Love, Ruby Lavender: Prologue–Chapter 8

by Deborah Wiles
When her grandmother Miss Eula leaves Mississippi for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby Lavender misses their adventures, so they write letters to continue sharing their lives.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 8, Chapters 9–17, Chapters 18–27
35 words 74 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lurch
    move abruptly
    The car lurched to a halt in the dirt yard of Peterson’s Egg Ranch, and Ruby scrambled out the door.
  2. stagger
    walk with great difficulty
    Ruby struggled to stand with her arms full of chickens. She staggered to the car, a squawking hen under each arm, and tossed them through the open window of the backseat.
  3. flounce
    walk in an emphatic or exaggerated way
    Miss Eula flounced back into the car.
  4. ruckus
    the act of making a noisy disturbance
    The chickens squawked and flapped and put up a ruckus.
  5. anxious
    eagerly desirous
    I will be anxious for a report on Ivy, Bemmie, and Bess.
  6. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    She sauntered, pleased as she could be, through the back door of Miss Mattie Perkins’s general store.
  7. wan
    lacking vitality as from weariness or illness or unhappiness
    She gave Miss Mattie a wan smile.
  8. fumble
    handle clumsily
    She fumbled the box, then dropped it.
  9. commotion
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    Leila Latham didn’t seem to notice the commotion around the coffee barrel.
  10. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Now she tap-tap-tapped the floor from her seat and glowered at Ruby.
  11. corral
    collect or gather
    Miss Mattie had corralled the younger Latham children and was trying mightily to shove them out the front door.
  12. swoon
    pass out from weakness or physical or emotional distress
    Melba’s eyebrows shot up, her lips formed a crooked O of pretend fright, and she shrank from Ruby with little tippy-taps. She flapped her elbows and swooned.
  13. genuine
    not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed
    A look of genuine panic mixed with surprise flew across Melba’s face.
  14. hurtle
    make a thrusting forward movement
    Ruby reached the door and prepared to hurtle over the little Lathams. Instead, she hurtled into Miss Eula, walking through the door with a pile of mail.
  15. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    Ruby stared intently into Miss Eula’s face.
  16. sympathetic
    expressing compassion or friendly fellow feelings
    Miss Eula gave Ruby a sympathetic look.
  17. skedaddle
    run away, as if in a panic
    You know, Ruby, Melba acts brave but she’s scared underneath. Just look at how she skedaddled out of here.
  18. pucker
    become wrinkled or drawn together
    Her cheeks puckered with the sour taste, and she talked with a fish mouth.
  19. gloat
    gaze at or think about something with self-satisfaction
    Ruby leaned across the table, gloating. “Ivy has laid three eggs!”
  20. mantel
    a shelf that projects from the wall above a fireplace
    The mantel clock kept time in the living room, a solid tock-tock, tock-tock, and for a moment time stretched out and away.
  21. poultry
    domesticated birds raised for meat or eggs
    Ruby leaned over Miss Eula’s kitchen table, an old issue of Poultry Today spread in front of her. “Twenty-one days from egg to chick. That means we should have some babies before July!”
  22. drone
    make a monotonous low dull sound
    The attic fan droned and shoved the hot air around the room.
  23. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    “For pity’s sake!” Miss Mattie was exasperated.
  24. conspiratorial
    relating to or characteristic of a secret plot or agreement
    Ruby watched Lorna take two pretzels from the cracker barrel and give one to Melba Jane. Melba removed a glove and took it, with a conspiratorial smile.
  25. parched
    toasted or roasted slightly
    She thought about running to her for one last hug—a hug that smelled like shimmering meadows and parched peanuts and chicken feathers and pink paint and oldest memories.
  26. thrum
    make or cause to make a low, continuous sound
    The engine thrummed like an airplane and the bus pulled slowly onto Main Street.
  27. affair
    a matter or concern
    According to Mrs. Evelyn Lavender, county extension agent for home and garden affairs, peppers should be ready for picking next week.
  28. woe
    intense mournfulness
    Miss Ruby Lavender was standing with Miss Mattie and was heard to say, "Woe is me."
  29. formerly
    at a previous time
    Melba’s formerly straight hair now fell in a mass of ringlets around her face.
  30. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “Ha! You wish! What an exciting life you lead! Sweeping floors for Miss Mattie!” Melba opened the screen door and jeered at Ruby.
  31. kin
    a person related to another or others
    Miss Eula Dapplevine was the only colorful thing about Halleluia, and she up and left for Hawaii, deserting her kin (me), not to mention her chickens.
  32. meringue
    sweet dessert or topping made of beaten egg whites and sugar
    In front of her stood a girl with enormous blue eyes and peaks of short white hair, like meringue on a lemon icebox pie.
  33. anthropologist
    a social scientist specializing in the study of humanity
    “I’m an anthropologist.”
    “A what?”
    “An anthropologist. I study people. Do you know Margaret Mead?”
  34. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    Ruby’s hair slopped out of its ponytail. Great wisps of it trailed all along her shoulders and face.
  35. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    Gingerly, someone stepped out with a package and waved thanks to Old Ezra.
Created on Wed Feb 08 11:59:23 EST 2023 (updated Wed Feb 08 17:26:15 EST 2023)

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