Little House in Brookfield~Section 6

Little House in Brookfield~Maria D. Wilkes
I read from page 250 to page 298 (the end)

This week, I finished Little House in Brookfield and started another book.  Ma had just found out that Martha didn't have her shoes on.  She made her put them on and go into church.  When they got home, Ma said that she would be staying home from church tending Thomas, and that she would need to practice her Bible verses inside in the afternoon.  Then, Carolines first day of school rolls around.  Martha fills her head with all sorts of bad things about school and the schoolmaster.  Caroline doesn't want to go to school, but she must anyway.  They walk to school and find out that there is not schoolmaster, there is a schoolmistress.  Her name was Miss. Morgan and she was nice.  Martha and Caroline meet a new friend named Anna and they let her sit with them.  When lunch time rolls around, they invite her to come eat with them.  She does and Ma says that she is welcome any time.  The book ends with Caroline asking if she can do the dishes so that she could get back to school.
I can't wait to read the next one, but I am taking a break and reading A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck.

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On the back of A Season of Gifts, it says that a family moved in next to Mrs. Dowdel and they need help.  The main character is Bob and he has two sisters.  It also says that as Christmas rolls around, they realize that they've found a true home, and a neighbor who has remarkable gifts to share.  I only got to page 11 this week, but want to read more soon.


Key Question:
Last week, we focused on structuring a paragraph.  This week, our key question is that we have to structure a paragraph with our Question, Prediction, and Connection.

Question, Prediction, and Connection Paragraph Outline

Topic Sentence:  This is a paragraph about my question, prediction, and connection for the week.  

Major Supporting Detail #1  Question:  My question this week is will Bob's family, the Barnharts take to liking Mrs. Dowdel or not?

-minor supporting detail #1:  His younger sister, Ruth Ann thinks that she is a witch.  

-minot supporting detail #1:  I think that they will end up liking her.  

Major Supporting Detail #2  Prediction:  I predict that Mrs. Dowdel will be nice and friendly to Bob's family.  

-minor supporting detail #2:  On the back it says that they realize that they have a neighbor with remarkable gifts.

-minot supporting detail #2:  Another reason is by how hard she works.  She works in her garden for the longest time.  

Major Supporting Detail #3  Connection:  This weeks connection is coming one last time from Little House in Brookfield.  It is about when Caroline goes to school for the first time.

-minor supporting detail #3:  When I go to school for the first time of the new year, I get all nervous and everything.

-minor supporting detail #3:  One thing that we get that they didn't get is we find out who is in our class and who our teacher is before we even start the year.  I can understand how scary it would have been to go and not know if you had a nice teacher or a strict teacher.

Concluding Sentence:  I hope that by my prediction, question, and connection, that you will want to read both of those books that I explained!! :)

          Question, Prediction, and Connection Paragraph

             This is a paragraph about my question, prediction, and connection for the week.  My question this week is will Bob's family, the Barnharts take to liking Mrs. Dowdel or not?  Bob's younger sister, Ruth Ann thinks that she is a witch.  I think that they will end up liking her.  I predict that Mrs. Dowdel will be nice and friendly to Bob's family.  One reason is by how hard she works in her garden.  By the description, she works hard and with a purpose.  On the back of the book, it says that they realize that they have a neighbor with remarkable gifts.  This weeks connection is coming one last time from Little House in Brookfield.  It is about when Caroline goes to school for the first time.  When I go to school for the first time of the new year, I get all nervous and everything.  One thing that we get that they didn't get is that we find out who is in our class and who our teacher is before we even start the year.  I can understand how scary it would have been to go and not know if you had a nice teacher or a strict teacher.  I hope that by my prediction, question, and connection, that you will want to read both of these books that I explained!! :)

Little House in Brookfield~Section 5

Little House in Brookfield~Maria D. Wilkes
I read from page 226 to page 250~I didn't have much time to read this week at all.

