Stargirl

By Jerry Spinelli
 Stargirl

Boomerang
Quickstart
STOP
Guide
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Go to the files you downloaded from Brave Writer and find the PDF titled
“Boomerang-Guidelines.”

Read the Guidelines before you delve into the Boomerang. You’ll thank us later!

What you’ll find in the Guidelines

1. How to do copywork and dictation
2. How to modify the Boomerang for multiple ages and abilities
3. Sample weekly routines
4. Our Week with the Boomerang planner and Boomerang Skills Tracker
5. Outside-the-box tips for bringing copywork and dictation to life!

Let us know if you have questions. We are here to help at help@bravewriter.com.

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Brave Writer Spin and Spiral

Maybe you’ve heard the educationese term “scope and sequence”? Here's our
version: the Brave Writer Spin and Spiral—terms and skills to visit and revisit.

In this issue of the Boomerang:

• We’ll pin metaphors to the corkboard.
• We’ll toe the line between tropes and clichés.
• We’ll break the rules with fragments. Like Stargirl.
• We’ll explore setting.
• We’ll spin out a little analogy.
• We’ll look at hyphen-friendly phrases.
• We’ll take your hand and speak gently about tone.
• We’ll end with an epilogue.

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WEEK ONE
Her caught-in-headlights eyes gave her a look of perpetual astonishment, so
that we found ourselves turning and looking back over our shoulders, wondering
what we were missing.
She laughed when there was no joke. She danced when there was no music.
She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school.
In her answers in class, she often spoke of sea horses and stars, but she did not
know what a football was.
She said there was no television in her house.
She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent
of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to
make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but
the pin merely went through and away she flew.
(Chapter 3, page 15)

Dictation passage page numbers refer to the following edition:

Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 2000.

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WEEK ONE
Metaphor

Her caught-in-headlights eyes gave her a look of perpetual astonishment, so

that we found ourselves turning and looking back over our shoulders, wondering
what we were missing.
She laughed when there was no joke. She danced when there was no music.
She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school.
In her answers in class, she often spoke of sea horses and stars, but she did not
know what a football was.
She said there was no television in her house.
She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent
of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to
make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but
the pin merely went through and away she flew.
(Chapter 3, page 15)

Why this passage

“HUH?” That’s the eloquent word that hangs over Mica High after the new, wide-eyed,
ukulele-strumming student who calls herself “Stargirl” arrives. For a population of kids

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used to conformity, this girl defies description. This passage shows how Leo, the story’s
narrator, grasps at metaphor and simile in an attempt to describe her. In the process, he
reveals something about himself.

What to note
Spelling and vocabulary
Review the following terms for spelling and meaning.
• perpetual • tomorrow
• astonishment • faintest
• friendliest • scent
• elusive

Punctuation
Note the hyphens in “caught-in-headlights eyes.” We will delve into those punctuation
marks in passage two. For now, point them out for dictation.

This passage also makes liberal use of commas to indicate a pause between two or more
independent clauses, especially after coordinating conjunctions like “so,” “yet,” and “but.”

Juxtaposition
She laughed when there was no joke. She danced when there was no music.
She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school.

Stargirl is a study in contrasts. This passage employs juxtaposition, which is when two
elements are placed close together to show differences and likenesses. As Stargirl’s actions
are juxtaposed with people’s expectations, readers see how Stargirl laughs and dances
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 Stargirl

through every “no” these sentences throw at her: no joke, no music, no friends—no
problem for Stargirl.

Figurative language
She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl.

Did you notice that Leo, the narrator, describes Stargirl as a scent and a shadow, not as
having a scent or casting a shadow? Leo is using metaphors to describe the essence of
Stargirl—a girl who defies conventional measures.

Metaphors are direct comparisons—they state something is another thing. “She was
today” is another example. A more subtle metaphor is the description of “caught-in-
headlights eyes” compares Stargirl to a deer without saying so outright.

This passage also employs a simile, a comparison using “like” or “as” (“Like a butterfly”).

See the How to Teach section for a fuller discussion of figurative language in this passage.

Varied sentence length

Read this passage aloud. Note the varieties of sentence length. Those brief descriptions
are balanced with longer compound phrases, creating a poetic rhythm.

How to teach the passage

Cadence
Notice the “she/she was” short sentence construction. The speaker takes multiple stabs
at pinning qualities on Stargirl. This repetition never becomes tedious, especially since
the sentence length changes and word order varies as the description continues. Let’s

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experiment with line breaks and see how the repetition and cadence (or rhythm) of this
writing could be at home in poetic form:

She was elusive.

