A TALE MAGNOLIOUS:
Educator & Discussion Guide and Activity Kit
Best Users: School Librarians, Public Librarians, Educators, Book Clubs, Home Learning
Best Audience: Grades 03-06
EDUCATOR & DISCUSSION GUIDE
This guide, written by former middle school English teacher and middle grade and young adult novelist Jennifer Ziegler, can assist your exploration A Tale Magnolious with the following components:
Understanding and Analyzing with comprehension questions like, “How does Nitty know it’s time to plant the seeds?”
Extending and Connecting with prompts like, “Nitty says that Twitch is ‘brave’ but ‘possibly foolish, too.’ How can an act of bravery also be considered foolish? Explain with a real or hypothetical example.”
Creating with ideas like, “Come up with your own recipe for rain. Be sure to include a list of ingredients, necessary equipment, and step-by-step directions.”
DOWNLOAD
Tale Magnolious: Educator & Discussion Guide
(PDF)
ACTIVITY KIT
Also available for classroom, library, or book club reader engagement are the following activities:
Plant a Froozle Flower Garden: The characters plant mysterious seeds that grow into an astounding crop of tall flowering fruit plants they call Froozles. The kit contains a seed packet template and iron-on text for garden markers to plant your own Froozle Flower Garden.
Elephants, Education & Empathy: The book may stimulate reader curiosity about elephants, especially those in captivity. The kit shares the resources available at the Elephant Sanctuary of Tennessee, a sanctuary for retired circus and zoo elephants. It also contains an idea and templates to hold a “Magnolious Move-a-thon” to raise money and awareness for the elephants in the sanctuary.
Gleam Jar: The character Nitty carries a mason jar with small objects that remind her of the family she has lost. The kit contains an empty jar template for readers to reflect on memory.
Mustache Maker: One of the compelling supporting characters runs the Schnurrbart Emporium, making mustaches for those who cannot grow their own. The kit offers a photograph of a 1930s man who is badly in need of a mustache.
DOWNLOAD Tale Magnolious: Activity Kit (PDF)
Within this kit’s PDF, there are some components that you may want to adapt. Here are JPGs for your design prowess:
DOWNLOAD
Tale Magnolious: Seed Packet
(JPG)
DOWNLOAD
Tale Magnolious: Move-a-thon Poster
(JPG)
DOWNLOAD
Tale Magnolious: Move-a-thon Flyer
(JPG)
DOWNLOAD
Tale Magnolious: Move-a-thon Pledge Sheet
(JPG)
And here are the step-by-step instructions for making garden markers using a dry, hot iron and the kit’s template:
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Tale Magnolious: The Adventures of an Orphan, her Elephant, and Some Rather Unusual Seeds
By Suzanne Nelson
Published by Random House Children’s Books
ISBN-13: 9781984831743 (Trade)
ISBN-13: 9781984831750 (Library Binding)
Age Range: 8 and up
This heartwarming novel tells of a remarkable bond between two outcasts, a girl and an elephant, and the way they change one small town forever, simply by finding a family to love. Nitty Luce is an orphan—and a thief. Magnolious is an elephant—and a fugitive.
When fate brings these two unlikely friends together, they set off on an unexpected journey. Before long, they end up in Fortune’s Bluff, a once-thriving town devastated by a decade of dust storms.
Everyone Nitty meets there—from a grumpy farmer to a forlorn mustache maker—has lost hope. But Nitty and Mag sense there’s something special buried underneath the town’s dust—and that maybe they can help it grow.
With a touch of magic and a harvest of hope, Nitty and her exceptional elephant set out to change the destiny of a dying town, proving that from the smallest seeds grow the greatest friendships.
“Readers will be delighted by this effervescent story full of adventure, heart, and a dash of magic.”
—School Library Journal
.
“A beautifully written fantasy allegory with comic grace notes.”
—Kirkus Reviews
.
“This beautiful story, set during the Dust Bowl, shows the power of hope and love even in dire circumstances. Nelson’s ingenious young characters, wise adults, enriched vocabulary, tongue-in-cheek humor, and understanding of the elephant’s feelings make this perfect for reading aloud.”
—Booklist
