?Once you’ve finished the story, draw a literal picture of one of the similes or metaphors from this book.

“…the cottage where she lived was always squeaking clean, mopped and swept and scoured into limp submission”

Lines to love

1. What did Tuck say and do that made Winnie feel “like an unexpected present”?

2. What are the differences between the Fosters’ house and the Tucks’ house? What is the “revolutionary” thought Winnie has about this?

3. Why do you think Mae believes Jesse is “young” even though he’s lived for over a 100 years? How can this be?

4. What suddenly seemed luxurious to Winnie? Why?5. In the rowboat, Tuck talks to Winnie about nature and how it is like a wheel,

the circle of life, turning and never stopping. One example he uses is the water cycle. Go to this site to learn about the water cycle. What are the three stages? Play the game at the end and write your best time in your notebook.

6. Go to this website and watch the video (require Flash Player) which shows the life cycles, or metamorphoses, of several animals. Pick one and draw out the life cycle in your notebook—be sure to label it, then play the three games. Write down the number of mistakes you made for each.

7. Some examples of metaphors from these chapters are listed on the right. Another metaphor from this section is when Tuck compares his family to the

rowboat. What is his comparison?8. Do you agree with Tuck that people would flock to

the spring “like pigs to slops” if they knew about it? Would you drink from the spring? Why or

why not?9. Add these words and their

meanings to your glossary: vanity, solemnly, indomitable

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A flapjack is another word for pancake.

Chapters 13-16

1.In Ch. 14, Winnie says, “It had evidently not occurred to them that she might not believe it. They were only concerned that she keep the secret. Well, she did not believe it. It was nonsense. Wasn’t it? Well, wasn’t it?” Winnie isn’t one to believe in magical things happening. What other magical thing was supposed to have happened in the beginning of the book that she also didn’t believe?

2. Who came to visit Winnie during the night and how did it make her feel that they did?3. Jesse feels very differently than the rest of his family about living forever. What is the

difference between his feelings and those of the other Tuck family members? What do you think are some of the reasons for this difference?

4. What do you think of Jesse’s proposal that Winnie wait until she’s 17 and then drink from the spring? Is this a good idea? Is Jesse thinking of what is in Winnie’s best interest?

5. What do you think the man in the yellow suit wants with the woods?6. Add these words and their meanings to your glossary: illiterate, roust, cantering

To be “in cahoots” with someone means you are partners.

When figurative language is used over and over again until it becomes common (often to a specific region), it is known as an idiom.

“I’d be out here like a shot.”“Proud as peacocks…”

“His sour mood returned.”

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A gallows is the wooden frame on which a person is hanged.

A barbarian is a savage or uncivilized

person.

A constable is an officer of the law, like a sheriff or a policeman.

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If you’re talking about a poster on your wall, you say, “I hung it on my wall,” but if you’re talking about a person who was executed, you say, “He was hanged.”

Chapter 17

Watch and listen to a music box being played.

1.“Outside, in the ring of trees around the pond, the birds were celebrating,

giving the new day a brass band’s worth of greeting.” What type of figurative language is this? What does “a brass band’s worth of greeting” mean?

2. Winnie says she found that she loved the Tucks, that they were her friends. “And hers alone.” What does she mean when she says they’re “hers alone”? How has Winnie’s life and experiences up until she met the Tucks influence how she feels about them? Be sure to use examples from the book to support your answer.

3. Miles didn’t tell his wife and children about the spring because he said they were too old by the time he figured it out. Do you think he made the right choice? How would you have felt if he was your father? Would you want him to tell you or would you rather not know? Be sure to explain your

answer.4. Though we can’t stop aging like the Tucks,

people are living longer than they used to in the past. How long a person will live is known as life expectancy. With improved medical care, life expectancy has increased. In the time Tuck Everlasting takes place, life expectancy was much younger because babies were so likely to die. Once you lived past infancy, you were more likely to live longer. Go to this website and look at the graph. By clicking on the ages at the bottom, you will see a graph for the life expectancy of a man or woman who lives at least until that age. If a woman in 1880 lived to be 20, what was her life expectancy? What if it were 2000? What about for men?