She was today.
She was tomorrow.
She was the faintest scent
of a cactus flower,
the flitting shadow of an elf owl.
We did not know
what to make of her.
In our minds we tried to pin her
to a corkboard like a butterfly,
but the pin merely went through
and away she flew.

It might not be every teenager (or adult!) who would draw on such language to describe
a girl. You might even say Leo’s kind of a poet, receptive to the “otherness of things.”
Notice as you read how frequently Leo “waxes poetic” in the book, especially when it
comes to Stargirl!

Figurative language: metaphors and similes

What is your response to lines like, “She was today. She was tomorrow”? Do you meet
these descriptions with a “HUH” of your own? Any of these lines taken alone might
not amount to more than a knit brow. But taken together, Leo’s descriptions show us
Stargirl as present, timeless, fleeting, and vibrant all at once.

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Leo’s metaphors toggle between time and nature in this description. Stargirl is not only
“today,” but she is the scent of a cactus flower. She’s the flitting shadow of an elf owl—
the world’s smallest and lightest owl, native to the desert climate.

Stargirl is also compared to a butterfly pinned to a corkboard. Leo’s first introduction to

Stargirl occured in his Earth Science class. Perhaps he sees her as an intriguing specimen
to study, yet she defies his scrutiny and flies away. Flitting shadow indeed!

As you read, collect other examples of figurative language that reveal Stargirl’s character.

Try it!

Poets enjoy playing with the beloved with metaphor. Think of Shakespeare:

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips red...

Poet Billy Collins wrote his poem “Litany” to spoof this kind of love language. If you
want a funny experience of over-the-top metaphors, look up this poem on the Internet.

“You are the bread and the knife,

the crystal goblet and the wine.”

The poem begins with these lines and then continues with a litany of other vivid,
disconnected metaphors. Watch for the “turn” in the poem when the speaker begins to
describe himself with metaphors!

You can borrow the thought construction used by poets like Leo and Billy for a list of
your own.

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Write about yourself, a pet, a place, or someone you know. Start with “I am” or “she
is” (pick the pronoun that works). Then look around your house or your yard for
inspiration to fill in the rest of the sentence. Play with it—give yourself permission to
make nonsensical comparisons and see where they lead! You might find yourself seeing
with Stargirl-ish eyes!

Inside Scoop

Manic Pixie Dream Girl

Can a character who defies conventions also be considered a cliché (an
overused, easily recognizable phrase, image, or trope)?

Here’s a chance for you to get in on a hot debate. The character, Stargirl—
with her quirks, her flowing dresses and wide eyes, and even right down to
her ukulele—fits the classic description of a trope identified in recent years
as the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” (MPDG).

A trope is a device, motif, or recurring theme used in storytelling, and

the MPDG trope was named in 2007 by a film critic to describe a type of
nonconformist, enchanting female character who exists primarily to redeem
or enlighten a struggling male character.

Soon after its first use, the MPDG phrase struck a nerve as a useful critique
of these charming female characters that seem like props or accessories to the
male character. These leading ladies are imagined without their own stories,
motivations, nuances, and complexities.

Some argue that the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” designation itself has become
an overused, reductive, dismissive shorthand applied to female characters
who do in fact have more than one dimension (even if they are at the same
time adorable and whimsical!).

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The question before us: Is Stargirl a MPDG? Or is that term an unfair

description of her character?

This might be a good time to do an online search for “Manic Pixie Dream
Girl” to prompt a big juicy conversation between parent and teen.

Should the designation be retired altogether? The critic who coined the term,
Nick Rabin, wishes it would be. He says that the term has become too facile
and disparaging.

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WEEK TWO
He said very little. When it was over, he looked down at the skull in his lap and
patted it and said, “Well, this fellow here lost his game, too. He was winning for
ten million years or so, but then the early grasses started growing up around him,
and he found himself in a different league. He hung in there as well as he could.
He scored his points, but he kept falling farther and farther behind. The opposition
was better, quicker, keener. In the championship game, our boy got annihilated.
Not only didn’t he show up for class the next day, he never showed up, period. They
never saw him again.”
Archie lifted the snouted, fox-size skull until it was side by side with his own
face. A good minute passed as he said nothing, inviting us into our own thoughts.
Faces staring at faces staring at faces. Tens of millions of years of faces in a living
room in a place called Arizona.
(Chapter 15, page 75)

