4th Quarter: Week 8: The Giver

Monday:The Ceremony continues, and Jonas becomes increasingly nervous as his turn approaches. When Fiona is called, she receives the Assignment of Caretaker of the Old which Jonas thinks is perfect for his sensitive friend. Jonas readies himself to be called next, but the Chief Elder instead calls Pierre who is Twenty and skips Jonas. Jonas and the rest of the community are astonished, but the Ceremony continues with the rest of the Elevens. 


Tuesday:Calling Jonas up to the stage, she tells everyone that Jonas has not been assigned, but "selected" to become the next Receiver of Memory. There are gasps of surprise at this announcement, and the Chief Elder explains that this kind of selection is rare. In the community, there is only one Receiver who has been in the position for a long time. Continuing her speech, the Chief Elder explains that ten years ago, there had been a failed selection of a Receiver. She says that she will not dwell on because it causes everyone discomfort at which Jonas can feel the unease that the audience seems to feel.


Wednesday:For the first time in his life, Jonas feels different from the rest of the Elevens. After the Ceremony, he looks for his friends and family among the throng of people who eye him and whisper about him among themselves. Having spotted Asher, Jonas invites him to ride back home together. Although Asher agrees, Jonas feels that for a moment, Asher is uncertain. 


Thursday:As a Receiver-in-training, he had been given all those memories from the Receiver before him. The heavy burden of these memories makes him tired and old. The man tries to explain his state of mind by comparing it to going downhill on a snow sled, but Jonas does not know what sled and snow are. Saying that it is "a place to start," the man instructs Jonas to remove his tunic and lie face down on the bed. He then goes to the speakers and turns them off. Jonas is astonished that the speakers can be turned off. The man returns to the bed where Jonas is and sits on a chair by the bed. Telling Jonas to close his eyes and relax, he explains that he will give Jonas the memory of snow.


Friday:The old man confesses that transmitting even that small memory to Jonas has slightly lifted some burden off him. Although he does not have that specific memory of the sled, the snow, and the hill anymore after having given it to Jonas, he still has many others to give. The old man tells Jonas that the memory of the snow and the sled is a distant one that goes many years back. There is no longer snow because of Climate Control. Jonas expresses the desire to have things like snow and hill every now and then, and the old man agrees, but he reminds Jonas that the choice is not theirs. Although he has honor, it is not the same thing as power.

4th Quarter: Week 7: The Giver

Monday:When the baby boy arrives at the family unit, Lily first notices his unusual eye color that are similar to Jonas's eyes which are also pale. In the community, dark eyes are the most common, but there are exceptions like those of Jonas and of a female Five. Jonas does not like the fact that Lily has mentioned his eyes. 


Tuesday:Excited about the new young visitor, Lily exclaims that she would like to be a Birthmother. Mother tells her sharply that there is "very little honor" in being a Birthmother. A Birthmother gives three births for three years after which she becomes a mere Laborer. Father suggests to Lily that she should think about being a Nurturer like himself instead of being a Birthmother.


Wednesday:Jonas rides his bicycle to the House of the Old where he sees Asher and Fiona's bicycles parked outside. A female Eleven, Fiona is Jonas's friend. Entering the building, Jonas is greeted by an attendant, and Jonas signs in his volunteering hours which will be recorded at the Hall of Open Records. A long ago, an Eleven was said to not have completed his required volunteer hours. He had not been able to receive his Assignment during the Ceremony of December, and it had been "a disgrace."


Thursday:Jonas helps an old woman bathe. During her bath, Larissa, the woman, tells Jonas about the release of Roberto that was celebrated earlier that day. Roberto's whole life as an Instructor of Elevens, a member of the Planning Committee, and a father of two children had been told before he was released. Larissa continues by explaining that there are occasionally boring life tellings like that of Edna who was released recently. A Birthmother and a Laborer, Edna had not even had a family unit of her own. When Jonas asks her to tell him more about the celebration, Larissa says that after the telling of one's life, there is a toast followed by a chanting of the anthem and speeches. No one knows exactly where one goes after the release, but Larissa tells Jonas that Roberto had looked happy.


