Puppy Tales 07 - Lily's Story
Page 13
3. How Can You Help?
Animal shelters often have minimum age requirements for on-site volunteers, but there are lots of ways you and your child can support the important work shelters do to help homeless, hurt, and abandoned animals. Together with your child, do online research to find out about local shelters or rescue organizations in your area, then contact or visit the shelters to see if you and your child can make animal treats, toys, or blankets to donate to the pets at the shelter.
Reading Lily’s Story: A Puppy Tale in Your Classroom
These Common Core-aligned writing activities may be used in conjunction with the pre- and post-reading discussion questions above.
1. Point of View
Lily has an earnest, friendly voice as the story’s narrator. Looking at the world through her “furry filter” offers a curious, humorous puppy point of view. Ask students to pick a key scene from the story and write 2–3 paragraphs using the point of view of another animal or human character (such as Freddie the Ferret, Sammy the Squirrel, one of Lily’s brothers; or, Maggie Rose, shelter worker Amelia, or one of Maggie Rose’s parents or brothers). Remind students to consider how author W. Bruce Cameron uses humor, details, and sensory-rich description to make Lily’s voice authentic and unique, as they develop a believable, compelling voice for the character they select.
2. Fingerprints and Paw Prints
From the outset of the story, author W. Bruce Cameron highlights similarities between human and puppy protagonists Maggie Rose and Lily. Invite your students to identify and explore, in a one-page essay, parallels that can be drawn between these two characters. Students should include relevant examples, quotes, and details from the text, and make inferences from characters’ dialogue, actions, or interactions. (Students might consider aspects such as, the characters’ roles in their families; interactions with siblings; feelings about their size and status; special connection with each other; the desire and ability to help animals; ways they contribute at the shelter.)
3. Text Type: Opinion Piece
Maggie Rose wants to adopt Lily from the animal shelter, but her mom says no, telling Maggie Rose: “one of the first things I did when I started working here was to make a strict rule. Staff and volunteers can’t adopt any animals from this shelter at all.” Do you agree or disagree with this rule? Why? If you were president of an animal shelter, would you have this rule at your shelter or not? Ask students to explain and defend their opinion in a one-page essay. Invite them to use evidence from the text, or additional research (if needed) to support their position.
4. Text Type: Narrative
Ask students to write 1–3 pages in the voice of Lily’s mother, telling the story of how this mama pit bull and her puppies come to the shelter. Draw on details from the text, and your imagination, to describe what it was like to keep your puppies safe before being rescued. Where were you living before you came to the shelter? What was it like to arrive at, and adjust to, the shelter? How did you feel about interacting with shelter workers and volunteers for the first time, and seeing them interact with your puppies? What were you thinking, feeling, seeing, smelling, hearing, and tasting in this new environment? How did it make you feel when visitors started coming to meet, and adopt, your puppies? How did it feel to get adopted yourself, and have to leave Lily alone in the kennel?
5. Research & Present: This Is Pit!
The main character in Lily’s Story: A Puppy Tale is loyal, loving rescue pup Lily. Her father is an unknown breed and her mother is a pit bull. Pit bulls are a type of dog, not a specific breed. The term pit bull can apply to a range of purebred and mixed breed dogs, such as the Staffordshire bull terrier, American pit bull terrier (APBT), American Bulldog, or American Staffordshire terrier. Invite students to do online and library research into one of these breeds or mixed breeds, or an aspect of pit bull-type dogs, such as history, (including involvement in bear and bull baiting and dog fighting), physical attributes and temperament, negative media attention, breed-specific legislation, or positive public relations efforts, such as the National Pit Bull Awareness Campaign. (HINT: Check out www.blessthebullys.com). Have students present their findings in a PowerPoint or other multimedia style presentation.
6. Research & Present: Animal Rescue Work
In Lily’s Story: A Dog’s Puppy Tale, readers learn about careers in the area of animal rescue. Maggie Rose’s mother is the president of an animal shelter, while her father is a game warden. Have students work in pairs or small groups, to research a specific job in animal welfare and rescue (such as Conservation Officer, Environmental Scientist, Ecologist, Fisheries Technician, Park Ranger, Wildlife Biologist, Animal Shelter Manager, Pet Adoption Counselor, or Veterinary Technician). (HINT: Check out gamewarden.org, or animalhumanesociety.org for more animal-related career options and information.) Have students organize and present their research findings in an oral presentation, supported by colorful visual and written aids.
Supports English Language Arts Common Core Writing Standards: W.3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.7; W.4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.7; W.5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.7; W.6.2, 6.3, 6.7; W.7.2, 7.3, 7.7
Also by
W. Bruce Cameron
Bailey’s Story
Ellie’s Story
Max’s Story
Molly’s Story
Shelby’s Story
Toby’s Story
About the Author
W. BRUCE CAMERON is the New York Times bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Journey, A Dog’s Way Home, and the young-reader novels Ellie’s Story, Bailey’s Story, Molly’s Story, Max’s Story, Shelby’s Story, and Toby’s Story. He lives in California. You can sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
Tom Doherty Associates ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
LILY’S STORY
Copyright © 2019 by W. Bruce Cameron
Reading and Activity Guide copyright © 2019 by Tor Books
Illustrations © 2019 by Richard Cowdrey
All rights reserved.
Cover photograph by Nitikorn Poonsiri (Dog) and Oxfordsquare (Box)/Shutterstock.com
A Starscape Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.tor-forge.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-21351-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-21350-1 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250213501
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: October 2019
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Reading & Activity Guide to Lily’s Story: A Puppy T
ale
Also by W. Bruce Cameron
About the Author
Copyright