Strange Birds: Chapters 21–29

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 3 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. discreet
    not easily noticeable
    “This has to be discreet,” Lane said, glancing in the direction of Aster’s grandfather. “We don’t want to be seen putting up the stickers. And we can’t do it with your grandpa around, no matter how cool he is.”
  2. entrepreneurial
    of or relating to someone who starts a new business
    “I finally decided to save up for the dues myself. I’ve been mowing lawns and babysitting. And I know it’s a little late, but if I could just sit in on a meeting to see what it’s like to be a Flora it would mean so much to me.”
    “An entrepreneurial spirit is a key Flora trait,” Mrs. McAllister said.
  3. alias
    a name that has been assumed temporarily
    “I like you, Amelia.”
    Ofelia almost corrected her but decided she would let the woman think of her as Amelia. It would be her Floras alias.
  4. wispy
    thin and weak
    Tucked into the big purple bow was a thick spray of feathers: wispy, white and salmon and pink.
  5. infiltrate
    enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members
    Sure, she had seen the infamous hat, but in every other way, she had infiltrated the Floras for nothing. Where were the shocking secrets? The scandals? The controversies? The raccoons? It was a muckraking fail.
  6. nape
    the back side of the neck
    She took off her dad’s Marlins baseball cap and tied her bandanna like a headband with a knot at the nape of her neck.
  7. pseudonym
    a fake name used to engage in some activity
    “I gave them my mom’s name and my number as the contact. And I signed it with a pseudonym.”
  8. deface
    mar or spoil the appearance of
    “Because even though this is a sticker of truth,” Lane said, waving her stack, “it’s still considered defacing property, remember?”
  9. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    “Are you listening? No, we cannot,” Lane said, exasperated.
  10. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    Ofelia didn’t like the sound of defacing property, but her apprehension was overshadowed by the giddy excitement she felt.
  11. fritter
    fried batter containing meat, vegetables, or fruit
    “Is all Bahamian food this good?” Lane said, biting into a conch fritter.
  12. maneuver
    move skillfully, as around obstacles or into a position
    She watched Aster maneuver around a towering man in an orange-and-purple costume.
  13. throng
    a large gathering of people
    As the four girls wound through the throngs of festivalgoers, Ofelia looked behind her to see if the security guard was any closer to them.
  14. oppress
    come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
    My grandpa says people find reasons and ways to oppress other people based on color and language and anything else that makes us different from one another. It’s how the rich and powerful stay that way, by dividing people.
  15. intact
    undamaged in any way
    Ofelia crouched down and picked up four mangoes that had survived the fall intact, admiring their bright red-and-orange skins.
  16. tacky
    tastelessly showy
    “You might be the Garcia girl who finally wins that tacky hat and makes Mom the happiest woman on earth.”
  17. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    “No, no, but remember how much you liked my stories when you were little?” her father asked wistfully. “I miss those days.”
  18. treacherous
    dangerously unstable and unpredictable
    He said that when he came to the United States, he had to leave a lot behind on the island, including his abuela, who was too old to make the treacherous journey.
  19. invoke
    cite as an authority
    “Speaking of me being a periodista, I need to see and do things if I’m going to be a real journalist,” she said. “Wouldn’t my bisabuela want that for me too?”
    Ofelia felt a little guilty invoking a great-grandmother she’d never even met, but her parents didn’t seem to be budging.
  20. ironically
    in a manner characterized by incongruity or unexpectedness
    Parents Leave Oppressive Country, Ironically Form Oppressive Household
  21. hooligan
    a rowdy, violent, and typically youthful troublemaker
    “I dare say I’m almost grateful to those hooligans,” McAllister continued.
  22. vandal
    someone who willfully destroys or defaces property
    In the meantime, McAllister and on-duty security are looking through video footage and photographs of the festival in an ongoing attempt to identify the vandals.
  23. terrarium
    transparent container in which plants and animals are kept
    Ofelia watched as the woman filled a glass globe with layers of rocks and dirt and tiny plants.
    “It’s a terrarium,” the woman explained, as she placed what looked like moss across the bottom.
  24. parfait
    sweet dish made of layered ice cream or yogurt, fruit, etc.
    “That’s so cool,” Ofelia said. “Like a parfait. Except not food.”
  25. devious
    characterized by insincerity or deceit
    “Mrs. McAllister thinks she got the best of us,” Cat said. “But she won’t get the last laugh.”
    Ofelia was afraid to ask what Cat had in mind...
    “You’re devious,” Lane said, throwing an arm around Cat’s shoulders.
  26. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    Wrecking used to be a way a lot of people earned a living in this area. They’d get rewards for salvaging cargo from shipwrecks.
  27. brindled
    having a gray or brown streak or a patchy coloring
    The brindled dog was medium size and so skinny the outline of its ribs showed on either side of its body.
  28. feral
    wild and menacing
    “We almost became lunch for that feral dog.”
  29. casualty
    someone injured or killed in a military engagement
    “Looks like we have a casualty,” Aster said, picking up the flamingo Cat had thrown at the dog. Its head was covered in bite marks.
  30. frond
    compound leaf of a fern or palm or cycad
    As the girls gathered fallen palm fronds to layer over the bright pink birds, Aster couldn’t help smiling.
  31. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    Just getting permission to stay overnight had been an ordeal. She had begged and made so many promises she was afraid of the day her parents would want to collect on them.
  32. twinge
    a sudden sharp feeling
    A twinge of guilt shot through her.
  33. plume
    the feather of a bird
    Cat and Aster were writing facts about bird extinction, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the history of the plume trade on bright-orange sticky notes.
  34. milliner
    someone who makes and sells hats
    Hatmakers (also known as milliners) had such a big demand for feathers and bird skins that as many as 15 million American birds were killed every year in the last decades of the 19th century.
  35. indulge
    enjoy to excess
    “The Floras handbook also says you should only indulge in one Some More because a young girl must watch what she eats,” Lane said, in a snooty voice.
  36. snooty
    overly conceited or arrogant
    “The Floras handbook also says you should only indulge in one Some More because a young girl must watch what she eats,” Lane said, in a snooty voice.
  37. gorge
    overeat or eat immodestly
    Just because it’s called a ‘some more’ is not an invitation to gorge on them.
  38. jostle
    come into rough contact with while moving
    The girls laughed and jostled one another for the bag of marshmallows.
  39. suitor
    a man who courts a woman
    When her father brought a suitor to be her husband, she refused to marry him and told him that she was dedicating her life to her new beliefs.
  40. sullenly
    in a manner showing a brooding ill humor
    “Besides, I’m going to be an artist and travel the world. I can’t be attached to anyone.”
    “What about friends?” Cat asked sullenly.
Created on Wed Mar 06 08:33:47 EST 2024 (updated Wed Mar 06 15:20:49 EST 2024)

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