Friday:Before the Ceremony of Twelve, there is a break. Jonas and his groupmates are nervous about their assignments. Aher tells Jonas about an Eleven who swam away to another community after being given an Assignment as Sanitation Laborer. Jonas dismisses Asher's story as being false, but Asher reminds Jonas that it is possible to join another community. The rules say that one can apply to be released and go Elsewhere if one does not fit in, but Jonas thinks to himself: "How could someone not fit in? The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices so carefully made."

4th Quarter: Week 6: The Giver

Monday:After the evening meal, there is the Telling of Feeligns It is one of the routine rituals within the family dwelling. Jonas is hesitant to go first tonight, so he allows Lily, his little sister, to take her turn. Lily announces that she felt angry that afternoon because a group of Sevens had visited her group, and a boy had constantly cut in line in front of everyone else who had been waiting. Mother and Father suggest that perhaps the boy did not know the rules of their community too well because he was from another community.


Tuesday:Jonas's father talks about his feeling of worry. Jonas's father is a Nurturer who takes care of every newchild during its earliest stage of life. Father talks about a male child who is not growing like the other children. The child does not sleep well and has to be put in the extra care section. Jonas, Lily, and Mother all sympathize because the child might be released. In the community, there are releases of the elderly and of the children. The elderly are released after having lived a full life, and the release is a celebration. When newchildren are released, however, it is sad because there is "a sense of what-could-we-have-done."


Wednesday:Father says that he is going to keep trying with the child. He has already asked the committee for permission to bring the childhome because the night crew Nurturers are not as caring or skilled. Lily suggests jokingly that maybe they can keep the baby, but Mother reminds her of the rules. There can only be two children, a male and a female in a family unit.


Thursday:Jonas's parents begin talking about the Ceremony in December. During the conversation, Jonas remembers the ceremonies he has had before and the ceremonies he has seen. During the Ceremony of One, all newchildren who were born the year before turn One. There are always fifty in each year's group. During the ceremony, each one of them is brought up to the stage to be given names. At the mention of the ritual of Naming, Father guiltily admits that he broke a rule earlier that day. He had looked at the list of Names. He wanted to know the name of the boy he had brought home for the night, and found that it was to be Gabriel


Friday:Jonas remembers the year he became a Five when Lily was given to the family unit. Jonas had gone up to the stage with his parents to receive her. Father then tells Jonas about his own Ceremony of Twelve. His own sister had gotten a bicycle as she became a Nine then. Although it had been against the rules, he had been teaching his sister how to ride the bike. Although the rules dictate the one cannot ride the bicycle before turning Nine, it is a rule that is frequently broken. Nowadays, there is much talk about changing this rule regarding riding the bicycle. A committee is looking into possibly making a change in the rules, but changing the rules is a long, hard process. If it is an important rule, The Receiver, as the most important elder in the community, is consulted.

4th Quarter: Week 5: The Giver

Thursday:With December approaching, Jonas feels frightened, but he immediately corrects himself. He was frightened when an unknown aircraft had twice flown over the community a year ago. It had been his first time seeing an aircraft fly so closely because it is against the rules to fly over the community.


Friday:On his way home, Jonas reminds himself of the fear that he had felt then with the aircraft. Always careful about language, he tries to think of the exact word to describe his feelings now. Jonas is different from his friend Asher who is careless with words. Asher is usually tardy to school, always having to make his public apologies in front of the classroom. 

4th Quarter:Week 5:The Devil's Arithmetic

Wednesday:Hannah's job is the clean the pots, and the kitchen and to scrape away food. One day, the commandant comes unexpectedly and Reuven, Yitzchak the butcher's son, is coming out of the hospital with a broken leg. The commandant stops at Reuven and  pats his head, indicating that he was chosen. Hannah runs and tries to stop his choice but his mind is set.

4th Quarter:Week 5:The Devil's Arithmetic

Tuesday:When the commandant leaves, the children all file out of the garbage and put their clothes back on. A woman comes and takes her baby away from Hannah, complaining about her not taking her clothes off. She realizes that Hannah saved her baby and thanks her by getting her a job in the kitchen, where she can get more food.