5. Add these words and their meanings to your glossary: stern, fatal

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Add these words and their meanings to your glossary at the back of your notebook:

ignorantpetulanceenvious

Chapters 18 - 201. Winnie says she loves the Tucks and “they

belonged to her.” What do you think she means by this? Do you think she feels like her parents and her grandmother “belong to her”?

2. Why do you think Babbit never gave the man in the yellow suit a name?

3. The man in the yellow suit says the Tucks are selfish for not sharing the spring water with others. What is a reason some people might agree with him? What is a reason to disagree?

4. Why does Tuck look at the man in the yellow suit as if he was “envious—like a starving man looking through a window at a banquet”?

5. Why do you suppose Mae hit the man with the shotgun instead of shooting him with it?

Winnie tells Tuck “everything’s going to be all right.” She says it was something she’d never said before. This shows that she’s maturing. She’s changing from the little girl who is always told what to do into a young lady who is taking charge and reassuring the adults that “everything is going to be all right.”

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Lines to love“Emerging from the coolness and the green, Winnie saw again the wide world spread before her, shimmering with light and possibility. But the possibilities were different now.”

To be “in a pickle” means you are in a troubling situation.

Gun Auction.com

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Chapters 21-231. Winnie sat in her rocking chair in order to be soothed instead of being comforted by her parents and grandma, what do you think Babbit is trying to say about the Fosters and their relationships with each other by writing this?

2. Winnie’s parents and grandma felt she had “slipped away” from them when she came back from the Tucks. What do they mean by that and what changed in Winnie to make them feel this way? Be sure to use specific details from the book to support your answer.

3. Though the Tucks think killing is wrong, what are two reasons Mae felt justified—that it was the right thing to do—to hit the man in the yellow suit? Which reason do you think is more important? Be sure to explain your answer.

4. Even after all that had happened, Winnie says their story isn’t true, “they were probably crazy after all.” Do you think this is really what she believes? Why is she helping Mae escape if she doesn’t believe their story?

5. Listen to the sounds of a grandfather clock here. Before they made electric clocks, clocks had to have a pendulum to keep running. Go to this website and conduct the experiment. What results did you find? How is this important in the operation of a clock?

6. Add theses words and their meanings to your glossary: acrid, gentility, prostrate

“The sun was a ponderous circle without edges, a roar without a sound, a blazing glare so thorough and remorseless that even in the Fosters’ parlor, with curtains drawn, it seemed an actual presence.

Lines to love

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Chapters 24 - Epilogue

1. Babbit writes that the summer was moving on like a circle turning in its “changeless sweep of change.” How can it be both changeless and changing too?

2. The man in the yellow suit feels justified in stealing the Tucks’ horse because he thought they kidnapped Winnie, Mae feels justified hitting the man because he was taking Winnie away, Winnie feels justified in helping Mae escape jail because it was her fault she was arrested. Is doing something wrong or illegal ever

justified? What if some people say it is justified and some say it isn’t? This is how our legal system came into being. In the United States, criminals are usually judged by a jury of their peers instead of one person—the judge. Which system would be better in this case? What problems could arise if a jury were to hear the

story? Be sure to explain your answers.3. Could Winnie have found out if the spring water really made things stop aging? What

could she have done? Do you think she ever tried?4. If Winnie had taken a drink of the water, about how old would she be now? How old would

Jesse be? What year did this story take place?5. Add these words and their meanings to your

glossary: accusations, obliging, accomplice, revulsion

The lines from the poem Winnie remembers,

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage.

were written by Richard Lovelace in 1642.

Read about him here.

What do you think of our jury system? Use this worksheet to interview someone who has served on a jury to find out his or her opinion. Glue or tape your interview sheet into your notebook.

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Have you drawn a picture for your title page yet? If not, go back to the front of your notebook and draw an appropriate picture for your title page.If you haven’l already, draw a literal picture as you were asked to do on page 7 of this document.Number the pages in your glossary and add it to your table of contents.

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