'Willodeen' Book Club Read-Along Day 2!

By: OwlCrate Jr Photo By: @a.o.tales

"It's best for all concerned if you simply go ahead and be what you're meant to be. Saves valuable time."

Welcome back friends, to Day 2 of our book club read-along for OwlCrate Jr's September book, Willodeen by Katherine Applegate! 

Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER FILLED discussion for Chapters 16-27 of Willodeen.

Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box! We’ll be selecting three winners this time around, so make sure you join in for each post!


The story so far...

Together Connor and Willodeen head to the town hall for the council meeting. Willodeen really does not want to attend, but refuses to let Connor see she might be afraid. In the meeting the adults squabble over who is responsible for the missing hummingbears and climate change that is hurting the town. A townsperson, Otwel, suggests that they raise the bounty on “pests” (like screechers) to tide people over while the going is toughonly someone points out that there aren’t any screechers left to hunt. Someone yells “and whose fault is that?and that someone is Willodeen.

An angry Willodeen tells the townspeople that maybe the problem isn’t nature but them! They’re changing things without thinking of the consequences. She storms out of the building, hoping Connor will follow, but he does not. She slams the door as loud as she can.

Willodeen cries with her screecher puzzler under the lone blue willow in the town square. She slips the screecher back into her pocket and on the town square carousel she takes off her jacket and pretends to ride one of the figures to clear her head. When she gets home later she realizes she forgot her jacket and when she goes to get it, it’s still there, and the screecher is toobut it’s very much alive!

The screecher sees an animal coming towards her. She doesn’t know whether to flee or hide but she emits a fearful smell. She wonders if this is what it feels like to be alive?

Willodeen can’t believe her eyes. Where did the baby screecher come from? It couldn’t possibly be the puzzler screecher made real... Deciding to not think about that for now, Willodeen knows that she needs to get the screecher out of the town before the hunters find her. Grabbing her jacket and approaching cautiously, Willoden pounces on the screecher trapping her under the jacket! Willodeen tries to stealthily weave through the town while she figures out what to do with the creature, but Connor sees her. He tries to apologize for not speaking up for her in the meeting, but just then the screecher decides enough is enough, wiggles free from Willodeen’s coat and runs away!

Willodeen and Connor follow in pursuit, eventually catching the poor confused baby. Connor notices the sweetgrass tied around its neck, just like the sweetgrass that he had tied around the puzzler he gave to Willodeen. Willodeen suggests they go to Birdie and Mae for advice.

Mae and Birdie aren’t surprised to find themselves in the possession of a new baby screecher, and when Connor and Willodeen relay the story of what happened they have no doubt in their mind that Willodeen’s angry tears are what cause this magic to happen. Connor needs to go home, but before leaving he suggests they name her Quinby.

No matter what they try, they can’t get the baby to eat, so as the resident screecher expert (more so than anyone else, that is) Willodeen takes it upon herself to go foraging for things Quinby might like. While out she is spotted by Connor and his father and she reluctantly joins them. They’re surveying the land that the railroad will soon be built on, moving it closer to the town. The railroads pose a fire risk, but they’re also what bring the tourists that attend the Faire.

Back at home Quinby is finally pleased by something Willodeen has brought her: peacock snails! She gobbles them up in no time. Willodeen feels bad for the snails, but that’s the way nature works. That night she sleeps contentedly beside the snoring Duuzuu and Quinby.

Quinby wakes in the night in her nest reflecting on what she knows of herself so far...

 

Only one more section to go! Don't forget to answer the discussion questions for your chance to win a free OwlCrate Jr box!


Questions:

  1. What do you think makes angry tears magical? What else do you think they can do?
  2. What do you think the townspeople could do to bring the hummingbears back?
  3. Which of the things that Willodeen tries to get Quinby to eat do you think would taste the best?
  4. How do you predict the book is going to end?

See you again on Sunday as we discuss the final section of the book!

Pick up your September 'Creature Communities' box and your signed exclusive copy of Willodeen in the OwlCrate Jr Shop!