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Welcome to Kids Chapter Check-Ins, a space where we pause, think, talk, and write about great books together. Books are better together. So grab your book and let's check in. Hey readers, welcome back. Today we're checking in on Because of Wendixie by Kate DiCamillo. This is episode three of our Because of Wendixie series. Before we get started, make sure that you've read chapters 9 through 13. If not, you can pause the episode, read those chapters, and come right back. It might be helpful to have your book and some paper handy for this episode. If you're following along with your companion pack, now is a great time to grab that as well. Take a moment to gather your materials if you need to. Ready? Let's check in. In chapters 9 through 13, Opal continues to meet new people because of Wendyxie. First, Wendixie leads Opal to Gloria Dump. At first, Opal isn't quite sure what to think about Gloria, especially after hearing the Dewberry boys call her a witch. But once Opal actually talks to Gloria, she realizes that Gloria isn't scary at all. Gloria listens as Opal tells her about the people she has met and all the things that have been on her mind. We also learn more about Otis, the man who works at Gertrude's pets. Opal discovers that Otis has an amazing way with animals. When he plays his guitar, the animals become quiet and they listen to his music. And we learn something important about Win Dixie too. He has a terrible fear of thunderstorms. When a storm rolls in, Opal sees just how scared Win Dixie can become. As Opal gets to know the people around her, she's discovering that first impressions don't always tell the whole story. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. In today's reading, we hear the word pathological. Pathological is an adjective and it's used to describe something that is extremely strong or difficult to control. In the story, the preacher explains that Wendixie has a pathological fear of thunderstorms. That means that Wendixie isn't just a little bit nervous when he hears thunder, his fear is so strong that he can't control the way that he reacts. Now let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word pathological. Listen to each one and answer yes or no. You can answer out loud or in your head. Are you ready? If someone has a pathological fear of spiders, could they become extremely upset when they see one? If you dislike broccoli, but you can still eat it when it's on your plate, would that be considered a pathological fear of broccoli?

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Is Win Dixie's fear of thunderstorm stronger than an ordinary dislike or worry?

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If you said yes, no, yes, great thinking. And readers, I want you to tuck this detail about Win Dixie away in your brain. Authors sometimes give us a detail early in the story that becomes important later on. It's called foreshadowing. We'll have to keep reading to find out if Win Dixie's fear of thunderstorms comes up again. It's time for our reading focus. Today we're going to practice inferencing. An inference is an important idea that a reader figures out even though the author doesn't tell us the answer directly. When we make an inference, we combine clues from the story with what we already know in our brain. And we do this to figure something out. You actually make inferences all the time, even when you're not reading. Imagine that you walk into the kitchen and you see an empty cookie package on the counter. Your little brother has chocolate around his mouth. Nobody tells you what happened, but I bet you can make an inference. You would probably infer that your brother ate the cookies. You use the clues you could see and what you already know to figure out something that wasn't directly stated. Authors expect us to do the same thing when we're reading. And chapters 9 through 13 give us lots of opportunities to make inferences. So today we're going to become inference detectives. I'm going to give you some clues from the story, and your job is to put the clues together to make an inference. Are you ready? Let's get started with case number one, Gloria Dump. The Dewberry Boys tell Opal that Gloria is a witch, but when Opal actually meets Gloria, she listens carefully to her. She invites her into her yard, and she talks with her about the things that are bothering her.

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So based on those clues, what do you infer about Gloria? Maybe you inferred that Gloria is kind, or caring, or a good listener.

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The author doesn't have to say Gloria Dump was a caring person because Gloria's actions gave you those clues. Let's move on to case number two, Otis. When Otis takes out his guitar and starts to play, all of the animals in Gertrude's pet stop what they're doing. They become quiet and they listen to him. So what does this tell us about Otis?

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What might you infer about Otis?

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Maybe you inferred that Otis is talented with music or that he has a special connection with animals. Again, we're using clues to figure out something that the author doesn't directly tell us. Alright, here is our final case. Case number three, all about Opal. Opal keeps talking to people that other kids might just ignore or even make judgments about. She talks to Miss Franny, Gloria Dump, and Otis. So what might that tell you about Opal? Maybe you made an inference that Opal is open-minded, or friendly, or trusting, or just willing to give people a chance. And you may have come up with a completely different inference altogether, and that's okay. Just like we learned with character traits, good readers can sometimes come to different conclusions. The important part is being able to point to clues from the story that support your thinking. Grab a piece of paper if you can, or find a thinking partner. In these chapters, we see Otis do something pretty amazing. When he plays the guitar, all of the animals at Gertrude's Pets shop stop what they're doing and they listen. So now imagine that you are in charge of entertaining the animals at Gertrude's pets. What would you do? Maybe you would sing a song, or perform a magic trick, or tell a joke, maybe you'd dance or juggle or do a cool sports trick? Maybe you have a completely different idea for a hidden talent that you have. Think about what you could do to keep an entire pet store full of animals entertained. Then imagine how your animal audience would react. Would the dogs cheer? Would the birds sing along? Would the rabbits be impressed? Or would one of the animals completely interrupt your performance? You could draw yourself performing your talent, you could create a poster for your show, you could write a paragraph of what might happen, or just share out your thinking with someone nearby. The stage is yours. Pause the podcast here and get creative. We've met quite a few interesting people here in Naomi, Florida. I'm going to give you four characters. Your job is to rank them from the person you would most want as your neighbor to the person you would least want as your neighbor. So the one that you give that number one spot to, you are saying, I really want them to be my neighbor. And the person who you might give the number four spot to, that's the person that you really hope does not move into your neighborhood. Ready? Your choices are Gloria Dump, Miss Franny Block, Otis, and Sweetie Pie Thomas. So think about it. Who's going to get that number one spot? Who do you want to live right next door? And who's going to come in fourth place? There's no correct order here, but here's the challenge. Once you've made that ranking, defend your number one choice. Why would that character make the best neighbor? Think about your answer in your head, write down your ranking, or debate it out with someone nearby. Before we end today's check-in, here's something to think about as you keep reading. We've learned that several characters in this story aren't exactly what they first seem. Who are you most curious to learn more about? And what do you want to find out about them? Keep that question in mind as you read the next section of the story. Thanks for checking in with me today. I'll see you back here soon for episode four, where we check in on chapters 14 through 17 of Because of Windixie. That's it for today's chapter check-in. If you'd like additional support, check out the link to our companion packs in the show notes below. If you're enjoying Kids Chapter Check-Ins, make sure to follow and subscribe so you don't miss an episode. New chapter check-ins are released weekly. I'll see you back here soon. Until then, keep reading, keep thinking, and be sure to share this episode with a friend because books are better together.