4th Quarter:Week 5:The Devil's Arithmetic

Monday:The commandant is coming and the signal for all children to hide in the midden is the sound of tongues clicking. The children all run from what they are doing, shed their clothes, and hide in the garbage. Hannah noticed a baby who would not make it in time. She runs, grabs the baby and jumps in the pile, clothes full on.

4th Quarter:Week 4:The Devil's Arithmetic

Friday:J18202, is Rivka's number. She tells them how to remember numbers. J because she is a Jew. 1 because she is alone. 8 for how many family members. 2 because of her and her brother, Wolfe. 0 is what Wolfe thinks he is. 2 because that's how many there will be when they are free.

4th Quarter:Week 4:The Devil's Arithmetic

Thursday:They are put into a bunks, holding 4 to 8 women and children in one bed. The next day they are given a bowl. Hannah then meets Rivka, and Rivka tells them about how she has survived a year in the camp. The most important rule she tells them is to remember their numbers they have tattooed on their arms.

4th Quarter:Week 4:The Devil's Arithmetic

Wednesday:The women, children, and men are all separated. The women go and are forced to talk freezing cold showers. They have to take used, old, and unwashed clothes from former prisoners. After, they go into a room where all of their hair is shaved off. Hannah and Gitl make a promise to each other to not cry anymore.

4th Quarter:Week 4:The Devil's Arithmetic

Tuesday:After four days in the cattle car, few have already died. The Jews are forced out of the cars and unto the ground. They hand over any valuables and ask to leave. The Nazi's laugh and force them in a Concentration Camp.

4th Quarter:Week 4:The Devil's Arithmetic

Monday:Hannah starts to remember her history lessons of World War II and tells the Rabbi that they are Nazi's and don't ask her how she knows, but six million Jews will die. No body believes her. They are then rounded up into cars and are taken away, not knowing where.

4th Quarter:Week 3:The Devil's Arithmetic

Friday:Gitl, the woman from the shtetl, tells her to get ready for her brother, Shmuel's, wedding. When arriving at the wedding, Hannah is accompanied by four girls. She begins to tell them stories of movies and school and things that they did not have at this time. She meets the bride, Fayge, and rides with her in the wagon, when the automobiles drive up.

4th Quarter:Week 3:The Devil's Arithmetic

Thursday:Hannah walks out of the apartment into a shtetl. A woman is in the cottage and calls her Chaya. Hannah is now in the 1940's in Poland, right before the Holocaust. She is told that her parents had died from illness and she is still recovering.

4th Quarter:Week 3:The Devil's Arithmetic

Wednesday:Hannah and her family are going to their grandparent's apartment in New Rochelle for Seder, a Jewish holiday. Hannah is not excited. After hiding the afikoman and drinking the wine, Hannah is told to go open the door to let the Prophet Elijah in. Hannah opens the door, not expecting to see what was coming towards her.

4th Quarter:Week 3:Erak's Ransom

Tuesday:After the fight, everyone, including Erak is free, Halt is back with Lady Pauline, and Will takes his Ranger test to become a full fledged ranger. He succeeds his test and is assigned his on fiefdom. (End)

Great book

4th Quarter:Week 3:Erak's Ransom

Monday:Everyone stops and stares at the executioner with his broadsword as he falls down, dead. Everything is chaotic. Horace raises his tied hands and an arrow whizzes by and frees his hand. Horace picks up the broadsword and starts to fight the soldiers coming his way.

4th Quarter:Week 2:Erak's Ransom

Friday:The executioner is flaming with anger, he looks to the crowd and the crowd is saying let Evelyn go. The executioner goes for his first kill right before being hit by an arrow from afar.

4th Quarter:Week 2:Erak's Ransom

Thursday:The executioner stops and gets angry at Horace's careless expression. He picks up his sword and starts swinging it around in a show. He goes over to Halt and does the same thing. Halt retaliates with no expression. The executioner gets even more angry. He goes over to Evelyn, raises his sword above his head and almost cuts into her skull. Evelyn doesn't move either.

4th Quarter:Week 2:Erak's Ransom

Wednesday:Will and the warrior are fighting the soldiers while the executioner is still performing his warm up show.