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WEEK TWO
Setting

He said very little. When it was over, he looked down at the skull in his lap and
patted it and said, “Well, this fellow here lost his game, too. He was winning for
ten million years or so, but then the early grasses started growing up around him,
and he found himself in a different league. He hung in there as well as he could.
He scored his points, but he kept falling farther and farther behind. The opposition
was better, quicker, keener. In the championship game, our boy got annihilated.
Not only didn’t he show up for class the next day, he never showed up, period. They
never saw him again.”
Archie lifted the snouted, fox-size skull until it was side by side with his own
face. A good minute passed as he said nothing, inviting us into our own thoughts.
Faces staring at faces staring at faces. Tens of millions of years of faces in a living
room in a place called Arizona.
(Chapter 15, page 75)

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Why this passage

Mica’s unofficial teacher runs the Loyal Order of the Stone and Bone. In this passage, he
ponders the mysteries of the high school pecking order through the object lesson of an
Eocene rat skull named Barney—which might prompt some readers to ask, “What’s up
with all the rodents in this book?”

What to note
Spelling and vocabulary
Review the following terms for spelling and meaning.
• league • snouted
• opposition • inviting
• keener • thoughts
• annihilated • staring

Dialogue
Notice the beginning of this passage is not indented. The indentation for this bit of
dialogue occurred a few sentences earlier. This passage picks up in the middle of the
narrative leading to Archie’s monologue.

Archie’s spoken words are in dialogue quotes. The attributive tag (he said/she said)
is long and descriptive:

When it was over, he looked down at the skull in his lap and patted it and said,

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Sentence fragment
While “Faces staring at faces staring at faces” reads like an infinite loop of a line, it
also happens to be a sentence fragment. To be a complete sentence it would need a
finite verb like this:

There were faces staring at faces staring at faces.

A finite verb is a verb which has a subject (a noun that tells who or what the
sentence is about) and shows tense (indicating past, present, future, or habitual).
Here’s another example of a complete sentence with a finite verb:

Their faces stared at each other.

Compare it to the following sentence, in which “staring” is a non-finite verb because

it does not show tense:

Faces staring at faces.

Next, consider a sentence like this one:

We looked at their staring faces.

Here, “staring” is not a verb at all, but a present participle used as an adjective!

Oh, grammar, you are so quirky and complex!

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Tens of millions of years of faces in a living room in a place called Arizona.

This sentence contains a subject but no verb, so it is also a fragment. Typically, grammar
“rules” call for complete sentences with a subject and a verb, but writers of novels get
to channel their inner Stargirl and defy convention, especially for poetic effect.

Here, the fragment structure and repetition of the word “faces” give a sense of a camera
zooming in on faces around a circle, then zooming out over eons of the circle of life, and
then zooming in again to a particular time and place. Mind-bending!

Hyphens and compound adjectives

Notice that “side by side” does not use hyphens, because the phrase follows the noun it
modifies. The hyphenated spelling is appropriate when the phrase acts as an adjective
before the noun it modifies. For example:

Archie did a side-by-side comparison of his face and the rat’s skull.

Accordingly, “fox-size skull” does have a hyphen. The result is called a compound adjective.

As the English language changes, many formerly-hyphenated compound nouns

have lost that mark and become one word (as in “bumblebee”) or two words (as in
“ice cream.”) Most compound adjectives retain their hyphen, though there are some
exceptions, such as “waterborne” or “oversize.”

Speaking of “oversize,” have you seen it spelled “oversized”? And is it “fox-size skull”
or “fox-sized” skull? Writer’s choice. Either way is correct.

Can you picture a rat with a “fox-size” skull? That’s a big rat! We will probe the
significance of this extinct creature in the How to Teach section.

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How to teach the passage

Analogy
Archie tells a little tale about Barney’s “game” as a way to comment on the events of the
Mica High basketball game. He makes an analogy of basketball to wins and losses that
happen in nature over time. Like a simile or a metaphor, an analogy is a comparison
between two otherwise unlike things. What sets an analogy apart is that the comparison
is extended in order to make an argument. A well-chosen analogy can make technical or
unfamiliar information easier to grasp.

Archie’s analogy reads something like a fable—a story usually featuring animals or
objects that has a moral or lesson. But like a true sage, Archie keeps the lesson open to
interpretation. In the story of the basketball game: who is the winner and who is the
loser? In the arena of Mica High: who is analogous to the Eocene rat? The analogy seems
to work for the team and for Stargirl herself.

Try it!

Analogies can be a powerful part of your writing, so experiment with them!

Start with an event, activity, or experience. Compare it to another concrete event, activity,
or experience. A good analogy is drawn from experiences people can easily picture in
their minds. You might compare a soccer match to a historic battle or you may envision
the person who cuts your hair as a gardener, or perhaps you level up in martial arts the
same way you do in a video game.

