Milkweed: Chapters 1–8

by Jerry Spinelli
"Stop! Thief!" are the words often shouted at him, so a young orphan takes that as his name as he struggles to survive in Warsaw during World War II.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–17, Chapters 18–26, Chapters 27–35, Chapters 36–45
35 words 1806 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. skim
    move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of
    He was dragging me, running. He was much bigger. My feet skimmed over the ground.
  2. artillery
    large but transportable armament
    “Jackboot artillery,” he said.
    “What’s artillery?”
    “Big guns. Boom boom. They’re shelling the city.”
  3. stall
    a compartment where an animal is confined and fed
    We sat in a stall near the legs of a sad-faced gray. The horse pooped. Two of the kids got up and went to the next stall, another horse.
  4. nicker
    make a soft sound characteristic of a horse
    The horse nickered.
  5. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    He fell to his knees and scrabbled in the straw near the horse flop. He found something.
  6. cannibal
    a person who eats human flesh
    “We drink people’s blood!”
    “We suck their brains out through their noses with a straw!”
    “Even cannibals hate us!”
  7. pelt
    cast, hurl, or throw repeatedly with some missile
    Golden bracelets flew and jars of jam and tiny painted animals and fountain pens. The flanks of the horse flickered as they were pelted.
  8. hatch
    a movable barrier covering an entrance
    Uri threw open a wooden hatch, and we plunged into a dark, cool cellar.
  9. bombardment
    the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area
    We walked to the shopping district, where the big stores were. Except some of them were not so big now; the bombardment had left them crumples of brick.
  10. shaft
    a vertical passageway through a building
    He disappeared in a maze of air shafts and fire escapes and doors, and when he came out his arms were loaded with clothes.
  11. rubble
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    We went down into the rubble.
  12. root
    dig around or dig into
    He laid down the new ones and went rooting through the rubble.
  13. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    He glared at me. “Did you ever have a bath?”
  14. trench
    any long ditch cut in the ground
    “They’re digging trenches to stop the tanks,” he said.
  15. sprawling
    spreading out in different directions
    It was then that someone stuck out a foot and tripped him. Kuba went sprawling...
  16. converge
    move or draw together at a certain location
    “Get him!” someone yelled, and the sidewalk people converged on Kuba.
  17. grim
    harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
    Uri shook his head grimly. “Stupid. Stupid. They take everything. Just to take it.”
  18. clatter
    a rattling noise
    We smashed into a restaurant, plowed through a field of red tablecloths into the kitchen with an ear-ripping clatter, and still there were no people and no one to yell, “Stop! Stop!”
  19. determined
    strongly motivated to succeed
    Others were running. It was a race! I didn’t know where the finish line was, but I was determined to win.
  20. gape
    look with amazement
    I looked up and I saw boots. The tallest, blackest, shiniest boots I had ever seen, endless columns. For an instant I saw my gaping face in one of them.
  21. spangled
    covered with beads or jewels or sequins
    His boots came to my shoulder, and his gray uniform was piped and spangled with silver.
  22. muss
    make messy or untidy
    He mussed my hair and pinched my cheek.
  23. spectacle
    an elaborate and remarkable display on a lavish scale
    No one was cheering, or even smiling. I was surprised. Weren’t they thrilled by the spectacle before them?
  24. colossal
    so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
    Colossal gray long-snouted beetles—the tanks roared up the boulevard four by four and the sky shook on its hinges and I saw at once how silly it had been to try to stop them with ditches and sandbags and machine guns.
  25. scramble
    move hurriedly
    Soldiers were tossing loaves of bread. The people grabbed and scrambled.
  26. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    At home I frantically dug for hazelnut buttercreams, flinging the rest aside.
  27. brine
    a strong solution of salt and water used for pickling
    As for Uri, he loved pickles. Big fat juicy pickles. They floated in barrels of brine in grocery stores.
  28. contented
    satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are
    But on the way back, as he contentedly ate his prize, I was allowed to do as I wished.
  29. turnover
    a dish made by folding a piece of pastry over a filling
    “My cream puffs!” I cried.
    They were scattered about the sidewalk. So were his cherry turnovers.
  30. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Walkers veered into the street to avoid us.
  31. speckle
    mark with small spots
    My favorite horse was a speckled mare called Greta.
  32. tinker
    one who earns a living by mending metal pots and utensils
    I was so small because I was once cursed by a tinker who did not like the fortune my mother gave him.
  33. intent
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    I was so intent on seeing myself that I hadn’t noticed she was slowly lowering her foot; now it rested on the step and I was on my hands and knees, still looking.
  34. torte
    rich cake usually covered with cream, fruit, or nuts
    Men were holding them in front of the same bakery where I had stolen the cake that day. Strudels and tortes danced in the firelight behind the glass.
  35. mare
    an adult female horse
    I heard a horse coming. Greta! I thought, but it was not a speckled mare.
Created on Fri Oct 13 10:50:56 EDT 2017 (updated Fri Jun 23 15:06:46 EDT 2023)

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