4th Quarter:Week 2:Erak's Ransom

Tuesday:Halt, Horace, Evelyn, etc. are dragged to their execution. The executioner comes out with a massive broad sword and performs a show to excite the crowd. He swings his sword above Horace's head and stops right before he hits his head. Horace uses every ounce of strength he can to not blink or wince to prove to the executioner he wasn't afraid.

4th Quarter:Week 2:Erak's Ransom

Monday:The nosy gossiper goes to a couple of thug soldiers and tells them about the newcomers to "deal" with them. They follow Will towards the tower to see what he is going to do and stop them. The warrior with Will battles them while Will performs the plan.

4th Quarter:Week 1:Erak's Ransom

Friday:Will and his army form a plan to shoot the executer before the execution from a tower. Will and another warrior go into town while the rest with the familiar accent go into town, not trying to cause suspicion. A nosy gossip becomes intrigued by the new comers and is not happy about it.

4th Quarter:Week 1:Erak's Ransom

Thursday:Horace, Halt, Evelyn, and friends are all held slaves until their fate is decided. They are being sentenced to death.

4th Quarter:Week 1:Erak's Ransom

Wednesday:The leader of the tribe gathers up his soldiers and assists Will in his journey to save his friends.

4th Quarter:Week 1:Erak's Ransom

Tuesday:The challenger respectfully hands over Tug and congratulates him for his winning. Will finds out that Halt, Horace, Evelyn, and the gang are all captured and are going to town as slaves.

4th Quarter:Week 1:Erak's Ransom

Monday:Will and the man who took Tug get ready for their race. Will's challenger chooses the fastest, strongest horse in the whole village. They both are experienced riders and they battle out in an equal race. Tug fakes a mis-step and makes Will's heart drop and his challenger's speed rise. Tug then puts all of his strength in the last strides of the race. Will wins and regains Tug as his rightful horse.

Week 7: Erak's Ransom

Friday:The leader and the wife go uneasy. They tell Will that Tug now belongs to someone else because he found him in the desert alone. Will begins to get angry and asks to see the man. They go over to where the man is and Will thinks about killing him. He doesn't and they negotiate, Will having a hard time controlling his anger. They then make an agreement for a race.

Week 7: Erak's Ransom

Thursday:While being attacked, the leaders wife stops him and tells him to look where he shot. She then pulls out a dead desert snake, ready to pounce on the boy. The leader backs away and apologizes very sincerely. Will says it's okay. They are now even. Will asks about Tug.

Week 7: Erak's Ransom

Wednesday:Will finally gets to meet his savior. When he does, he is equipped with his weapons and clothes. The man then asks to see how skilled he is with his long bow. Will then proceeds to show him, aiming very carefully at a ball that rolled underneath a rock where a child was running to get it. He shoots at the ball and is immediately backhanded by the leader.

Week 7: Erak's Ransom

Tuesday:When Will awakes, he is now being cared for by a woman. He gets up and is nearly recovered. He asks her where the man is to thank him. He finds out that he was the leader of the people who were caring for him. He remembers when he first saw the man, Tug was with him. He then is very eager.

Week 7: Erak's Ransom

Monday:Will slowly begins to lose his water supply, sharing with Arrow. One night, delirious and deprived of water, Will falls asleep in the desert. When he wakes up he is being nurtured by a kind man. He is taken to an oasis where the man and his people live.

Week 6:Erak's Ransom

Friday:Will follows his north seeker for most of the way, being led wrong. His water begins to short, sharing it with Arrow and himself. Resting at noon when sun is at its peak and travelling during the night in the cool. He rips his clothes to make shoes for Arrow's burning feet. Will then begins to experience the horrors of not being prepared in the desert.

Week 6:Erak's Ransom

Thursday:Halt reluctantly lets his student go into the desert alone to find his horse. Selethen gives Will a map, telling him not to make any copies of it, with water and landmarks to be guided by. Will has his north seeker to rely on more than the map. Will chooses a horse that looks like Tug named Arrow. Will says his goodbyes and then embarks on his journey in his journey. After he leaves, Halt kicks himself for just remembering there's iron ore that messes with the north seeker.