Freewrite a list of characteristics about your soccer match, for example, and then freewrite
a list of characteristics of a battle and see how they correspond.

Extend the comparison the way Archie does in this passage by telling a little story. As part of
your experiment, see how far you can stretch the analogy before the whole thing falls apart!

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Setting
“This place called Arizona” is one of many references to the setting—the location—of
this story. The origin of the name “Arizona” is subject to debate among historians, who
link it to a native word that could mean “silver-bearing” or “place of the small spring.”
The sound of the name happens to evoke the English words “arid zone,” which captures
the dryness of the desert.

The social landscape of Mica High is something of a desert itself—dry and drab, until
Stargirl blooms like a desert flower. Leo learns through Stargirl’s tutelage that the desert
is also a source of enchantment and wonder.

What details do you notice about the desert setting in this story? How about the school,
basketball court, shopping mall (“Tudor Village”), and housing developments that have
recently sprung up in its midst? Could this story have taken place somewhere else, or
does the setting seem necessary to the story’s plot and themes?

Beyond the Passage: Symbolism (Spoiler Alert)

It’s a striking image: the circle of young people sitting in silence as Archie
juxtaposes his face with an extinct rat skull. Seriously, though, why are there
so many rodents in this book?

Cinnamon, Stargirl’s faithful companion, is not your typical pet—no cat or

dog for this girl. Leave it to Stargirl, who sees the beauty in everything, to
be smitten with a rat. At the height of Stargirl’s popularity, Cinnamon even
inspires other students to buy all the rats from the local pet store.

Barney is Archie’s extinct rat skull and favorite teaching tool. Toward the end
of the book, Archie buries the skull in a rock, returning it to its home in a
kind of ceremony after Stargirl vanishes.

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And let’s not get started on porcupines! They are another recurring rodent.
(More about them in week four).

When an image or object appears multiple times in a story, the reader might
wonder about its significance. Rodents and bones would typically be at
home in a goth haunted house, but what are they doing alongside a being
of such lightness as Stargirl? Archie’s depictions of Stargirl’s character offer
some hints:

“And I think every once in a while someone comes along who is a little
more primitive than the rest of us, a little closer to our beginnings, a
little more in touch with the stuff we’re made of.” (177)

The earliest mammals were rodent-like creatures. As Cinnamon and Barney

show, there’s something at once evolving and timeless about them. Could the
presence of rodents in this story serve as a reminder of Stargirl’s connection to
these beginnings? What do you think?

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WEEK THREE
Now I was feeling sorry for her. I sat back down beside her. I took her hand.
I smiled. I spoke as gently as I could. “Stargirl, you just can’t do things the way
you do. If you weren’t stuck in a homeschool all your life, you’d understand. You
can’t just wake up in the morning and say you don’t care what the rest of the
world thinks.”
Her eyes were wide, her voice peepy like a little girl’s. “You can’t?”
“Not unless you want to be a hermit.”
(Chapter 25, page 136)

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WEEK THREE
Dialogue and Tone

Now I was feeling sorry for her. I sat back down beside her. I took her hand.
I smiled. I spoke as gently as I could. “Stargirl, you just can’t do things the way
you do. If you weren’t stuck in a homeschool all your life, you’d understand. You
can’t just wake up in the morning and say you don’t care what the rest of the
world thinks.”
Her eyes were wide, her voice peepy like a little girl’s. “You can’t?”
“Not unless you want to be a hermit.”
(Chapter 25, page 136)

Why this passage

Stuck between wanting social approval and wanting to be with Stargirl, Leo takes it upon
himself to “educate” her to the ways of the world. In the Mica High courtyard under a
palmetto, Leo schools Stargirl and uses the threat of isolation to spur her to change.

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What to note
Spelling and vocabulary
Review the following terms for spelling and meaning.
• gently
• peepy
• hermit
• homeschool
Note that “homeschool” is one of those formerly-hyphenated compound nouns! Now
it’s usually written as one word.

Contractions
Reflecting the way people actually speak, this passage makes liberal use of contractions:

“can’t” instead of “can not,”

“weren’t” instead of “were not,”
“you’d” instead of “you would,” and
“don’t” instead of “do not.”

First-person
This passage highlights the fact that Leo is the one telling this story. He speaks in the
first-person voice, referring to himself as “I” or “me.”

Dialogue
In keeping with the roles they play, Leo has more to say than Stargirl. (See the How to
Teach section for more on their role reversals.)
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Note the dialogue punctuation. The end punctuation falls inside the quotation marks
that indicate spoken words.

“...what the rest of the world thinks.”

“You can’t?”
“Not unless you want to be a hermit.”

