Strange Birds: Chapters 10–20

by Celia C. Pérez
When twelve-year-old Purslane DiSanti visits her grandmother in Florida for the summer, she sends out invitations for a secret Scout troop, who decide that their first mission is raising awareness about how the desire for feathered hats harms birds.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–20, Chapters 21–29, Chapters 30–40
40 words 4 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. roost
    a perch on which birds or bats rest or sleep
    Eunice turned her pointy face away from the group, as if she knew they were talking about her and didn’t appreciate it, before flying down from her roost.
  2. duly
    in an appropriate or proper manner
    “A peahen, huh,” Lane said. “Duly noted.”
  3. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    “But these are definitely ladyfingers,” the girl rambled on, taking a cookie. “Because there’s no such thing as gentlemen’s fingers. That was just my grandpa’s joke.”
  4. perplexed
    full of difficulty or confusion or bewilderment
    “What’s a flambé?” Ofelia asked. Lane watched Mrs. Castillo’s daughter write something in her notebook.
    “It’s when you set a dessert on fire,” Lane answered.
    “Why would you set a dessert on fire?” Cat asked, looking perplexed.
  5. caramelize
    heat so as to make brown and sweet
    It’s when you caramelize sugar on top of a dessert. You warm a liquor and then you pour it over the dessert. Then you set it on fire.
  6. pathogen
    any disease-producing agent
    “Have you ever heard of blood-borne pathogens?” Aster asked, with a raised eyebrow.
  7. partial
    having a strong preference or liking for
    “What is your favorite meal of the day?” Aster asked. “I am partial to dessert. If you think about it, dessert is kind of like all the subjects rolled into one. It’s part science and art. And it’s part history and math and geography and storytelling too.”
  8. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    “What’s your favorite color? Mine is—”
    “Wait, don’t tell us,” Aster said, closing her eyes as if trying to conjure the answer.
  9. decline
    refuse to accept
    Her grandmother had asked if she owned anything that wasn’t black and offered to take her shopping. She quickly declined.
  10. verdure
    green foliage
    The verdure of the space was dizzying. It felt like entering into a vortex of green. There were palms that looked like Hawaiian dancers in hula skirts and a beautiful live oak that reminded her of her grandpa.
  11. meringue
    sweet dessert or topping made of beaten egg whites and sugar
    To her it was the perfect combination of a lemon meringue pie and a key lime pie, but with its own special flavor. It had a graham cracker crust like a key lime pie and a snowdrift of meringue on top like a lemon meringue pie.
  12. eccentric
    conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
    “Eccentric, vieja,” Mr. Castillo said and chuckled. “Rich people aren’t strange, they’re eccentric.”
  13. glare
    an angry stare
    “That’s not funny.” Mrs. Castillo shot her a glare.
  14. lumber
    move heavily or clumsily
    Just last week, an eight-foot alligator had been seen lumbering down a residential street.
  15. retention
    the power of holding back liquid
    And there was water everywhere—the ocean, lagoons, bays, retention ponds, a river.
  16. untimely
    uncommonly early
    However, as a reporter it was her job to sniff out the truth. And this story about people falling out of trees to their untimely deaths? It smelled like mom bologna.
  17. aloof
    distant, cold, or detached in manner
    Lane: too eager but also aloof, pretending; needs something
    Aster: awkward; like an adult trying to figure out how to be a kid?
    Cat: antsy; seems troubled; hiding something
    Eunice: peahen (not a peacock); observer; good keeper of secrets
  18. czar
    a person having great power
    “You mean the Czars of Citrus?” her grandfather asked. “The Monarchs of Mandarins?”
  19. lore
    knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote
    Family lore says she’s the one who came up with the recipe for that Winter Sun pie, you know.
  20. vinyl
    shiny, tough, and flexible plastic
    It looked like all the other stools in the ice cream shop with its stainless-steel base and glittery, swimming-pool-blue vinyl seat.
  21. plaque
    a tablet that commemorates a person or achievement
    But unlike the others, it had a little metal plaque on it that declared ESTHER WILLIAMS SAT HERE IN 1953!
  22. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    She had almost invited Ofelia to walk to the Frosty Dream with her, but she didn’t want to assume that the girl wanted to be a part of the group.
  23. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    “The bad news is, your mom is waiting for you,” Ofelia said, giving her a solemn look.
  24. abet
    assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing
    “You stole it!” Ofelia declared with certainty. “I told you we were aiding and abetting.”
  25. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    She knew that when people were nervous they showed all kinds of telltale habits like nail biting, rocking, and hair twisting.
  26. neutral
    not supporting or favoring either side in a dispute
    “We could meet somewhere else from now on,” Lane suggested. “If you don’t want to come here. Somewhere...neutral? Like at the Frosty Dream.”
  27. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    “What do you want then?” Lane asked. Aster could tell she was flustered.
  28. controversial
    marked by or capable of causing disagreement
    “Dead birds, a controversial hat,” Ofelia said, chewing on her pencil.
  29. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Ofelia stifled a giggle.
  30. embroider
    decorate with needlework
    On each badge was an embroidered peacock eye in green and blue thread.
  31. affix
    attach to
    Lane had worked hard on the peacock illustration affixed to the wall, and this was exactly the reaction she had wanted.
  32. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    Now that she was in—under the ruse of using the bathroom—she realized she had no idea what she was looking for.
  33. boutonniere
    a flower that is worn in a buttonhole
    The woman in the painting wore a large orange blossom corsage on her wrist. Her husband wore a smaller, matching boutonniere.
  34. willful
    habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition
    One of the two boys looked especially like Lane, the same willful expression on his face.
  35. miscellaneous
    consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
    The spines were embossed in faded gold text indicating years and contents. DISANTI CITRUS, CELEBRATIONS, DISANTI HOUSE, FLORAS HISTORY, TRAVELS, GARDENS, MISCELLANEOUS.
  36. periphery
    the outside boundary or surface of something
    Some of the photos captured their servants in the periphery.
  37. mollusk
    aquatic invertebrate, often with a shell
    As she washed her hands over the sink made from the shell of a giant mollusk, Aster thought about what she knew of research.
  38. imply
    express or state indirectly
    He never outright claimed the DiSanti family had stolen the tree or the fruit. Had he implied it?
  39. palate
    the ability to taste, judge, and appreciate food
    “My grandpa has a very picky palate so he wouldn’t eat any of it.”
  40. convene
    meet formally
    Strange Birds Convene on Horned Lark Lane Tree House.
Created on Wed Mar 06 08:33:34 EST 2024 (updated Wed Mar 06 14:40:58 EST 2024)

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