Mai is 14 year old girl and is willows best friend and acts like. Listen to counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan at. Then select 5 quotations from the text that you feel reveals the character s personality. Counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan, paperback barnes. The setting of counting by 7s is mostly at willows counselor, dell dukes, apartment. The main characters in the book are willow, jimmy and roberta chance, mai, quangha, pattie, jairo and dell duke. Counting by sevens is how she relaxes it calms her mind. Praise for counting by 7s a graceful, meaningful tale featuring a cast of charming, wellrounded characters who learn sweetbut never cloyinglessons about resourcefulness, community, and true resilience in the face of loss. A school library journal best book of the year an e. Losing ones parents is never easy, and for 12yearold willow chance losing her adoptive parents in a car wreck is devastating. The 12yearold protagonist, willow chance, is a genius outsider whose parents are killed in a car crash as the book begins, but the accidents not described in graphic detail. Authors purpose interviewing holly sloan, author of counting by 7s making inferences reading reflection summarizing chapters setting in counting by 7s main idea all about willow chance character st. The central character in this book, willow chance, is a 12yearold with exceptional mental acuity.
Goodreads author topics about this book topics that mention this book. Putting myself in willows shoes, it mustve been really difficult for. Willow chance is a twelveyearold genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. Featured content includes commentary on major characters, 25 important. In a sea of great middlegrade books this year, counting by 7s is a standout. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasnt kept her from leading a.
Willow is an unforgettable character and her story will resonate with anyone who has suffered loss or change. Counting by 7s main character is willow chance, a little girl who has lost two sets of parents in her short life she never knew her blood parents. Willow finds out her parents have just been killed in an accident. There are many ways that you can use these resources. Characters willow chance a gifted twelve year old girl who lives in bakersfield, california who comes home one day and finds out her parents have been killed in a car crash. White read aloud honor book a dorothy canfield fisher childrens book award nominee a national public radio best book of the year praise for counting by 7s ha graceful, meaningful tale featuring a cast of charming, wellrounded characters who learn sweetbut never cloying. Maria semple, author of whered you go, bernadette holly goldberg sloan writes about belonging in a way ive never quite seen in any other book. Everything you need for a novel study on counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan. The book counting by 7s is about willow, who lost her parents twice and is now trying to find a home where she will be loved. In the tradition of out of my mind, wonder, and mockingbird, this is an intensely moving middle grade novel about being an outsider, coping with loss, and discovering the true meaning of family.
Counting by 7s is a childrens novel about loss, grief, family, and perseverance. The mother of two sons, holly lives with her husband in santa monica, california. You can copy as an entire packet or you can copy pages individually. Counting by 7s is holly goldberg sloans first middlegrade novel, published in 20. Counting by 7s is a delightful, powerful, and beautifully written book that i cant forget and want to give to everyone around me.
With these characters ages running the gamut from 12 to high school to mid30s and their voices included in a concurrent thirdperson narration along with willows precise, unemotional firstperson narration, readers may well have a hard time engaging. It is through nature and gardening that willow is able to find herself once again after the death of her parents. This is a gorgeous, funny, and heartwarming novel that ill never forget. She finds comfort in counting by sevens and doesnt fit in with the other kids. I instantly fell in love with the main character, willow.
But when her parents are killed in a tragic accident. Patty is a single mom from vietnam and she runs a nail salon. The book counting by 7s charts willows journey through her grief to the realization that her life will go on. But a variety of characters come into her life that help her navigate the difficult. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Character interview select a character from the novel and interview herhim. You must explain what each quotationsentence tells you about the character. Willow is an unforgettable character and her story will resonate with anyone who. Dell duke, her counselor at sequoia, believes she is a genius. Counting by 7s is the story of willow chance, a gifted twelveyearold who must move. The book is about finding friendship and finding yourself. Mai nguyen kind, sweet and caring for others not just herself. This is another book with a lot of strong female characters. Fascinating and unfamiliar characters drive this story of love. Learn about 6 different elements of fiction in the story. She is a 12yearold who has been categorized as highlygifted by educational counselors in her grade school. This is where she pretends to be living with the people who want to adopt her the nguyen family pattie, mai, and quangha. She learns to move forward with the help of unique friends and her love of soil and plants. How she deals with this tragedy is what makes willow an amazing character.