Eliza gets a dress that was to big for her last year, Caroline gets Martha's old dress, and Martha gets a dress made out of material from a dress that Ma doesn't wear anymore.  Caroline is none too pleased with that.  By Sunday, they all have an outfit of some type that will fit them.  On Sunday morning, Ma gets them up early and they get dressed.  When it comes to putting on their shoes, Caroline just squeezes into hers.  Eliza's shoes fit, but Martha she has a more difficult time.  First of all, there are holes in her shoes right where her big toe goes, so her toe stick right out.  Second, she can barely fit into them.  When the Carpenters arrive, they all get into the wagon and are off to church.  Somewhere along the ride to church, Martha takes off her shoes because she plans to go barefoot to church even though she is not allowed to.  Caroline finds her shoes when she reaches down to get her shawl unstuck.  Ma sees Martha's feet when she goes running to find the boys when it is time to go into the church.

Question:  This weeks question is what was the worst punishment that they would've gotten back in those days.

Prediction:  My prediction is that Martha will be really embarrassed and get in a lot of trouble for not wearing her shoes when Ma told her to.

Connection:  My connection this week is that when we go to church, we always have to wear shoes.  I have never tried to go without shoes, but I am not sure how it would turn out and I am not about to try it either.

Little House in Brookfield~Section 4

Little House in Brookfield~Maria D. Wilkes
I read from page 180 to page 226

The children played Fox and Geese and have a blast.  Caroline's family was out of meat, and a lot of other stuff.  They were going to have turnips again for supper, but they received an unexpected gift from an Indian.  His name was Crooked Bone.  He happened to have been a friend of their father before he died.  He explained how he had seen Joseph and Henry and their empty traps for many days.  Then he motioned for another Indian.  They ended up dragging a huge deer into the house.  Ma was shocked that all of that meat was for them.  The boys helped the Indians slice the meat.  They now had plenty of meat to eat for a long time.  In the next chapter, Caroline looks out of the window and is tired of the rain.  Ma comes in and says that they should have a celebration.  They decide to welcome Spring with a celebration.  Ma and the girls go into the kitchen and they make little cakes.  They then fried them in a pan.  Eliza is unhappy because she didn't get to see.  She starts to go over there.  Ma catches her in time.  She could've gotten burned really bad like their father did.  Martha and Caroline ask mother to tell them the candlestick story.  Ma tells it while they eat dinner.  It is about how Ma was going to get married to their father.  Father worked as a silversmith and handled really hot things.  It was the day of the wedding and he didn't show up.  They waited all day long.  When Ma was going to go home, he was about to open the door.  It happened that he had burned himself so bad that it took hours for the doctor to bandage him up.  He ended up with a really bad scar.  In the chapter that I just started, Mr. Carpenter asks them if they would like to go to Church with them.

Question:  My question this week is a wonder one.  I wonder how many different dresses they had.  If they had one or two everyday dresses and one Sunday dress, or if they had more or less.

Prediction:  I predict that none of their dresses will fit and that Ma will end up sewing them all new ones.

Connection:  My connections this week is from when Ma talks about altering their dresses.  If our clothes don't fit, especially our pants, my grandma will alter them so that they fit.

Little House in Brookfield~Section 3

Little House in Brookfield~Maris D. Wilkes
I read from page 130 to page 180.

In the 50 pages that I read this week, Christmas happened.  Well, before that something else happened. Ma needed flour and the grocer didn't have some, and the miller wanted to sell it by the barrel not by the bag.  That night, a man that they had seen at the grocery store and at the mill came and brought them a sack of flour.  The man brought it the night before Christmas and just in time for Ma to make her Christmas bread with it (which was the same day that all of this happened.)  Caroline, Martha, Joseph, and Henry all saw it happen.  Caroline woke up in the middle of the night and went downstairs.  Ma happened to be there, so Caroline got to help make the Christmas bread.  The next morning they woke up to find packages by their spot on the table.  Everybody got a pair of mittens, and a peppermint stick. The girls got buttons to start a button collection, and the boys each got a carved horse.  Those horses were special because their father had carved them.  Then Mr. Carpenter brought over some plum pudding for them as a special treat.  That ended Christmas.  I am at the part were they want to play Fox and Geese, and they can only play it if they finish their ( the girls) lessons, and if the boys come home before dark, (the boys go to the school house during that day to do their lessons.)  That ends up happening, but they haven't gone out to play it yet.

