Kira-Kira: Chapters 1-4

by Cynthia Kadohata
Kira-Kira tells the unforgettable story of sisters Katie and Lynn Takeshima. After their Japanese-American family moves to Georgia in the 1950s to build a new life, Katie and Lynn find hope through their unique way of seeing the world. But when Lynn develops lymphoma, Katie must help keep her family from falling apart while remembering everything her sister taught her.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-4 , Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-12, Chapters 13-16
40 words 204 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dismayed
    struck with fear, dread, or consternation
    She was dismayed over how un-Japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day.
  2. vow
    a solemn pledge to do something
    She was dismayed over how un-Japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day.
  3. grunt
    issue a low, animal-like noise
    I ran, hearing the dog growling and Lynnie grunting.
  4. huddle
    crouch or curl up
    When I got to the house, I turned around and saw the dog tearing at Lynn’s pants as she huddled over into a ball.
  5. expectant
    marked by eager anticipation
    Lynn looked at me expectantly.
  6. process
    subject to treatment with the aim of readying for a purpose
    And, he said, he could get my mother a job working in a poultry processing factory.
  7. industry
    the people engaged in a kind of commercial enterprise
    A few weeks after the store went out of business, my father decided to take us down to Georgia to join the poultry industry.
  8. triumph
    a successful ending of a struggle or contest
    Katsu means “triumph” in Japanese.
  9. sweltering
    excessively hot and humid; marked by sweating and faintness
    It was a sweltering day when Uncle Katsuhisa arrived in Iowa to help us move to Georgia.
  10. palomino
    a horse of light tan or golden color
    I stepped back, but he swooped me up in his arms and shouted, “My little palomino pony! That’s what you are!”
  11. variation
    an instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change
    My father was mild, like the sea oil a windless day, with an unruffled surface and little variation.
  12. yelp
    a sharp high-pitched cry
    My uncle was exactly one inch taller than my father. But his stomach was soft. We knew this because we hit him in it once the year before, and he yelped in pain and threatened to spank us.
  13. peril
    a state of danger involving risk
    She fell down a single stair once, and she broke her leg. To her that was proof even a single stair could present peril.
  14. embroider
    decorate with needlework
    Lynn couldn’t find her favorite sweater with embroidered flowers.
  15. glum
    moody and sorrowful
    After awhile Lynn and I ran out of tears and sat glumly in the truck with Uncle Katsuhisa.
  16. spacious
    having ample room
    For instance, he sang, “Oh, Katie, Kate, for spacious skies, for Katie Katie Kate.”
  17. kimono
    a loose robe originating in Japan
    I looked outside over a field and tried to find the Socle Boshi, the kimono sleeve in the sky where Uncle Katsuhisa said westerners see the constellation Orion.
  18. constellation
    a configuration of stars as seen from the earth
    I looked outside over a field and tried to find the Socle Boshi, the kimono sleeve in the sky where Uncle Katsuhisa said westerners see the constellation Orion.
  19. dormitory
    a large sleeping room containing several beds
    “When we go to college, we’re not going to live in a dormitory. We’re going to live on the very top floor of a tall apartment building. I’ll be in graduate school.”
  20. registration
    a document certifying an act of recording
    She pushed a key and a registration card toward my father.
  21. horizon
    the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
    The sun was setting and the horizon was tangerine.
  22. femininity
    the trait of behaving in ways considered typical for women
    She did not think of Japan as the land of Ainu, but rather as the land of her parents and the land where Lynn and I would eventually get sent to learn our femininity.
  23. pawn
    the least powerful piece in chess
    It took him about ten minutes to move one pawn!
  24. emperor
    the male ruler of an empire
    In his other world he was very important-—maybe he was even emperor—but with me he was just my loving, talkative friend.
  25. geyser
    a spring that discharges hot water and steam
    He was kind of like the geyser our father took us to see once at Yellowstone.
  26. antebellum
    belonging to a period before a war
    Several times we drove by an antebellum mansion.
  27. surveyor
    an engineer who determines boundaries and elevations of land
    Second of all, he was studying with a friend to work as a land surveyor, which is where you measure and study land.
  28. jukebox
    a cabinet containing an automatic record player
    My father’s friends always gave us coins and told us what songs to play on the jukebox.
  29. scholarship
    financial aid provided to a student on the basis of merit
    “I wish that I’ll go to college on a scholarship someday I wish I’ll be homecoming queen in high school. I wish we could afford a nice house.”
  30. sultry
    characterized by oppressive heat and humidity
    During the autumn the sultry air made us tired but not too tired.
  31. chant
    utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
    We sat cross-legged on the floor in our room and held hands and closed our eyes while she chanted, “Mind meld, mind meld, mind meld.”
  32. meld
    mix or become mixed together
    We sat cross-legged on the floor in our room and held hands and closed our eyes while she chanted, “Mind meld, mind meld, mind meld.”
  33. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    She gazed at me solemnly.
  34. ritual
    any customary observance or practice
    This was a ritual all the local Japanese mothers performed the day before they sent their daughters off to school for the first time.
  35. gape
    look with amazement
    Lynn gaped at me.
  36. chiffon
    a sheer fabric of silk or rayon
    My mother put me in a yellow chiffon party dress.
  37. ravishing
    stunningly beautiful
    As a matter of fact, I started to think I looked quite ravishing.
  38. muss
    make messy or untidy
    After my parents went to work, I just sat there and wouldn’t move in case my hair got mussed.
  39. commotion
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    I didn’t understand what all the commotion had been about or why I was wearing my best dress.
  40. feverish
    having or affected by an abnormally high body temperature
    After school we would run feverishly home to take care of our new brother.
Created on Fri Aug 11 14:49:58 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Sep 06 15:36:17 EDT 2017)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.