Illustrated by Michael J. Deraney

Passage #1 (Page 3, indented)

This is a descriptive passage because it gives details of how the children taunted Molly.

Jol-ly Mol-ly,

Your eyes are awf’ly small.

Jol-ly Mol-ly,

Your nose is awf’ly tall.

* How do you think this song made Molly feel?

I think she knew she did not belong. She looked different and felt different and the others were just reminding her of it with the song. I think Molly is like all children, deep down they want to fit in and have friends. It is harder when you are different from everyone else, especially if they are not willing to get over it. Molly was in turmoil about the situation with the girls at school teasing her.

* What does the author add to the story by having the song written in?

She adds a visual picture of the girls teasing Molly out on the playground. She could of done with out it, but it adds much more life to the story by putting it in, instead of just saying that the girls teased her out on the playground.

Passage #2 (Page 10, Paragraph 3, Sentence 4)

This is a surprising passage because the reader would think that Molly would want the teasing to stop.

“I didn’t want Miss Stickley or Elizabeth to see mama.”

* Why do you think Molly did not want the others seeing her mother?

I believe it was because Molly wanted to fit in and she knew that she was so different from the others in Winter Hill. Her mother was not like the other mothers in town and she was afraid that if they saw her mother the teasing would just get worse for her, and maybe her family. She may have even been embarrassed of her own culture because it was so different from the American culture she was learning about. She also might have thought that Miss Stickley may put her mother on the spot to tell about something that she did not know, and that would mortify her.

Passage #3 (Page 11, Paragraph 5)

This is a important passage because it tells us as a reader that Molly knows very little about American holidays and traditions.

“Thanksgiving?” I repeated. “Thanksgiving? What’s Thanksgiving?”

* Did you think it was strange that Molly did not know what Thanksgiving was? Why?

I thought it was strange at first but then I realized that she has holidays that we do not celebrate and we do not know about. If we went to Russia and read about a holiday there, we would be confused, just as she was when she read about Thanksgiving. I think it is important for us all to remember that not everyone is alike and that Molly and her family could be our next-door neighbors. It is our job to tell them about our holidays and maybe invite them over for a meal to celebrate, not just expect them to find out on their own and wonder why they are so weird because they do not celebrate certain holidays. If they chose not to celebrate that is ok too because freedom is what America is all about.

Passage #4 (Page 17, Paragraph 3, Sentence 2,3, &4)

This is an interesting passage because it is not what most of us think of when we think of the word pilgrim.

“A pilgrim is someone who comes here from the other side to find freedom. That’s me, Molly. I’m a Pilgrim!”

* Before you read the rest of the story did you think that Molly’s mom had the right definition of what a pilgrim is?

It sounded good to me but I was not sure how her daughter’s teacher and fellow students were going to react when they saw her pilgrim doll. She looked nothing like the pilgrims we talk about each year at Thanksgiving time. Molly and her mother gave me a broader perspective of Thanksgiving in America for all the pilgrims that are still fleeing their native countries coming here to find freedom. I love Molly’s mother’s definition of pilgrim and will use it in the future.