Question:  My question this week is, why does Joseph go to the school house when he is so old.  I am just wondering because I thought that when you were older you stayed home to tend to the farm and stuff.  I know that they do not go to school in the summer because they are needed to plant the crops and things like that.

Prediction:  My prediction from last week was in a way correct and in a way wrong.  Like I said above in my summary, the man that they saw at the mill came and gave them a sack of flour, but lossing the vegetables didn't influence it at all.  My prediction this week is that they will get to go out and play Fox and Geese and they will have a lot of fun.

Connection:  This weeks connection is from text to self.  I am going to connect to the part about Caroline and Martha wanting to play Fox and Geese.  Sometimes in the winter we play Fox and Geese when there is fresh snow on the ground.  It is a very fun, but very tiring as well.

Key Question:  I would recommend this book to a person who really likes to learn about the past.  The reason why I would recommend it to that person is because there are a lot of historical things in these books, they tell you what life was like.  The author tells you what they did or what their chores were on a day to day basis.  You learn about what they ate, and what they did during their free time.  All in all, you learn a lot about what life was like in the 1800s.

Little House in Brookfield~Section 2

Little House in Brookfield--Maria D. Wilkes
I read from page 76 to page 130.

I left off last time telling you about the grocery store.  While in the grocery stone, they met some friends.  Mr. Carpenter, walks around the store with Caroline and shows her the different things.  When the Carpenter's have to leave, he tells ma that there is going to be some bad weather.  He advises her to pick their vegetables before the storm hits.  Well, they finish their shopping there and start walking home.  Ma is worried about it, but she tries not to show it.  That night, they decide that they will pick their vegetables tomorrow.  But, that night the storm hits.  Caroline, Joseph, and Henry wake up to a door slamming.  It is ma going outside to pick the vegetables before the frost hits.  Joseph decides to go out there and help her when the "torch" she is burning goes out.  Ma acts cheerful about it the next morning.  She says, "We'll go out after breakfast.  Maybe we didn't lose so much to the frost after all."  Caroline is disappointed because this was the first year that she would be able to help pick the vegetables.  They go outside, and find a lot of things like pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes that are covered in frost.  Ma then decides that they will pick everything and pickle it so that nothing goes to waste. 'Whatever a man soweth, so shall he reap'  Then in the next chapter, it is Carolines birthday.  They celebrate her birthday twice because they didn't celebrate it last year.  She got a brand new hair ribbon for her fifth birthday, and a doll for her sixth birthday.  They didn't celebrate her birthday last year because father had just died and they were all to sad for a celebration.

Question:  Here is some back ground that you should know for my question this week.  When she got the ribbon, Ma braided her hair instead of Grandma.  It says that she spun her around to see the ribbon.  My question this week is, I wonder if she held on to the braid while she spun it around, or if she let it go and re-braid the part that fell out.

Prediction:  I predict that something good is going to come out of losing some of their vegetables.  I predict that because the next chapter is titled, A Stranger's Gift.

Connection:  My connection this week is a text to world.  In the story, they get their vegetables from a garden.  We get some of ours from our grandparents garden, but other wise we buy them.  This summer we also got a ton of vegetables from a CSA box from Visser Farms.  That is how we get our vegetables.

