The Lions of Little Rock: Chapters 35-45

by Kristin Levine
Set in Arkansas in 1958, this novel tells the story of two courageous twelve-year-old girls who fight against segregation in their community.

Here are links to our list for the novel: Chapters 1-12, Chapters 13-23, Chapters 24-34, Chapters 35-45, Chapters 46-57
40 words 193 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. regardless
    in spite of everything
    “They get qualified substitutes, and the school system saves money, since they’re paying us regardless.”
  2. crinkle
    become wrinkled or crumpled or creased
    His eyes crinkled, and I knew what he was doing.
  3. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    I trudged there, my feet as heavy as my heart.
  4. furiously
    in an impassioned or very angry manner
    I opened my own math book and did the assignment. Furiously. Pressing the pencil down so hard, it broke. Twice.
  5. stroll
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    And he started to stroll out of the library.
  6. dagger
    a short knife with a pointed blade
    I was going to throw words like daggers at him, I was just figuring out which ones to say.
  7. huddle
    crouch or curl up
    Mrs. Dalton looked like a delicate bird wrapped in a silk scarf, huddled up in a wicker chair on her porch.
  8. wade
    walk through relatively shallow water
    When I was little, Judy and I would spend every afternoon like this in the rock crusher, picking flowers and wading in the creek.
  9. creek
    a natural stream of water smaller than a river
    When I was little, Judy and I would spend every afternoon like this in the rock crusher, picking flowers and wading in the creek.
  10. reptile
    a cold-blooded vertebrate including snakes and lizards
    “They are reptiles. With a nice hard shell. And no scary pinchers.”
  11. crevice
    a long narrow opening
    Liz, moving slowly, placed the can into a crevice between two stones directly behind the crawdad.
  12. wrench
    twist or pull violently or suddenly
    Taking a deep breath, I gripped the tree tighter and wrenched my gaze away from her saddle shoes.
  13. protractor
    drafting instrument used to draw or measure angles
    I knew Mother was trying to be nice, but I would have preferred to have worn a hand-me-down from Judy and spent the money on a new package of graph paper, a box of pencils and a new protractor.
  14. racist
    a person with a belief in the superiority of one people
    He had a suit on, a bit too big, but he looked nice, if only I didn’t think about how he was a cheat and a racist.
  15. aghast
    struck with fear, dread, or consternation
    Then he looked at me, aghast.
  16. complexion
    the coloring of a person's face
    Nora was in lime green, the color all wrong for her complexion.
  17. irk
    irritate or vex
    Even with a frown on his face, he still looked handsome, and it irked me.
  18. jot
    write briefly or hurriedly; write a short note of
    I wished I had a napkin or something to jot down what I was going to say, but there weren’t any nearby, and I didn’t have a pen anyway.
  19. displace
    cause to move, usually with force or pressure
    “Most of the displaced white students have found somewhere to go to school. Like ninety percent or so.”
  20. aria
    an elaborate song for solo voice
    “Oh, sometimes he reads them poetry. Or he starts talking to them in French. Or singing an aria from an opera. Mr. Brewer has quite a good voice.”
  21. notary
    someone legally empowered to witness signatures and certify documents
    He wore a suit and hat, and it wasn’t until I saw his stamp that I realized he was a notary.
  22. rodent
    a mammal having two pairs of ever-growing front teeth for gnawing
    “I’m leaving. You two can stay and play with the rodents if you want.”
  23. tramp
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    Red crashed through the underbrush, his boots much better suited for tramping through the weeds than my saddle shoes.
  24. dynamite
    an explosive that contains nitroglycerin
    There was a whole layer of dynamite inside, nine or ten sticks.
  25. stressful
    extremely irritating to the nerves
    “Miss Winthrop,” Daddy started, “we’ve had a stressful day and I think—”
    “Oh, so you’ve heard the news?”
  26. supportive
    furnishing assistance
    But when it became clear that the board president was going to go through the list one by one and try to fire anyone he thought was supportive of integration, Lamb, Tucker and Matson walked out of the meeting.
  27. quorum
    a gathering of the minimal number of members of a group
    But then, after lunch, those still there, McKinley, Rowland and Laster, declared themselves a quorum and started firing thirty-four teachers, seven principals and three secretaries.
  28. fidget
    move restlessly
    Most people start to fidget when they’re anxious, but Mother gets stiller and stiller, until pretty soon, it’s like sitting next to a statue.
  29. podium
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    Mother made her way up to the podium and adjusted the microphone.
  30. pry
    search or inquire in a meddlesome way
    Maybe you’ve begun to question our officials’ disregard for court rulings, their prying into our personal activities.
  31. boycott
    refuse to sponsor; refuse to do business with
    Or maybe you’re a businessman, and saying to yourself, ‘But if I speak out on this issue, there will be real consequences for me. Not just words, people will boycott my store. I might lose business.’
  32. perceptive
    having the ability to understand
    She saw that Marlee was brave and perceptive and smart, and she made me see it too.
  33. evaporate
    become less intense and fade away gradually
    Suddenly, the nice feelings evaporated, and I couldn’t stop wondering if I was going to have to pack my bags when I got home.
  34. variable
    a symbol that is used in mathematical or logical expressions
    After the crazy night the day before, I was ready for a nice quiet lunch, full of numbers, variables, quadratic equations and not much else.
  35. equation
    a mathematical statement that two expressions are the same
    After the crazy night the day before, I was ready for a nice quiet lunch, full of numbers, variables, quadratic equations and not much else.
  36. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    I’d assumed that meant everything was okay.
  37. purge
    an abrupt or sudden removal of a person or group
    “We’re going to circulate a petition asking for a special election to recall the board members who voted for the teacher purge,” Dr. Agar explained.
  38. scold
    censure severely or angrily
    Mother barely got out what we were doing before Mrs. Madison started to scold us.
  39. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    Mother was flustered.
  40. grim
    filled with melancholy and despondency
    His face was grim when he hung up.
Created on Thu Dec 07 11:16:44 EST 2017 (updated Thu Dec 07 17:20:40 EST 2017)

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