Louisiana’s Way Home: Chapters 11–16

by Kate DiCamillo
In this sequel to Raymie Nightingale, 12-year-old Louisiana Elefante struggles to figure out where she belongs after her grandmother mysteriously makes her leave their Florida home in the middle of the night.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–16, Chapters 17–28

Here are links to our lists for other books by Kate DiCamillo: Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Flora & Ulysses, Raymie Nightingale
35 words 34 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. populace
    people in general considered as a whole
    Granny did not believe in having a phone in the house.
    She said it was just one more way for the authorities to keep tabs on us.
    “What do we need a phone for, my darling? The general populace does not need to know our whereabouts, and those who love us can always find us.”
  2. whereabouts
    the general location of someone or something
    Granny did not believe in having a phone in the house.
    She said it was just one more way for the authorities to keep tabs on us.
    “What do we need a phone for, my darling? The general populace does not need to know our whereabouts, and those who love us can always find us.”
  3. baffled
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    “I am very tired, Louisiana,” said Granny. “I am unwell and baffled and compromised. I would like to sleep.”
  4. compromise
    expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute
    “I am very tired, Louisiana,” said Granny. “I am unwell and baffled and compromised. I would like to sleep.”
  5. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    She said, “Do not bother resenting me, Louisiana. I have always put you first in this world. I am trying to protect you. I am working very, very hard to protect you. It is just that I am so tired....”
  6. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    She looked different—smaller and less certain. Her mouth was caved in. Her cheeks were flushed. She glared at me.
  7. perpetual
    continuing forever or indefinitely
    “You are always hungry,” said Granny in a relieved voice. She put the covers back over her head. “Yours is a perpetual and unceasing hunger. Go and find some food. I am working to regain my strength. Do not forget the curse, Louisiana!”
  8. upbeat
    pleasantly optimistic and cheerful
    If the boy showed up and offered to get me whatever I wanted, I decided that I would select a package of peanut-butter crackers and a package of crackers with cheese, and one of the ballpoint pens (so that I could continue to write everything down), and also an Oh Henry! candy bar because I like the name of them, how upbeat and hopeful they sound.
  9. intensify
    make stronger or more marked
    “To speak of the curse only intensifies the curse.” That is what Granny said.
  10. glint
    be shiny, as if wet
    His almost-not-there hair glinted in the sunlight.
  11. caw
    utter a cry, characteristic of crows, rooks, or ravens
    At some point, Clarence showed up and he flew over our heads and cawed and cawed. He was laughing as if somebody had just told him a joke.
    Crows have a good sense of humor.
  12. utterance
    the use of spoken sounds for auditory communication
    Granny had always spoken poorly of bologna, but these bologna sandwiches tasted so good that it was just one more reason for me to doubt Granny and the truth of her utterances.
  13. elegant
    refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, or style
    “It was in Elf Ear, Nebraska, and the year was 1910, and my granny was eight years old, and her father was the most elegant and deceitful magician who ever lived.”
  14. deceitful
    marked by deliberate deceptiveness
    “It was in Elf Ear, Nebraska, and the year was 1910, and my granny was eight years old, and her father was the most elegant and deceitful magician who ever lived.”
  15. fateful
    having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
    “What happened next was that my great-grandfather uttered the fateful words ‘I will now saw my lovely wife in half and put her back together again, for I am Hiram Elefante the Great.’”
  16. comprehend
    get the meaning of something
    I don’t think Burke Allen fully comprehended the depth and breadth of the curse upon my head.
  17. breadth
    the extent of something from side to side
    I don’t think Burke Allen fully comprehended the depth and breadth of the curse upon my head.
  18. enrage
    make someone extremely or violently angry
    I didn’t know if Granny would eat a bologna sandwich. In fact, a bologna sandwich might enrage her. Maybe I was hoping to enrage her. I don’t know.
  19. resourceful
    adroit or imaginative
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I will figure out a way. I am wily and resourceful. According to Granny.”
  20. rustling
    a light noise, like leaves blowing in the wind
    I opened the palm-tree curtains and sat down on the bed and stared out the window. I heard a rustling. Was it wings? Was Clarence the crow somewhere nearby?
  21. axis
    the center around which something rotates
    I once had a teacher named Mrs. McGregor who said that the world was turning very slowly on its axis.
  22. infinitesimal
    immeasurably small
    “It is moving infinitesimally,” said Mrs. McGregor.
  23. hurtle
    move with or as if with a rushing sound
    It felt like it was hurtling and jerking its way through a lonely darkness.
  24. lurch
    move abruptly
    To my way of thinking, you never knew when the earth was going to lurch and go somewhere entirely unexpected.
  25. haste
    a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
    That is why we left in such haste, Louisiana. I felt as if I was being summoned.
  26. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    And now every time I close my eyes, I see him, my father. He appears out of the fog of my mind and he calls my name and his tone is ominous.
  27. solicit
    request urgently or persistently
    Was it a good idea for a toothless, feverish Granny to go and confront the curse by herself? Without me? Well, I did not think so. But then, Granny wasn’t soliciting my opinion, was she?
  28. unravel
    disentangle
    That is a mystery I will not be able to unravel for you.
  29. befall
    become of; happen to
    After the curse befell me, I was sent to the county home.
  30. solitary
    single and isolated from others
    And after the county home, after I survived that miserable, miserable place, I entered the world as an adult; I moved through it as a solitary being, and I did not mind at all.
  31. notify
    inform somebody of something
    I knew, too, what would happen if I notified the authorities.
  32. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    I wish that I had time to see you to safety, but you are wily, resilient.
  33. descend
    come as if by falling
    A tragedy was occurring, the darkness had descended, and Granny was gone, but Bernice’s hair was still in curlers.
  34. perplexed
    full of difficulty or confusion or bewilderment
    He was an incredibly ferocious-looking alligator, but he also seemed perplexed—as if he were thinking, How in the world did a dangerous man-eating alligator like me end up dead in the office of the Good Night, Sleep Tight motel?
  35. commune
    share or interact intimately with
    “I am communing with the alligator,” I said.
    “Oh,” said Bernice. “You’re communing with the alligator. Of course you are. I suppose next you’ll be speaking with the vending machine..."
Created on Tue Mar 05 13:52:31 EST 2019 (updated Tue Mar 05 14:04:21 EST 2019)

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.