Vocabulary List & Definitions
SPROUT: 1.(verb). to begin to grow; shoot forth. 2. (noun).-a seedling
Chapters
Burdensome: (adjective) difficult to carry out or fulfill; taxing
Intricately: (adverb) in a very complicated or detailed manner
Enchanted: (adjective) 1. placed under a spell; 2. filled with delight
Bewilderment: (noun) a feeling of being perplexed and confused
Wonderment: (noun) a state of awed admiration or respect
Perplexing: (adjective) completely baffling; very puzzling
Quill: (noun) 1. any of the main wing or tail feathers of a bird
2. the hollow sharp spines of a porcupine or hedgehog
Adornment: (noun) a thing which adorns or decorates; an ornament
Adjective: a word to describe a noun
Milled Grain: (noun) grain ground into flour
Sarcastically: (adverb) in an ironic way; intended to mock or convey contempt
Woesome: (adjective) expressing sorrow
Loathsome: (adjective) causing hatred or disgust; repulsive
Mournful: (adjective) feeling, expressing, or inducing sadness, regret or grief.
Belaboring: (verb) arguing or elaborating in excessive detail.
Toiling: (verb) working extremely hard or incessantly.
Racked: (verb) caused extreme physical or mental pain to
Intolerable: (adjective) unable to be endured
Insufferable: (adjective) too extreme to bear; intolerable; having or showing unbearable arrogance or conceit
Indifferent: (adjective) having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned
Avalanche: (noun) a mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside
Bearing: (adjective) carrying weight or load
Wholesome: (adjective) conducive to or suggestive of good health and physical well-being
Growthsome: (adjective) conducive to growth; fertile
Virtuous: (adjective) having or showing high moral standards
Courteous: (adjective) polite, respectful, or considerate in manner
Gracious: (adjective) courteous, kind, and pleasant
Belligerent: (adjective) hostile and aggressive
Diligent: (adjective) having or showing care and conscientious in one’s work or duties
Flagon: (noun) a large container in which drink is served, typically with a handle and spout
Inexplicable: (adjective) unable to be explained or accounted for
Bestowed: (verb) conferred or presented an honor, right, or gift
Nuisance: (noun) a person, thing, or circumstance causing an convenience or annoyance
Midsummer’s Eve: celebration of the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere-June 21st
Evict: (verb) expel someone from a property, especially with the support of the law
Labyrinth: (noun) a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze
Ale: (noun) a type of beer or drink
Cowering: (verb) crouch down in fear
Irate: (adjective) feeling great anger
Temperament: (noun) a person’s nature
Extinguished: (verb) put an end to; cause a fire to cease to burn
Lanky: (adjective) ungracefully thin and tall
Askew: (adjective) not in a straight or level position
Calamity: (noun) an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster
Vaulted: (adjective) having an arched roof or ceiling
Unfathomable: (adjective) incapable of being fully explored or understood
Prestidigitation: pres-ti-dig-i-ta-tion (noun) magic tricks performed as entertainment
Prevarication: (noun) deliberate act of deviating from the truth; intentional vagueness or ambiguity
Presbyopia: pres-by-o-pi-a (noun) farsightedness caused by loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye, typically happens in middle and old age
Primulaceous: prim-u-la-ce-ous (adjective) of or pertaining to the plant group primulaceae or primrose ( a type of flower)
Valid: (adjective) having legal efficacy or force
Incantation: (noun) a series of words said as a magic spell or charm
Cognizance: (noun) knowledge, awareness or notice
Predicament: (noun) a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation
Menacing: (adjective) suggesting the presence of danger; threatening
Bidding: (noun) the ordering or requesting of someone to do something
Malice: (noun) the intention or desire to do evil; ill will
Anguish: (noun) severe mental or physical pain or suffering
Skiff: (noun) a shallow, flat bottomed open boat with sharp bow and square stern
Horizon: (noun) the line at which the earth’s surface and sky appear to meet
Valiant: (adjective) possessing or showing courage or determination
Gleeful: (adjective) exuberantly or triumphantly joyful
Venerable: (adjective) accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character
Deceive: (verb) cause someone to believe something that isn’t true
Tadpole: (noun) the young fish-like stage of a toad or frog
Wizard: (noun) a man who has magical powers, especially in legends and fairy tails
Gadget: (noun) a small mechanical or electric device or tool, especially an ingenious or novel one.
Peculiar: (adjective) strange, odd, unusual; special
Paraphernalia: (noun) miscellaneous articles, especially equipment needed for a particular activity
Troublesome: (adjective) causing difficulty or annoyance
Universe: (noun) all existing matter and space considered as a whole
Ultimately: (adverb) finally; in the end
Wickedness: (noun) the quality of being evil or morally wrong
Multitude: (noun) a large number of something or gathering of
people
Study Guide for Sprout
Chapters
- Discuss the meaning of the phrase “a good home is like good growing soil for children.”
- Why did the parents choose to name the boy “Woodsprout?”