Also notice how this passage does not contain the usual attributive tags such as “I said”
or “she said.” What are the variety of ways this passage indicates who is speaking—how
do you keep track?

The final sentence in the string of Leo’s actions serves as an introduction for his words
to Stargirl, without the typical “I said.”

I spoke as gently as I could.

In the same fashion, a sentence indicates Stargirl said the words that followed.

Her eyes were wide, her voice peepy like a little girl’s.

Naturally, the next words are spoken by Leo in the back-and-forth exchange.

How to teach the passage

First-person narration
All of the events in the book appear only as Leo sees them. We get first-hand insight
into Leo’s internal mix of exasperation, pity, and ambivalence.

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Try it!

If you were to imagine this scene from Stargirl’s perspective, what do you think might
be going through her head? Try rewriting this short scene from her point of view.

Tone
Subtle choices contribute to tone, which is the attitude of the writer (or speaker)
toward the subject, including diction (word choice) and description of action such as
body language. In this passage, Leo moves from frustration to patient instruction. He
slows down and describes each action separately:

I sat back down beside her. I took her hand. I smiled. I spoke as gently as I could.

These words might have been written as a single sentence with commas and
conjunctions (such as and) instead of periods between each action. Rewrite the quote
above in various ways and read each version aloud. How does a change in punctuation
change the tone?

Role reversal
For most of the story so far, Leo has been the one learning lessons from Stargirl, as
well as from Archie. Here, there’s a role reversal as Leo becomes the “teacher.”

How would you describe Leo’s approach to teaching Stargirl in this scene? How does
she respond? Is Leo’s assessment accurate: does Stargirl get up in the morning and
decide she doesn’t care what people think? What is Leo’s opinion of Stargirl’s education
so far? How do readers know how he feels?

Beyond the Passage: Modes of Instruction

Stargirl plays with a number of key themes (or central topics): “Education” or
“Knowledge and Wisdom.” Pedagogy is the method and practice of teaching,

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and there are a multitude of approaches, from teacher-centered pedagogy to

learner-centered pedagogy, to everything in between. This passage invites a
closer look at how Leo’s “teaching style” differs from Archie’s and Stargirl’s.

“My school is everywhere and always in session” Archie says of his open
home/fossil collection and his weekly Saturday meetings. Though much
of the book takes place in the rooms and hallways of Mica High, Archie’s
“classroom” is the setting for some of Leo’s deepest reflections. Archie’s style
of pedagogy involves asking questions and providing few answers, or as the
week two passage says, “inviting us into our own thoughts.”

[Archie] was not certified to teach in Arizona, but that did not stop him.
Every Saturday morning his house became a school. Fourth-graders,
twelfth-graders—all are welcome. No tests, no grades, no attendance
record. Just the best school most of us had ever gone to. He covered
everything from toothpaste to tapeworms and somehow made it fit
together. (page 31)

Stargirl is also Leo’s teacher out in the desert, and in the streets and
shopping centers of Mica. Her style seems to involve keen observation of her
surroundings:

She saw things. I had not known there was so much to see.
She was forever tugging my arm and saying, “Look!”
I would look around, seeing nothing. “Where?”
She would point. “There.”
In the beginning I still could not see. She might be pointing to a
doorway, or a person, or the sky. But such things were so common to my
eyes, so undistinguished, that they would register as “nothing.” I walked
in a gray world of nothings. (pages 107–108)

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As you read, pay attention to the book’s attitude toward homeschooling,

public schooling, and the Loyal Order of the Stone and Bone. What questions
might arise from those portrayals?

Here’s one: if what she was after was friendship, why didn’t Stargirl join the
variety of kids who gathered on Saturdays with Archie instead of enrolling
in Mica High? Does the plot of Stargirl hinge on the stereotype (a widely
held but fixed and oversimplified idea of a particular type of person) of the
socially-isolated homeschooler?

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WEEK FOUR
When I read about things like these I wonder, Is she there? I wonder what she
calls herself now. I wonder if she’s lost her freckles. I wonder if I’ll ever get another
chance. I wonder, but I don’t despair. Though I have no family of my own, I do not
feel alone. I know that I am being watched. The echo of her laughter is the second
sunrise I awaken to each day, and at night I feel it is more than stars looking down
on me. Last month, one day before my birthday, I received a gift-wrapped package
in the mail. It was a porcupine necktie.
(More Than Stars, page 186)

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WEEK FOUR
Epilogue: “More than Stars”

When I read about things like these I wonder, Is she there? I wonder what she
calls herself now. I wonder if she’s lost her freckles. I wonder if I’ll ever get another
chance. I wonder, but I don’t despair. Though I have no family of my own, I do not
feel alone. I know that I am being watched. The echo of her laughter is the second
sunrise I awaken to each day, and at night I feel it is more than stars looking down
on me. Last month, one day before my birthday, I received a gift-wrapped package
in the mail. It was a porcupine necktie.
(More Than Stars, page 186)

Why this passage

The end comes full circle to the beginning, and hints that the tale will continue.