Key Question:  Personally, I like the whole book.  There is nothing I would change about it.  I like that Maria is very detailed in her writing, and that she uses good language.  She gets across the characters feelings to you.  A part of the book that I really liked was the part where Ma was so determined to get the vegetables in that she went outside at night in the battering rain and cold to feed her family.  I also like how determined she sounded when she said that they were going to pick every single vegetable.  If Caroline were alive at this point, and were a kid I would definatley be friends with her.  She seems very nice, and friendly.  She would be a great play mate.  To be honest, I would be friends with any of the Little House characters.  I would love to go back in time to live when they did for a day or longer.

Little House in Brookfield~Section 1

Little House in Brookfield---Maria D. Wilkes
I read from the beginning of the book, to page 76.

The book started out with Caroline eating breakfast.  Then it went on to say what some of the chores that they were in charge of were.  One of Carolines chore was to feed the chickens.  Her brothers, Henry and Joseph have to work extra hard with the chores that the father would do because their father died out at sea.  On wash day, Caroline got to help hull water for the first time.  She was really excited to be helping out.  Martha and Caroline had to hull water from the well back to their house so that their mom could do the washing.  Washing clothes took almost a whole day.  You had to get the water hot.  Then scrub each individual piece of clothing until you got all of the dirt out.  Next you had to drop the clothing into a boiling pot of water, and stir it around.  You then put them into a bucket and squeeze the soap out.  Then you have to rinse out the clothes in boiling water.  The last step is that they would put them out on the grass to dry.  That was why washing clothes took almost a full day. :)  In the next chapter, they go into town and Caroline sees a stage coach that was full of people.  They also go to the "grocery store."  That is where I am at right now.

Question:  My question comes from the chapter about Caroline feeding the chickens.  I wonder how many chickens they actually have?  They at least have five because Caroline got five eggs in that chapter.

Prediction:  I predict that Caroline will get to choose something special from the grocery store with the money that they get from the ashes.

Connections:  My connection this week is a text to text.  In other Little House books when they go into town, it is always crowded.  In the chapter about the stage coach, town in busy.  When they are on their way to the grocer, it says that ma had to like "push" past people.  Town always seems to be crowded in the Little House books.  

Focus Question:  I am going to refere back to Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons for this weeks focus question.  For the dynamic character, I am going to use Sullie.  Before Phillis goes to London, she tries to be mean to her and hurt her.  She is just out right not nice.  When Phillis gets back from London and Mrs. Wheatley is sick and things are "a mess," she is really glad to see Phillis and she is nice to her.  I would say for a static character, maybe Nathaniel.  When he is teaching Phillis to read, he sometimes could have a temper if she didn't do something right.  Even when they are in London he still has a temper, only maybe a little bit worse.  When they get back home, his temper is still there.  I don't mean to point Nathaniel out, he was nice, but when he had a temper, he had a temper.  Like I said, he was very nice and sweet at points in the book like when Phillis arrived, but that temper was still hidden underneath.

End of One Book, Start of Another

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons~~~Ann Rinaldi
I read from page 162-the end or from chapter 21-the end.

There was a lot that happened towards the end.  Mrs. Wheatley dies and so does Aunt Cumsee.  Phillis gets to meet George Washington because she wrote a poem about him.  Phillis loved the visit with George Washington.  The book says that she didn't walk out of the room, she floated out.  Before that, John Peters asks her to marry him, but Phillis wants time to think about that.  Phillis and Mr. Wheatley move in with Mary for a little bit.  George Washington and Mary convince her a little bit that she should marry John Peters.  Phillis decides to, and they get married.  They lived in a good part of town, but then John Peters loses his job.  A couple of other bad things happen to them.  Phillis had three children, but along the way two die.  Phillis tries to publish a second book of poetry.  It didn't work very well.  Phillis died on the same day that her only living child died.

The next book that I am going to be reading is called Little House in Brookfield.  This book is written by Maria D. Wilkes.  It is about Laura Ingalls mother, Caroline.  Caroline lives in Brookfield Wisconsin and tries to make a living with her mother and siblings because their father dies out at sea.  There are other books about Lauras Grandmother, and great-grandmother.  I haven't started it yet, but look forward to.

