Annotation:
Saturdays are Birchwood days for Wolf and her three BFF’s, Penny, Anne and Brandi. The four girls love spending the day in the wild-but-cozy forest hideaway. And it is no wonder, because Wolf is descendent from a Tree Talker (no matter how much her mother tries to deny their Indigenous heritage). So when her beloved Birchwood is threatened by the very people who are closest to her, Wolf and her band of friends have to overcome fights over crushes, the pulls of family loyalty and their own fear to protect what matters the most.
Questions:
- Wolf talks to the trees.Do you feel a special connection to anything in the natural world? What is it?
- What are Wolf and her friends dealing with in their friendship? “Friendship first, always true” Does it mean what they think it does? How does their friendship change?
- Wolf’s mom and her boyfriend argue that environmental destruction is needed to build homes for people. Does this turn out to be true? Why or why not?
- The Librarian in the story seems intimidating at first.Is she really mean underneath her hard exterior? What makes you think so?
- Wolf cuts her hair without her mother’s permission.Why does she do that? How does it make each of them feel?
Curriculum Connections:
Personal and Social – Social Awareness and Responsibility
#SocialStudies5
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