The Turtle of Oman: List 1

by Naomi Shihab Nye
When eight-year-old Aref Al-Amri is told that his family will move halfway around the world from Muscat, Oman to Ann Arbor, Michigan, he refuses to pack, until his grandfather helps to create memories that can be carried into a new life.

This list covers "Earplugs"–"Cat Without a Map."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
35 words 583 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. checkered
    patterned with alternating squares of color
    Aref’s Dad was wearing a crisp new yellow-and-white checkered shirt and a dark blue jacket with bulging pockets.
  2. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    “Maasalameh, shukrun, yallah, alif shukrun iktheer ya ammi,” he said loudly, over the din.
  3. motto
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
    Discovering Something New Every Day was an Al-Amri family motto.
  4. magnanimous
    noble and generous in spirit
    In your notebook, you wrote down new ideas or even scraps of new information. Nothing was too small. Even the definition of a single word qualified. “Magnanimous.” (Very, very generous.)
  5. sultan
    the ruler of a Muslim country
    A sultanate has a sultan as ruler, not a president or a queen or a king or a Pharaoh or a Prime Minister.
  6. fascinated
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    One fourth of the people now living in Oman started out in other countries. They came to Oman to work, or to find a safe place to call their new home. Some just fell in love with the country, and stayed.
    Sidi was fascinated by this, because Oman had really changed during his lifetime.
  7. carapace
    hard outer covering or case of certain organisms
    Did you know a turtle’s shell is called a “carapace”?
  8. bleat
    cry plaintively like a sheep or goat
    Aref stopped to press the belly of a camel and it made a bleating sound.
  9. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    Everyone loved those brown mountains that loomed like a comforting wall.
  10. slump
    fall or sink heavily
    He slumped against the backseat and felt like crying.
  11. authentic
    not counterfeit or copied
    Oman was his only, number one, super-duper, authentic, absolutely personal place.
  12. grizzled
    having gray or partially gray hair
    His father liked a grizzled man named Abu Aziz at an ancient corner shop.
  13. incense
    a substance that produces a fragrant odor when burned
    He sold clay and brass incense burners for chunks of frankincense and walking sticks with silver knob handles.
  14. crustacean
    mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body
    Storm petrels = smallest seabirds. They look a little like bats when they fly. They pick crustaceans and tiny fish out of the waves while hovering.
  15. cormorant
    large, dark-colored, long-necked seabird
    Cormorants = seabirds that eat fish
  16. brim
    be completely full
    Aref’s mother turned the steering wheel, circling a speedy roundabout brimming with pink flowers and tall iron lampposts.
  17. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Someone honked—an orange taxi veered in front of their car.
  18. pucker
    become wrinkled or drawn together
    The lemon squeezed and puckered.
  19. tuft
    a bunch or cluster of strands, as of grass, hair, etc.
    Tufts of green and golden grasses grew up in neat, tall bunches along the sides of the house.
  20. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    He knew the small orange tree in the corner of the dining room that was laden with bitter tiny oranges you weren’t really supposed to eat.
  21. prejudice
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    3. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in all people being brothers and sisters. He stood up for other people’s rights and led marches for freedom.
    4. His father, who was also named Martin Luther King, spoke against racial prejudice too.
  22. stoop
    small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    Diram, his best friend, was standing on the stoop holding a folded white T-shirt, his own mother behind him.
  23. emblem
    special design representing a quality, type, or group
    The lining of the suitcase was printed with blue crown-shaped emblems, like a scarf or a tablecloth.
  24. buggy
    a small lightweight carriage
    Mackinac Island, Michigan, has no cars on it. You have to take a horse and buggy, or walk. This seems like Oman in the old days. Also it is strange since Michigan is famous for car factories.
  25. speckle
    mark with small spots
    Aref painted green and brown speckled turtles on his poster, sharing a wide, dreamy beach.
  26. plankton
    aggregate of small organisms that float or drift in water
    Turtles shared plankton and water and waves and sand.
  27. regal
    belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
    At night foxes wandered through the city, poking their noses into gardens and trashcans for scraps. They had large ears and looked regal and a little scary, sneaking around.
  28. halcyon
    idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquility
    Halcyon meant a period of time that was happy and peaceful. You never heard anyone say it, though. That is what my life in Oman has been so far, he thought.
  29. overwhelming
    very intense
    He said the letters on the screen went too fast and made him dizzy. The wealth of information was overwhelming.
  30. snag
    catch or cause to catch on something sharp that is sticking out
    Sometimes she got a claw snagged and tugged hard to free herself.
  31. writhing
    moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion
    You could think about centipedes curling and writhing under your bed.
  32. cascade
    rush down in big quantities
    He stopped his bike at the end of the alley, staring out over the valley of houses, moving vehicles, tiny moving people, and bright sun cascading down upon everything—and beyond it all, the sea.
  33. imprint
    establish or impress firmly in the mind
    He tried to imprint this scene on his mind, then began backing up, slowly, from the end of the alley, to the street, where he turned around again.
  34. beckon
    summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture
    Ummi Salwa was standing in her doorway moving her arm out and back to her chest, beckoning to him.
  35. frond
    compound leaf of a fern or palm or cycad
    A giant palm frond from the tree outside waved up and down.
Created on Tue Jul 30 09:46:28 EDT 2024 (updated Wed Jul 31 10:02:54 EDT 2024)

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