Questions:  A question that I had was how long John Peter lived?  Ann Rinaldi leaves you to wonder about that because she never said.

Predictions:  I predict that Little House in Brookfield will be about how Caroline lived, and what her daily life was like.  I predicted that because that is what all of the other books are about.

Connections:  The connection that I am going to make this week, is a text to text.  The book that I am going to compare Little House in Brookfield to is the Caroline series, (the American Girl Doll.)  Caroline, almost loses her dad at sea, and in Little House in Brookfield the other Caroline loses her dad.  In both of those situations life was hard without their fathers.  And het, they have the same names. :)

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons--Part 4

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons~~~Ann Rinaldi
I read from page 126-161, or from chapter 16 to chapter 20.

Chapter 16:  Phillis meets an African American painter.  The stamp act was going on.  They find out that Prince is part of the Sons of Liberty.  A crowd comes by the Wheatley's house.

Chapter 17:  A year later, Phillis wrote her very first poem!  Yeah!!!  Phillis didn't like her hair the way it was, so Nathaniel took her to get it cut.  While they were gone, Mary had gone snooping around in Phillis' stuff.  She had discovered her poetry and had it in her hand when they came home.  That caused a bit of an issue, but in the end, it turned out good that Mary had discovered it.

Chapter 18:  The last couple sentences of my summary of chapter 17 blends in with chapter 18.  So some of it happened then, but it made sense to put it in with chapter 17.  In chapter 18, the Wheatley's were "praising" her writing.  They were shocked when they found out it was hers.

Chapter 19:  In chapter 19, it sort of skips ahead a year in her life.  It talks about how she did not really make any poems during the next year.  On Pope's Day, there was a crowd outside of the Wheatley's house.  This is what inspired her to write her next poem.  She wrote it about the ruckus that the Harvard boys were making on the street below.

Chapter 20:  This chapter startes off by stating that she had lost her cowrie shell.  That shell was very important to her because her mother gave it to her on the slave ship.  Phillis searches for it for about 10 minutes, but can not find it.  She is called down for supper.  Mrs. Wheatley was having a party, and Phillis was to recite her poetry afterwards.  They have conversation at the table.  A slave trader comes up to Phillis afterwards, and asks for a private recitation.  Phillis doesn't want to, but in the end, she does it for him.  Mostly, she does it because Nathaniel tells her that his parents were thinking about getting her poetry published, and that meant begin able recite on demand.  She does it because it would be good practice.


Questions:  I didn't know what a bunch of the words meant this week.  The first one was seditious.  The word seditious means troulemaking.  It got that answer from the dictionary on my desktop.  Another word was pernicious.  Pernicious means destructive, or hurtful.  I found this answer on my desktop dictionary.  I didn't know what jest meant, or what Braintree means.  Jest means to fool around.  I also found that out on my desktop dictionary.  I found out from Wikipedia that Braintree was a document or a letter that was written in protest of the stamp act.  On Wikipedia it said that a bier was a type of stick or coffin.  Syllabub was a traditional English dessert.  Found my answer on Wikipedia.  Vellum is a type of paper.  Found on Wikipedia.  Wikipedia also said that potpourri was a type of dried fruit.  Tapestry is a type of art.  Found my answer on Wikipedia.

Prediction:  I predict that Prince will get in trouble for being part of the Sons of Liberty.

Connection:  My connection this week is to the Revolutionary War.  In the Revolutionary War, there were others who were in the Sons of Liberty just like Prince was.  Some of them got caught, and some of them didn't

Key Question:  The theme in this book was that a black person can be just as good as a white person.  They can do things just as well.  Phillis became the first African American to publish her poetry.

