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 four of our Because of Wendixie series. Before we get started, make sure that you've read chapters 14 through 17. 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 14 through 17, Opal continues learning more about the people in her new community. Gloria shows Opal the unusual tree in her backyard, and she explains the story behind the bottles that are hanging from its branches. Opal learns that Gloria has made lots of mistakes in her past, and Gloria reminds her that you can't always judge someone by what they've done before. Opal also learns something surprising about Otis. The Dewberry boys tell her that Otis has been in jail. At first, Opal isn't quite sure what to think about that new information. And meanwhile, Opal spends lots of time with the people she's met because of Wendyxie, and she begins to see that everyone has a story, and sometimes there's much more to a person than what we see at first. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. In today's reading, we hear the word ignorant. Ignorant is an adjective that means not knowing or understanding something. Sometimes people think that the word ignorant just means someone who's being rude or mean. But really, it means that someone doesn't know or doesn't understand something. For example, imagine someone says, I've never heard of that game before. I don't know how to play that. That person is ignorant about the rules of the game. They simply just haven't learned them yet. Or maybe you've never learned to play the violin. That means you might be ignorant about how to play it. It doesn't mean you're not smart, it just means there's something you don't know yet. Now let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word ignorant. Listen to each one and answer yes or no. You can answer out loud or in your head. Are you ready? If you've never learned to play chess, could you be ignorant about how to play? If you know everything there is to know about taking care of a dog, are you ignorant about dog care? If someone makes a judgment without knowing the whole story, could they be ignorant about some important information? If you said yes, no, yes, great thinking. Point of view is the perspective from which a story is told. You can think about point of view like looking through a pair of glasses. The person wearing the glasses sees everything from their perspective. And then because of Wendixie, whose glasses are we wearing? Opal's. Opal is telling us the story. So we hear what Opal thinks. We know what Opal notices, and we know how Opal feels. But here's the interesting part. The other characters might experience the same event very differently. Imagine two kids are outside when suddenly it starts to pour rain. One kid might love to jump in puddles, and the other kid was about to leave the house to go play a soccer game. It's the same rainstorm, but there's two very different perspectives. The first kid might say, This is the best afternoon ever. And the second kid might say, Oh, this rain ruined everything. That's the power of point of view. I also think about point of view when it comes to that first scene in the novel of Win Dixie in the grocery store. I think about the difference in point of view between the store manager and Win Dixie the dog. I think about the store manager thinking, oh my goodness, this dog is ruining everything. He's getting into the produce. This is disgusting. The customers are gonna be so mad. And on the other hand, I picture Win Dixie the dog saying, Wow, this is the best day ever. Look at all this food. It's so bright and colorful. There's so many people. It's the same store, it's the same event, but two different characters are seeing it very differently. Let's practice this skill with a quick little game called Whose View. I'll describe a thought about something that's happened in the story, and I want you to decide which character would be most likely to think that. Are you ready? Here's round one. You're trying to figure out who is going to be thinking this. Win Dixie is a wonderful dog, but he really needs to learn how to behave in church. Who do you think would be most likely to think that? Do you think it would be Opal or the Preacher? I think I'd choose the preacher for this one, because Opal loves Win Dixie's silliness. And the preacher, he might be a little bit more concerned about keeping things under control in the church. Alright, round two. Those Dewberry boys need to stop bothering Opal and give her a chance. Who do you think would be more likely to think this way? Do you think it would be Gloria or Stevie Dewberry? Probably Gloria, because her experiences with Opal would give her a very different perspective than Stevie's. She spent a lot of time with her and she's really started to get to know her. Alright, last one. Round three. People shouldn't decide who Otis is just because of something he did in the past. Who might be more likely to agree with that statement? Do you think Gloria would agree with it? Or one of the Dewberry Boys? I choose Gloria for this one because based on what we've read and learned about Gloria's past, she understands that a person can make a mistake in the past and can create a whole different future for themselves. Here's the important thing. When we think about another character's point of view, we have to use what we know about that character. We can't just make up how they would feel. We have to use their experiences, their words, their actions, and their personality to help us to imagine how they might see that situation. I bet you noticed that I always use the word because when I was explaining my answer. And the reason for that is because I want to show you that my thinking and my answers is coming from the text. So what's one part of the story that you might wish you could hear from someone else's point of view? Is there a scene or a chapter that you heard from Opal's point of view that you wish you could hear from someone else's? You could jot it down or just talk about it with someone nearby. It's your turn to jump into the story. Grab a piece of paper if you can, or find a thinking partner. In these chapters, Gloria shows Opal her bottle tree. The bottles that are hanging from the branches remind Gloria of things from her past. Today we're going to take inspiration from Gloria's tree, but we're going to create something a little bit different. You're going to design your own memory tree. Instead of focusing on mistakes, I want you to think about memories and experiences that have helped to make you who you are. Then think of objects or symbols that could represent those memories. Maybe you'd hang a tiny soccer ball on your tree to represent the first goal you ever scored. Or maybe you'd add a seashell from a favorite trip to the beach. Maybe you'd hang a tiny book to represent a story that you'll always remember. Or maybe you'd include something that reminds you of a funny moment with your family or friends. Draw your tree and fill its branches with objects or symbols that represent memories that are important to you. Your memories don't have to be huge, life-changing moments. They can be things that are happy, funny, exciting, silly, or simply just things that you never want to forget. You could label your objects, you could write a sentence explaining each one, or you could simply let your pictures tell the story. And if you don't have paper nearby, tell someone near you what you would put on your memory tree. Pause the podcast here and get creative. It's time to talk about it. And today we're playing Who Would Win? Not in a fight. Today's challenge is who would win a contest for being the best at cheering someone up? Your choices are Opal, Wendyxie, Gloria, or Sweetie Pie. So think about what you know about each character. Who are you choosing? Who would be the best person to cheer someone up? What have they said or done in the story that makes you choose them? Think about your answer in your head or talk it out with someone nearby. Before we end today's check-in, here's something to think about as you keep reading. Which character do you understand differently now than when you first met them? Maybe you've learned something that changed your opinion of Otis. Or maybe you're seeing Gloria differently now. Maybe there's another character that has surprised you. Think about how your perspective on that character has changed and why. Keep this 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 5, where we check in on chapters 18 through 22 of Because of Wind Dixie. 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.