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What to note
Spelling and vocabulary
Review the following terms for spelling and meaning.
• echo
• awaken
• received
• porcupine
• necktie
• gift-wrapped (a hyphenated compound adjective)

Italics
Note the italics: Is she there? The italics indicate Leo’s internal dialogue, his wondering.
In copywork, underline the italicized words.

Commas
Notice the commas here:

Last month, one day before my birthday, I received a gift-wrapped package in the
mail.

The commas set aside the additional information in the dependent clause: one day
before my birthday.
The sentence would be a complete thought without that information.

Last month I received a gift-wrapped package in the mail.

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But that information is key for context, so it is included in a well-placed aside.

How would the effect of these words be different if the order were changed? More on
that in the How to Teach section.

Cadence and character development

Leo-the-Poet is back again in this passage with his poetic cadence. Note the repetition
of “I wonder.”
His eloquent attempts to express his wonderings about Stargirl add dimension to his
character and make him a sympathetic narrator, especially after the fumbling episode of
last week’s passage. His word choices reveal a sensitivity that makes him a worthy object
for Stargirl’s affections—it helps show what she might see in him. Interestingly, to have
a love interest worthy of her flair works to add dimension to her character, too.
Try your hand at rewriting this passage with line breaks and see how it functions as a poem.
The How to Teach section further explores how punctuation affects the pacing of
this passage.

How to teach the passage

Pacing
Let’s play with the order of the concluding lines.

Rewritten, the sentence could read:

I received a gift-wrapped package in the mail one day before my birthday last
month: a porcupine necktie.

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Where’s the mystery? Where’s the intrigue?

Or how about this construction:

I received a porcupine necktie in a gift-wrapped package in the mail last

month, one day before my birthday.

These versions contain the same information, even the same words. But the effect is
utterly different.

By drawing out the information with the dependent clause, “one day before my birthday,”
the last line about the necktie reads like a big reveal.

Try it!

While reading, pay attention to lines that strike you—ones that pack a little punch.
Tease out what makes them work to achieve the impact the author intended. Look at
how the lines are constructed. Move the words around. Create multiple sentences from
one long sentence. Blend three sentences into one with commas, conjunctions, or a
semicolon. Do the lines retain their power—their punch—with the new construction?

Inside Scoop: Introductions and Closings

This section has a title—“More than Stars.” The only other chapter with a
title in this book is the opening one (“Porcupine Necktie”). These titles can
alert the reader to the relationship between the opening and ending, both of
which take place outside the main action of the story.

“More than Stars” functions as an epilogue, which is Greek for “concluding

word.” As you might guess, “prologue” means “beginning word.” What is

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the difference between a foreword, a preface, an introduction, a prologue,

and an epilogue, a coda, and an afterword?

A foreword or afterword is usually written by someone other than the

author of the book.

A preface typically appears in nonfiction and lays out the book’s scope or aims.

An introduction is part of the main argument of the book, but a prologue

hooks the reader in fiction with action that is outside of the main action of
the story.

A coda is a conclusion that sometimes appears at the end of a novel. It’s a

term borrowed from music, and refers to a passage that brings a movement
or a story to a close via prolongation—it keeps the story going just a little bit
longer as a kind of finale.

An epilogue provides comments outside the main action that give insight
into what happened in the narrative and fill the reader in on what happened
after time has passed. An epilogue can also set the stage for a sequel, as “More
than Stars” effectively does here.

Imagery
This final passage recalls the imagery of time, nature, and the cosmos that readers have
come to associate with Stargirl. The “echo of her laughter” harkens back to previous
descriptions of a “faint scent” or “flitting shadow,” but this time with an audio comparison.
Stargirl hits all of the senses!

The epilogue also returns to the image of the hard-to-find porcupine necktie. Leo’s

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“collection” of these unique ties now numbers three. When the porcupine necktie
appears at the beginning of the book, it might seem like an oddity to be glanced over.
But when it comes again at the end (after the reader has met Cinnamon and Barney) the
image begs to be played with.

Consider. First, there’s the idea of a necktie itself. Is there a more conventional, “square”
piece of clothing? But these porcupine neckties have a bit of kitschy panache. For here
again the mammalian order Rodentia pops in to add quirkiness and a connection to a
primal nature.