In a sea of great middlegrade books this year, counting by 7s is a. This can be for a small book club, or for the whole class. The secondary characters are interesting and welldrawn. Ask your character at least 5 questions and be sure to provide welldeveloped answers. Includes the following graphic organizers for counting by 7s. Willow doesnt care what other people really think of her. She is a 12yearold who has been categorized as highlygifted. In the book willow finds comfort in books, counting in 7s, and gardening.
As much as this mustve seemed like more of a childrens book, it was exceptionally really, really good. Willow battles her self in trying to readjust to the world after her parents are killed. Counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan no spoilers. The novel is set in presentday bakersfield, california, which sloan says is emblematic of the characters, in the sense that it is often. This study guide consists of approximately 71 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of counting by 7s. Instead of just being simple and humorous, counting by 7s brought something else to the table. She loves gardening, studying about everything and counting by 7s. This 44page guide for counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan includes detailed. Counting by 7s willow chance is a twelveyearold genius, obsessed with nature and diag nosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. Counting by 7s is the story of willow chance, a twelveyearold girl who has been identified at an early age as gifted. Willow lives in bakersfield, california and comes home from school one day to the news that her parents have been killed in a traffic accident. Holly goldberg sloans quirky characters nestle into your heart and stay there, particularly 12yearold willow chance. The nguyens actually live in a rundown garage in an alley behind their moms nail shop. Counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan is a heartwarming story about a girl who is different and loses everything.
Powered by create your own unique website with customizable templates. She also loves plants and diagnosing medical conditions. Home characters conflict plot setting theme symbolism quiz think counting by 7s written by. While child care is trying to find willow foster parents she stays with her friend mai nguyen and her brother quangha nguyen. The three member of the nguyen are patty, quangha, and mai. Rather than most of the other books ive read which often value comedy over quality, this book had a riveting plot line and well developed characters. A gruff old woman who lives in the country changes the lives and character of her grandchildren who visit from the city and the books are funny. You must also tell which page the quotationsentence came from. Here is something interesting about each character. As willow heals, she regains her delight in counting by sevens. Created as a part of inls 530 at the university of north carolina at chapel hill. John corey whaley, author of where things come back. Counting by 7s, her first middlegrade novel, was a new york times bestseller. Willow loves medical issues, plants and the color red.
Jonah hernandez throughout the story their are 2 main conflicts including, character vs self and character vs world. After graduating from wellesley college and spending some time as an advertising copywriter, she began writing family feature films, including angels in the outfield and made in america. This heartbreaking story is filled with laughter, hope, and light. Counting by 7s holly goldberg sloan character traits reading this is a character map for willow from the heartwarming story, counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan students get to complete the chart by thinking about important things willow did, what might represent her, what is the theme of. Willow chance was adopted at birth by loving parents in bakersfield, california. Home characters conflict plot setting theme symbolism quiz think characters. While i do think it would serve as a perfectly solid subject for a study on character development, freytags pyramid, textual evidence of all stripes, and narrative writing, i also think it is one of those books that people just love to read, period. A new york times bestseller, this contemporary story draws upon themes relevant to sloans own life.
Counting by 7s is an inspiring book with a great, unique voice. These questions can help guide your students through a discussion on this novels plot, structure, and themes. Parents need to know that counting by 7s is an exceptional novel that deals with a death and grief. Counting by 7s is just a really good read, a character driven book that also happens to have a compelling plot line. If you happen to be building a library or collection of books with strong female characters, this one would.
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