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons--Part 3

Hang A Thousand trees With Ribbons~~~Ann Rinaldi
I read from page 98 to page 125 or from chapter 13 to chapter 15

Chapter 13:  In this chapter, it starts off with the Wheatleys arguing about the small pox.  Phillis then hears the doctor knock on the door to inoculate the Wheatley family.  She decides to go out to the barn to hide.  Phillis falls asleep, and dreamed of her mother pouring out water before the sun.  Nathaniel wakes her up and is mad at her because she hid.  She tells him why she is hiding, and the reason is because she didn't follow the instructions that her mother gave her when she was home.  It was her fault that her mother was dead and she thinks that the small pox is a curse on her for doing so.  Nathaniel says that it isn't and carries her into the house to get inoculated.

Chapter 14:  The next morning Phillis woke up with her head throbbing.  Sulie came in and gave her some nice hot broth.  She said that her name was Old Bettie because she didn't want Phillis knowing it was her.  Phillis asks how Aunt Cumsee is, and she says that she is doing fine.  The second day, Phillis felt feverish.  "Old Bettie" talks Phillis into writing a letter to her friend Obour.  Later, when she was sleeping, she had another dream only this time Obour was involved.  She sees Obour chasing away the birds from the fields and then her mother appeared and told was pouring water out before the sun.  Her mother told her what to do about Aunt Cumsee and then she said, 'Find Obour.'  The next day, Phillis goes out and pours water out before the sun.  Nathaniel finds her out there and gives her a speech about not doing it.  She tells him about "Old Bettie" and he is shocked.  He says that Sulie took care of Phillis while she was sick.  Phillis asks Nathaniel to write a letter to Obour, and he says that she can do it by herself.

Chapter 15:  Phillis gets the letter done, but Nathaniel tells her to do it again and leave out some of the parts.  Phillis does it after a little protesting involved.  At supper another night, Nathaniel brings up what Phillis has been doing.  Pouring water out before the sun.  His mother gasped when she heard this.  They were trying to make her into a Christian, and they expected her to act like one too.  Nathaniel decides to take out the fountain that is in their yard.  That is where Phillis has been pouring her water out.  She started to write down her feelings on paper.  She writes the bad ones first, and then the good ones.  It makes her feel like she is free in her own way.  :)


Questions:  What does jurisdiction mean?  I got my answer from Mrs. Koster.   It means that you are in charge of a piece of something.  What do the words inherent and inalienable mean?  For inherent, I got my answer from my desktop dictionary and it means existing in something as a permanent.  Inalienable means that no one can take it away.  I got my answer from Mrs. Koster.

Prediction:  I had two predictions this week.  The first one was that I thought Phillis was going to do something bad when she went out of the house in chapter 13.  The second one was that I had the feeling that Phillis' letter was going to turn out gorgeous.

Connection:  My connection this week is that I know how hard it is to write a perfect letter.  I tried writing one to President Obama, and it was definitely not perfect.

Key Question:  One conflict is that Phillis wants to continue her old religion.  Well she is a Christian, but she wants to be able to pour water out before the sun just like her mother did.  It reminds her of her and helps her feel like she is back at home with everything all right.  With her mother living and Phillis begin able to go to the fields to chase away the birds with Obour.  The conflict is person to person because the Wheatley family doesn't want her to do that because that is not Christian like.

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons--Part 2

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons~~~Ann Rinaldi
I read from page 82 to page 98 or from the middle of chapter 10 through chapter 12

Chapter 10:  This chapter starts off with Nathaniel getting a tutor and Phillis being able to sit in and listen if she got her work done first.  Then they go to the wharf.  Prince, another slave shows Phillis some of the sites around town.

Chapter 11:  In this chapter it starts with Phillis telling Nathaniel that she wants to be free.  Nathaniel gets very angry at this statement and goes on to giving her a speech about what it means to be free.  Later on, they were celebrating Mrs. Wheatley and Mary's birthdays.  Phillis brought in the cake for them.  Then she gave them her present with Nathaniel.  She had learned to read!!  She read an article from the Lively Lady's manifest.  Everyone is shocked.  Nathaniel also says something in Latin, and then Phillis says it in English.  Nathaniel and Phillis both get a lot of compliments.