Throughout this story, Leo is open, receptive, seeking connection. Yet he’s also afraid,
and so far unable to give himself over to the boundlessness of Stargirl. Like a porcupine,
Leo guards his soft vulnerability with protective quills. For what is a porcupine if not a
rat with boundaries?

Which begs the question: over the course of this story do Stargirl and Leo change, or do
they simply become more fully themselves? And what would happen if their paths ever
crossed again? The epilogue has served its function, hooking the reader for more!

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THINK PIECE QUESTIONS

Dr. Peter Elbow’s term “think piece questions” comes from his work in the field of writing
instruction and appears in many of his books and articles. We have adopted his language
for this section of the Boomerang. The following questions are designed to offer you ways
to think about Stargirl. Things to remember and try:
SWATCHES

• Use the questions to help you delve more deeply into the story. Support your
answers with specific details from the book.
• Consider answering one set of questions per week.
• The finished product need not be perfectly refined. The objective of this writing is
to stimulate reflection and to help you give language to your thoughts.
• If you find it daunting to write about these topics at first, use them as conversation
starters with a parent or sibling who has read the books. Go out for shakes and
talk about the book!
• As you get comfortable talking through a book, try answering one of the questions
SWATCHES
in writing.

1. How are we introduced to Stargirl? What do you notice about her? What makes
you want to keep reading (or stop reading)?
2. Where is there foreshadowing in this story? Foreshadowing may be at play when
a reader gets a sense of foreboding or little hints about what might happen later
in the story.

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3. Consider the following words: normal, weird, conformity. How would you
define each of them? How does Stargirl seem to define these words?
4. Stargirl was homeschooled. What do you think of the portrayal of homeschoolers
in the story? How is her process of integrating into public school? Do you relate
to any aspects of her experience?
5. What are the themes of this book? (A theme is a main idea that connects the
threads of the narrative.) Use an example from the story to explain how the
theme of your choice shows up.
6. This book is being made into a movie. Imagine you were the screenwriter: what
scenes might you change or add or remove? Are there any plots you would take
out? Would you change anything about the characters?
7. Stargirl rises to popularity and then falls sharply. What happens there? How can
somebody so beloved become so disliked?
8. Choose a character in the novel and analyze how Stargirl impacts this character.
What does this character think of her? How does this character interact with
her? How does the relationship develop throughout the story?
9. Some critics have said that this novel has an abrupt ending. What do you think?
What does this ending leave you feeling? Did you like the ending, or were you
hoping for a different outcome?

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Golden Lines
Select one favorite passage from the book to keep in a notebook of golden lines. You’ll
pick a passage, copy it into a notebook, and then write the date you picked it and the
location in the book (which chapter and page number). Then jot down a sentence or
two about why the passage is meaningful to you. If you continue this practice each time
you read a book and keep the quotes all in one journal, you’ll have a lovely commonplace
book that serves as a record of your reading throughout the year!

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SWATCHES

BOOK CLUB PARTY SCHOOL

Hello, Book Club Planners!

This book club party school guide is jam-packed with ideas and suggestions to help you
create an enchanting book club party. Incorporate your favorites to design the party that
works best for you, your schedule, and the children in your book club. Please, don’t feel
the need to use every idea in this guide. The goal is to offer you loads of choices, not
SWATCHES
to burden you with work. Celebrate a lifetime love of reading with a memorable party!

Stargirl
Welcome to the Mica High Reunion!

We used to think that being the same made everyone happy—everyone safe.

Don’t stand out.

Don’t take risks.

Don’t let yourself be vulnerable.

But one girl changed all that.

So, come in! Wear the name that fits you today. Bring everything in you that is unique and
kind, and share it with us.

Today is Stargirl Day!

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Enchanted Site
• Set the mood with a playlist of ukelele music for the background. YouTube has
several hours-long mixes. Search for happy ukelele music.
• Near the front door, offer name tags and markers. Prepare guests beforehand so
they can think of a name that they would like to “wear” today. Use those names
throughout the party.
• Prior to the party, encourage guests to come in whatever they’ve always wanted to
wear but felt shy about. Experimentation is encouraged. Costumes are awesome!
• Fill the room with saguaros and other cacti. Use flat cutouts from the party
store, printed pictures taped the wall, papier-mâché sculptures, imitations from
the local home goods store, or live succulents. Go cactus crazy!
• Erect a Mica High road runner bulletin board cut from a large cardboard
box. Remind guests ahead of time to bring their Golden Lines, and leave an
assortment of sticky notes and pens next to the bulletin board for writing and
posting the lines.
• Create a corner for Archie with an assortment of fossils, skeletons, and/or
skeletal diagrams.
• Cover the space with stars of all sizes.
• Include a happy wagon in an out-of-the-way corner. This can be any container,
not necessarily a wagon. Nearby, keep twenty stones or similar objects (legos,
erasers, paper clips...) to place in the wagon. Start with ten stones in the wagon
and ten next to the wagon. Explain that the guests are welcome to add a stone to
the wagon when something makes them happy, or to remove one when they are
unhappy. Both actions are acceptable and encouraged. Both feelings are valid.

