93 pages 3 hours read

Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2000

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Answer Key

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. Matt (Chapter 1)

2. The Ruin Song (Chapter 3)

3. How to dye thread (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Kira’s mother has died, and Kira has been sitting with her body in the field where her people leave their dead to be consumed by wild animals. (Chapter 1)

2. She hopes that she can earn a living “threading,” or performing decorative embroidery. (Chapter 2)

3. She wants to demonstrate that she is not a burden on the community and that she does not eat much. (Chapter 4)

Chapters 6-11

Reading Check

1. Several months/until the beginning of autumn (Chapter 7)

2. Gift (Chapter 8)

3. Soap (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. Kira’s new room in the Edifice has real furniture and a glass window. She even has her own indoor bathroom, which is a big change from going to the bathroom outside. (Chapter 6)

2. Both the robe and the staff have blank spaces where Thomas and Kira will be expected to fill in depictions of the future.