Chapter 12:  Nathaniel is not impressed with Phillis' Latin.  Phillis wants to go see the slave ship that is arriving later that day to see if anyone from back home was on it.  Nathaniel had said that if she saw anyone, he would buy him or her for Phillis.  They make their way to the wharf.  Nathaniel receives a note, reads it, says thank-you, and then turns the carriage around.  Phillis is a little bit upset because he won't stay for her to see the ship.  He says that there was a case a small pox breaking out.
Phillis nor anyone else was not let out of the house for fear they would catch it.  Nathaniel has made arrangements for the whole family to be inoculated from it.  Suddenly there is a screaming from the kitchen.  Aunt Cumsee has fallen on the floor.  Later they find out that she has the small pox.  Phillis feels bad because she feels that she must repent.



Questions:  What does inoculated mean?  Inoculated means to get a vacine.  I got my answer on the dictionary on my desktop.  Another question I had was how hard it is for Phillis to learn to read and write

Prediction:  I predict that someone in the Wheatley household will die from the smallpox.  I also predict that one of these days, Phillis will find somebody that she knows on a slave ship.

Connection:  I am going to use my knowledge for this connection.  I know that people did get small pox back then, and it was very contagious.  Some people died from it, and others lived to tell about it.  If you lived, you probably would have had marks on your face from where you had it.

Key Question:  'Well, if that's the kind of folderol that rascal is filling your head with, then I say you are no longer to speak to Prince'  Folderol means nonsensical or not making sense   I got my answer on the dictionary on my desktop.
Crystal goblets, silverware, blazing candles in candelabra.  Candelabra is one of those candle sticks that has little "branches" all over it.  I got my answer from Mrs. Koster.

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbon--Part 1

Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons~~~Ann Rinaldi
I read from the beginning to page 82 or in the middle of chapter 10.

In my book this week, a lot of different things happened.  

Chapter 1:     The book started off with Phillis and Nathaniel talking about her poetry, and in a way arguing.  For she was to go that day to prove that this poetry was written by her.  Phillis a slave.  

Chapter 2:     Sulie, another slave has always been mean to Phillis.  In this chapter they show you the first incident of where she is mean to Phillis.  Phillis is talking to Prince (another slave) and she gets mad.  She thinks that Phillis will get Prince sold one of these days.

Chapter 3:     Phillis leaves to go to Province House where the people are who want to know about her poetry.  Nathaniel comes with her.  There is a fountain in the "main" yard.  That reminds Phillis of how her mother used to pour water out before the sun each and every morning.  She likes it how when she writes she is not a skinny black slave.  When she writes, her writing has no color at all.  

Chapter 4:     Then Ann Rinaldi goes on to tell you about her life before a slave and on the slave ship.  In her life before she was a slave her father was known as a great hunter.  One day a leopard came and stole an antelope that Phillis' father had killer for her family.  Her father decided to go and kill the leopard.  He took aim and missed.  On accident, he shot one of his brothers men.  He was put on trial and they decided that he should be sold as a slave.  Her father was taken to be brought to the ship, but he escaped.  Then all of the people had to stay inside of their houses for fear that slavers or even worse his brother Dahobar would be there to catch them.  They then would be put into slavery.  Phillis had always been in the fields chasing away birds from the crops with her friend Obour.  They would earn a few cowries for themselves.  Cowries are a type of shell.  One day, Phillis decides to go and find Obour.  She would be back before the sun had risen.  As she nears the field, she sees something grab Obour.  It was a kidnapper.  Before long, Phillis found herself throwing sticks at him, biting and scratching him.  Her mother had seen her leave the house and had followed her.  She now comes and starts to fight with the man.  The kidnapper ties all three of them up and then brings them to Dahobar.  They then were taken to the slave ship.