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The Lunchroom
• Decorate the table with blue and yellow tablecloth. For the centerpiece, use a
clear vase with a single white daisy (a craft store milk bottle would work well).
• Offer Kevin and Leo’s favorite strawberry-banana smoothies. Search for
strawberry banana smoothies and decide if you want to offer other add-ins.
• Set up a game-day hotdog stand with hot dogs, relish, ketchup, mustard,
and other condiments of your choosing.
• Serve prickly pear juice or prickly pear lemonade. Search for prickly pear
drinks for recipes and instructions. Alternatively, serve regular lemonade.
• In honor of Stargirl’s pet, bake Cinnamon sugar cookies. Search the Internet
for cinnamon sugar cookies for recipes.
• Offer your favorite cupcakes decorated with edible silver flakes that look
like the mineral mica for which the town was named. These are available on
Amazon if you search edible flakes, or you can find them at the local hobby
store in the baking aisle.
• Since Mica is known for its electronics production, it seems fitting to have “chips”
at the the party. Put out a bowl of chips with a label: “MicaTronics Chips.”

Stargirl’s Office
Stargirl’s office reflected her individuality and her focus on caring for others. You can
recreate the atmosphere with several of her crafts.
• Set up a card-making station. Provide card stock, stamps, markers, pens,
glue, double-sided tape, ribbons, etc. If you ask around, friends and other
homeschoolers are sure to have supplies and equipment from scrapbooking and
stamping projects.

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• Write fillers for the Mica Times newspaper. Using 3”x5” cards, have your guests
use fun facts that they know and interesting tidbits about themselves or each other
to write fillers like the ones Stargirl liked so much. After the party, compile the
fillers into a document and send out a “Filler Flyer” to all the guests.
• Decorate individualized canvas tote bags.
• You’ll need a blank canvas tote bag for each guest (find at your local craft shop
or order online), brushes, acrylic paint in a variety of colors, palettes (paper
plates work well), and scrap cardboard. Search the Internet for paint canvas
tote bags to find tips.
• Give each guest a tote bag and a piece of scrap cardboard to place in the bag so
the paint doesn’t bleed through.
• Offer paper and pens to allow guests to sketch design ideas before they start.
• Provide pictures of sunflowers and daisies for inspiration, but encourage
guests to create any design they like.
Note: Start this project at the beginning of book club so the bags have time to
dry before the end of the party.
• Do a cactus craft. Search cactus craft for cute ideas for making cacti out of felt,
paper, or even painted rocks.

Dance in the Rain

• Play Hot Seat.
Decorate a chair with paper flames taped to the legs, a red cushion, or even a
heating pad to make it a literal hot seat!
Have each guest take a turn in the seat and the rest of the guests be members of
the jury. The rules are that the jury may only ask questions, not make statements.
You might act as the interviewer or allow the guests to take turns. The interviewer’s
job is to make sure the questions are good-natured and to interject if the jury

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makes statements. The interviewer can also kick off the questioning with a few
standard questions.
• Who is your hero—your role model?
• What is your greatest ambition?
• What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?
Each guest should get 2–4 minutes in the hot seat and then rotate out.
• If your group is open to it, you might try a short, guided meditation. While
Stargirl is able to “erase” herself, that is actually a fairly advanced meditative
practice that doesn’t come naturally for many people. You might try a practice
that focuses on the breath. Searching guided meditations for teens will give you
some options to choose from.
• To loosen up and keep things light-hearted, you might take a cue from Leo and
play darts. You can search team darts for rules on how to play in groups to keep
everyone engaged, or use this as an alternative activity if someone prefers to sit out
on a different game or craft.
• Dance the Bunny Hop! Search the Internet for bunny hop dance to find videos or
written instructions on how to dance the bunny hop. Run through the steps several
times before starting to improvise. A clip from The Ray Anthony Show gives a good
sense of how the dance was done during its heyday. Search the name of the show
with bunny hop to find a YouTube video.

Farewell, Star friends.

“Star people are rare. You’ll be lucky to meet another.” — Archie

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