Week 6:Erak's Ransom

Wednesday:Will, being too worn down from the sandstorm is too lost for tears. He lost his beloved trusty steed. Extremely upset, Gilan tries to comfort him saying he's okay. Halt and Gilan decide that they will go look for his horse. Will refuses and says it was his fault he lost Tug and now it is his job to go and find him.

Week 6:Erak's Ransom

Tuesday:While travelling through the desert, Will, Gilan, and Halt are secretly using their north seeker to pinpoint locations for future reference. The group then encounters a sudden sand storm. Will, not used to the conditions of the hard winds and piercing knife-like sands tries to follow the rest to the safe bunker, but Tug wanted to do otherwise. Tug gets scared and jerks his reins free of Will's hands and runs away in the storm.

Week 6:Erak's Ransom

Monday:Evanlyn, Halt, Gilan, Horace, Will, and a small army of Arridi soldiers prepare to go and find Erak in the Arridi desert. They leave the Skandian's behind because of their lack of being desert/horse savvy. They then embark on their perilous journey through the desert. They are ready for anything to be thrown at them. Well, almost anything.

Week 5: Erak's Ransom

Friday:After an encounter with the Arridi leader, Evanlyn realized that she was talking to an impostor. As they begin to leave, insulted, the real Arridi leader announces that he is the real leader. Evanlyn and the real leader, Selethen, discuss the ransom price, she and her group are informed that they sent Erak to another town.

Week 5: Erak's Ransom

Thursday:While on their journey, Svengal is made fun of while riding on a horse while he is used to his hearty sea legs. Then the tables are turned to Halt, while he is used to his land legs. Evanlyn is a little nervous about going through this compromise. They finally reach Arridi where Erak is being held. They are ready to settle this deal.

Week 5: Erak's Ransom

Wednesday:Svengal asks King Duncan if he would bail out Erak. Duncan agrees and has Halt, Will, Gilan, Horace, and Svengal and his men to go and pay the ransom. Princess Cassandra, better known as Evanlyn, wants to go as well. At first her father disagrees, so she uses her persuasiveness and is now able to accompany the men on their journey to the desert.

Week 5: Erak's Ransom

Tuesday:Will attends the wedding of his master's wedding with Lady Pauline. He is suited beside Gilan in their formal Ranger attire. During Halt and Pauline's dance, a Skandian barges in and crashes the party. The Skandian is now known to be Svengal, one of Erak's crewman. 

Week 5: Erak's Ransom

Monday:The sentries at Redmont Castle have been hearing and witnessing strange things lately. Most of the guards have been hearing these strange whirring noises and then all of a sudden their weapons are being shot out of their hands.
    Erak and his crew decide to go raiding. During their very carefully prepared raiding party, they end up in a trap. Erak is then captured and is now being held for ransom.

Where the Red Fern Grows: Week 3

Monday:After his grandpa spreads word, a little exaggerated, Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann are known across the way. Billy sometimes gets carried away with his stories as well.

Tuesday:Rubin and Rainie, the youngest Pritchard boys, who always like to start trouble, decided to make a bet with Billy, to see who could catch the "Ghost Coon". Billy accepted.

Wednesday:After his dogs find the coon, Rubin gets a little too upset and grabs Billy's ax. Being more than angry, he finds himself tripping and falling onto the ax.

Where the Red Fern Grows: Week 2

Monday:Billy goes to get his dogs from town by himself. After being bullied when arriving in town, he gets picked on even more after he gets his dogs. Some kids beat him up and run away after the marshal comes.

Tuesday:After having his first strawberry pop, he goes home proudly with his new puppies. He gives his family the presents he bought in town with his left over cash.

Wednesday:He immediately starts to train his dogs to hunt coons. The first thing he does is make a collar for them and writes their names, "Old Dan", and "Little Ann" from the names he saw carved in a tree on his way home from town.

Thursday:His grandfather gives him tips for catching coons. Billy goes through with the plans. After weeks of anticipation, Billy was about to give up just when he went to check to see if he caught a coon. To his surprise, he got one.

Friday:His whole family comes to watch Papa kill the coon after the dogs beat him down a little in a rough quarrel. Billy's mom made him his first coon hat with his first coon hide.