Ida B: Chapters 16–19

by Katherine Hannigan
Fourth grader Ida B. Applewood enters an angry "Black Period" when unfortunate circumstances change her life beyond her control. With the help of a kind teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her loving parents, and her own resilience, Ida B comes to have a better outlook on life.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–15, Chapters 16–19, Chapters 20–23, Chapters 24–32
15 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. propulsion
    the act of moving forward
    The Yellow Prison of Propulsion dropped me off just where it had picked me up that morning.
  2. doom
    an unpleasant or disastrous destiny
    But another voice answered me back. It was the Deputy of Doom and Disaster. “Ida B, come to the kitchen,” Daddy commanded.
    And that was the end of hope.
  3. liberation
    the act of freeing someone or something
    I froze, just able to see the hallway and my path to liberation out of the corner of my left eye.
  4. dilemma
    state of uncertainty in a choice between unfavorable options
    And now I faced a dilemma.
  5. outrageous
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    But in my head “okay” looked like this: O. K. Those letters stood for Outrageous Katastrophe, and I know it’s the wrong spelling, but it was the best I could do at that particular moment.
  6. telepathic
    communicating without apparent physical signals
    I squinted my eyes real, real tight this time, into the thinnest, meanest slits possible, and sent telepathic messages to the workers like, Get away! You’re at the wrong address!
  7. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    “Ida B, what are you doing?” Daddy would ask.
    “Nuthin’,” I’d say, not bothering to muster the energy to say the word right.
  8. deluxe
    rich and superior in quality
    I was Ida B, Superhero Deluxe, Friend of the Downtrodden, Foe of Cancer, Meanness, Mindless Destruction, and Traditional Schooling.
  9. foreground
    the part of a scene that is near the viewer
    I drew a symbol for myself with the mountain in the background, and in the foreground were the remains of Ernest B. Lawson Elementary School.
  10. encyclopedia
    a reference work containing articles on various topics
    In our encyclopedia, I researched the most dangerous and deadly things in the universe, and I brought them to our valley.
  11. humongous
    very large
    TARANTULA SPOTTED HERE, announced another with the biggest, hairiest black spider standing behind the words, ready to grab you in its humongous pincers.
  12. ravenous
    devouring or craving food in great quantities
    DANGER: TSETSE FLIES; FEROCIOUS, RAVENOUS GIANT MALAMUTE ESCAPED FROM PET STORE AND SPOTTED IN VICINITY; PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS EXPECTED THIS YEAR warned some of the others, with very descriptive pictures.
  13. grub
    a soft thick wormlike larva of certain insects
    I started collecting things and leaving them as presents in their basement: snakes, spiders, grubs, and slugs.
  14. plague
    any epidemic disease with a high death rate
    They’d give the land back to Daddy, just so they wouldn’t have to worry about an outbreak of bubonic plague or orchard-inhabiting alligators again.
  15. particularly
    specifically or especially distinguished from others
    Sometimes he’d want to play even when we weren’t in study time, like when we were lining up to go outside and he thought he’d come up with a particularly sly question.
Created on Sat Oct 11 13:54:00 EDT 2025 (updated Fri Dec 19 18:21:19 EST 2025)

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