Black Boy Joy: List 2

by Kwame Mbalia, Jerry Craft, Jason Reynolds
In this collection of stories from seventeen authors, in settings ranging from Atlanta to outer space, the joys of growing up are emphasized in the experiences of Black boys from ages nine to thirteen.

This list covers “The Legendary Lawrence Cobbler” by Julian Winters, “First-Day Fly” by Jason Reynolds, “Got Me a Jet Pack” by Don P. Hooper, and “Extinct” by Dean Atta.

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. obsessed
    having excessive or compulsive concern with something
    It’s one of the reasons I’m learning this new recipe—Dad and I are obsessed with peanut butter cookies.
  2. cobbler
    a pie made of fruit with rich biscuit dough on top
    G’Ma is coming over to teach Dad and me how to make the Lawrence family peach cobbler.
  3. obstetrician
    a physician specializing in childbirth
    Mom’s busy a lot, being an obstetrician. Turns out a ton of babies are born on weekends or weird hours of the night.
  4. scrawny
    being very thin
    Dad’s super tall, all big shoulders and even bigger leg muscles.
    I kind of have his height thing going on. And his dark brown skin. But I’m scrawny, with Mom’s tangly curls.
  5. gospel
    a genre of evangelical Christian music
    “I know, Junior. But I was listening to my praise and worship and couldn’t be bothered.”
    “It’s not even Sunday, Ma.”
    “So! Every day is a great day for gospel music.”
  6. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    G’Ma struts inside, arms filled with shopping bags.
  7. orientation
    a course introducing a new situation or environment
    It’s a French cooking phrase for prepping our ingredients that Mr. Conrad taught us at the competition orientation.
  8. zest
    the outer part of the peel of a citrus fruit, used as flavoring
    He gives me measurements for the vanilla and lemon zest too while G’Ma tosses it all in the pan.
  9. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    Then I ramble about the other finalists: Farha, an eighth grader whose desserts are as pretty as the hijabs she wears every day to school. Eliana, a sixth grader who killed it with her chocolate tacos in the first round.
  10. ruffle
    disturb the smoothness of
    “Making friends with the enemy?” she teases, ruffling my hair.
  11. hypotenuse
    the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
    How were you supposed to hear anything Mrs. Montgomery had to say about triangles and diameters and whatever a hypotenuse is when your sneakers are practically bleeding to death?
  12. protractor
    drafting instrument used to draw or measure angles
    I mean, can’t she see what kind of stress you’re under, dealing with such an emergency while also trying to figure out how to use a protractor (who knows how to use a protractor?) and then the rush of hallelujah that comes over you once you realize the protractor is the answer to really scraping the leather clean (that’s how you use a protractor).
  13. immature
    childish in behavior or emotional development
    So Mrs. Montgomery sends you to the principal’s office. Again. And everybody moos like cows because they’re all immature.
  14. starch
    stiffen textile fabrics in laundering
    Can turn wrinkled fabric into something like thinly sliced pieces of wood. She knows how to steam and starch a thing to life.
  15. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    You set it flat and press the iron to it and push the button that triggers the steam, causing it to billow out like the ghosts of wrinkles being set free.
  16. dread
    be afraid or scared of
    I walk to the back door, head down, dreading the one thing I hate most. Lectures.
  17. fritter
    fried batter containing meat, vegetables, or fruit
    I can’t remember the last time I was inside her house, but the table is filled with grater cakes, gizzada, codfish fritters, sweet plantain, and fried fish.
  18. plantain
    starchy banana-like fruit
    I can’t remember the last time I was inside her house, but the table is filled with grater cakes, gizzada, codfish fritters, sweet plantain, and fried fish.
  19. spectrum
    an ordered array of the components of an emission or wave
    She pulls out a large crystal that begins reflecting every color of the spectrum.
  20. pulsate
    produce or modulate in the form of short bursts
    Every few moments the ship makes a gentle booming sound, like a wave crashing against the beach. There is a pulsating flash and we’re in a different part of space.
  21. spire
    a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building
    We touch down in the middle of a sapphire canyon with blue rock spires that shimmer into the red mist sky.
  22. translucent
    allowing light to pass through diffusely
    I pull the hood over my head and a light washes over my face like a translucent oxygen mask.
  23. yurt
    a circular domed dwelling that is portable
    Ms. Wallace walks me over to a yurt that has these retro convertible cars on either side with no wheels. The flap of the yurt opens up and I’m engulfed in Mom’s hug.
  24. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    Mom kisses me on the forehead, seeing the apprehension engraved on my face.
  25. empathy
    understanding and entering into another's feelings
    “They’re speaking Trilarkian. Empathy drives the hoodie. You just have to want to understand their language, and you’ll understand it and speak it.”
  26. ambassador
    a diplomat of the highest rank
    “The story about how your dad saved the Trilark ambassador from Preems moon internment camp is legendary.”
  27. internment
    the act of confining someone in a prison
    “The story about how your dad saved the Trilark ambassador from Preems moon internment camp is legendary.”
  28. usher
    accompany or escort
    Kaz and Turin usher me over to the starting line.
  29. offspring
    the immediate descendants of a person or organism
    “So, you’re Action’s offspring?”
    “Who?” I ask.
    “That’s right,” Kaz jumps in. “This is Action Clarke’s son, top Sundasher on Earth, second only to Action. Metalloids got nothing on him.”
  30. variable
    a quantity that can assume any of a set of values
    It’s just like one of the equations we work on at home. In algebra, you solve for a missing variable.
  31. exhilaration
    the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
    My chest is pounding, my body is on fire from the speed and exhilaration.
  32. radar
    measuring instrument using pulses of microwave radiation
    But my hoodie is alerting me to the movements, like radar interacting with my skin.
  33. vein
    a blood vessel that carries blood toward the heart
    A surge of energy gushes through my veins that I’ve never felt before.
  34. aerial
    existing, living, growing, or operating in the air
    “Woo-hoo!” I scream, hearing the announcement, doing aerial somersaults.
  35. savor
    derive or receive pleasure from
    I savor this moment in the sky, taking in the eucalyptus-scented air, letting the thrill wash over me as I wave to everyone.
  36. descend
    move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    Then I descend into their embrace.
  37. confirm
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
    Dodos are extinct, which means there are no more of them alive, anywhere. The last confirmed sighting of a dodo was in 1662, which is three hundred and fifty-nine years ago.
  38. junction
    the place where two or more things come together
    T is waiting at the junction.
  39. upright
    in a vertical position; not sloping
    “That’s a great idea,” says T
    as she sets my bike upright.
  40. feisty
    showing spirit and courage
    But Dad says the best parts
    of you are in T and me:
    your feistiness and your empathy.
Created on Thu Nov 02 15:18:15 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Nov 03 17:04:45 EDT 2023)

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