Chapter 5:     This chapter was the most emotional for me yet, and it might be the most emotional one in the whole book.  You never know.  
Obour and Phillis clutched to her mother.  They had marched for nearly a whole day tied next to each other.  There were twenty other men, women, and children with them.  The people who worked on the slave ship and the Captain came to shore in canoes.  The men were them separated from the women and the children.  They were told to take off their clothing.  The Captain checked them over to see if they were worth taking back to American with them.  He pushed some of the people aside that he didn't want, but not Phillis.  Dahobar made him take her.  Obour clung to Phillis, so she came to.  Phillis then fainted when she saw the men coming forth with the hot brand.  Her mother was holding her when she woke up and she was allowed to hold a cold cloth against the brand.  At that time, Phillis' mother took off her cowrie shell and put it around Phillis' neck.  She gave Phillis some advice, and then Phillis was taken in a canoe to the boat.  Her mother was still on shore.  She would come on the next canoe.  Phillis shouted to her mother, and then vomited.  Phillis then was put in the hold and was shackled down.  Obour and Phillis were the only children on the ship because they didn't want children, but Dahobar insisted that they come.  Phillis' mother only had 16 inches to sit in, and 2 and a half feet above her.  Phillis feels bad because the whole reason they are on this ship is because she disobeyed her father and mother.  She then is forced to eat what is given to her even though she is not hungry.  She makes a deal with the captain that if they both eat, the captain will leave them unshackled.  Also he was to leave them up on deck and not send them below.  Kunkle is a man who uses the "cat" also known as a whip to flog the slaves and other crew members if they disobeyed.  Phillis can tell that her mother is weak when she comes up to "dance."  One night, Phillis wakes up to her mother's voice screaming for her life.  Phillis wakes up Obour and she hears Kunkle saying, "Throw her overboard!"  Then they threw her overboard.  While all of this was going on, Phillis had run over to see what was happening.  She got there in time to see her mother clinging to the stern of the boat.  One of the crew members climbed down and started to chop at her hands.  Phillis' mother looses her grip and falls into the ocean.  That was the end of her mother.  Phillis would rather starve herself to death than live. :(  Finally she started to eat again.  She was treated much better.  Phillis got a new mat, and they got better food.  

Chapter 6:  They then were brought to a place where one of the people who worked for the person who owned the ship came and checked on the slaves.  All of them were cleaned up to look presentable for the auction.   Mr. Wheatley buys her and she is separated from Obour.  :(  She fell asleep in the carriage on the way back to the Wheatly's house.

Chapter 7:  She is brought to the Wheatley's household and is given as a personal slave to Mary.  This is where she gets her first impression of Nathaniel.  

Chapter 8:  Phillis refuses to dance for Mary in front of her friends like she had to do on the boat.  She gets slapped by Mary.  Phillis goes up to Nathaniel's room and falls asleep.  When Nathaniel gets back from school, she reads her first word.  He says that he will help her learn to read more.  

Chapter 9:  Mary gets in trouble for slapping Phillis.  Phillis is no longer her personal slave.

Chapter 10:  Nathaniel gets a tutor to help him with his work.  Phillis is allowed to sit in if she gets her work done.  Mary is also allowed to sit in with him.




Questions:  One of my questions was what is a chaise?  I found my answer on Wikipedia.  It is a type of carriage.  Another one of my questions was what does incredulity mean?  I found this answer on the dictionary from my desktop.  This word means unable to believe something.  One more question was why did John Hancock call the place a den of lions?  This is one that I have to take a guess on, but my guess is that it is a scary place.

Prediction:  My prediction was that Phillis would go into the house and say what she needed to say to prove that the poetry was hers.  I was wrong so far because she goes and tells about her life before she was a slave and while she was before she wrote the poetry.

Connection:  I have a connection to a part of the story where Nathaniel doesn't want to become a Minister or go to Harvard.  Some parents want their children to do this or go to this Collage, but the child wants to go somewhere else.  

The book that I choose is called "Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbon."  I choose this book because it was recommended to me by a friend.