- What do you think of when you say the boy’s name, “Sprout”?
- What was the “most wonderful gift”?
- How old do you think Sprout was when he received his gift?
- What did Sprout’s father mean when he said to Sprout “it’s time that you begin filling the pages of your life”.
- What was meant by the phrase “the rest of the story is going to be up to you”?
- Why was the gift so wonderful to Sprout at first but then bewildering?
- In referring to the writing of one’s own book, discuss the phrase “each page you write can never be erased”
- What do YOU do when confronted with a task? What did Sprout do?
- What are adjectives?
- What time of day did Sprout start out on his journey?
- What made his usual familiar walk to town seem new and different on this day?
- How does a “voice like gravel kicked from a horses hoof” sound?
- Was the Miller happy that morning when he came upon Sprout?
- Discuss the Miller’s view of the world.
- How did Sprout feel after hearing the Miller’s adjectives?
- What made the Miller change his view of his life?
- Discuss the meaning of “A story begun with good adjectives will have a better ending.”
- Discuss the statement the Miller made “what a story that is!” when he referred to the knight’s tale as they entered the tavern.
- How was Sprout feeling as he entered the tavern? (Anticipation, excitement?)
- Act out the knight sitting at his table. (Snoring, awakening, drinking, hard to move around, clamoring)
- Why did one arm of the knight move easily while he could hardly move the other?
- Discuss the author’s meaning “a knight is a knight, and that should account for something” (What is in a name? Should we live up to a name?)
- Was the knight’s behavior a good example of his rank? (Was he self-involved?)
- How did the dragon handle things that bothered him? (destructive, make others share the misery)
- The dragon did not like to be scolded for bad behavior. Discuss in your personal experience
- Did the children make the best of the dragon’s bad behavior and destructiveness and how?
- Discuss the dragon’s behavior when the author describes that he “could not stand to have others happy when he was not.”
- What did the author mean by the statement about the knight falling asleep “that comes from a tale too long and too often told”?
- What was the difference Sprout noticed between the knight he saw and the knight in the tale?
- Discuss “the difference between a good story and a good story”. What did the author mean here?
- What happened that changed the dragon from fierce to afraid? (Bully?)
- What lesson did Sprout learn from his experience with the knight and his tale? (Be honest)
- Why was Sprout disappointed after his experience with the knight?
- What was Sprout seeking next to add to his book? (truth and knowledge)
- Where did he go to look for it?
- Talk about what knowledge means to you?
- Describe how the library may have looked. (or sketch?)
- Sketch how the door keep may have looked.
- What did the door-keep and Sprout discover that they had in common?
- When Sprout came upon the librarian, what was she trying to do?
- Why did the door-keep wink?
- What did the author mean when the librarian said ” the sooner one gets started, the closer one gets to never having it.”
- When Sprout started to understood about the search for knowl-edge, what did he compare it to?
- Where did the librarian say knowledge begins?
- Give an example of a “true statement”.
- The librarian taught Sprout an important habit. You _______before you______ .
- What are the building blocks of knowledge according to the librarian?
- Describe some of the attributes Sprout learned about knowledge.
- “The true answer to living is a______.
- Is gaining knowledge easy or hard?
- “Being quite______is always______.”
- What is meant by the door-keeps statement, “Knowledge needs lots of sunshine to keep it clear and healthy.” (it must be applied)
- Compare how Sprout felt when he left the library to when he left the tavern.
- Why did Sprout take a short cut?
- What important lesson did Sprout learn about haste?
- When you come to a Y in the “road” how to you think about it?
- Explain the idea of making a choice between two unknowns or going back along the familiar.
- Who did the girl say would be the only type of person who could help her?
- Relate an experience you had, like the girl, where you suddenly feel lost.
- Why do you think that the girl had been so trusting of Toad to honestly help her?
- What knowledge did the girl gain from her experience with Toad and the old woman? (people may not be what they seem).
- How did the old woman make her living? (at the expenses of others)?
- What did Sprout gain from Dawn’s story of the Toad and the old woman taking advantage of her? (courage)
- How did Sprout present himself to Toad? (assertive)
- How did that change how Toad responded to Sprout and why was that different from Dawn’s experience?
- Explain how something has value and why to one person it is very valuable and to another worth nothing.
- How would you describe Sprouts decision to give up his red book? (unselfish, heroic, caring/) Was it easy or hard? Why?
- When the owl swooped down and stole the old hag’s shawl, what happened to the old hag?(took away her confidence and showed all who she really was)
- How would you describe Sprout’s efforts to help Dawn?
- What did the wizard mean by “lost is just the other end of found”?
- “Wisdom takes many forms-“ Explain.
- How did the Wizard differ from the Old Hag when he spoke?
- What is meant by “good deeds are their own best reward”?
- How does the wizard describe wisdom?
- Describe the wizard’s cottage.
- What happens when you put goodness and wisdom together? Give an example in your own experience.
- How did Sprout see the forest at first? What did he learn and how
did he feel about it after his experiences with the wizard? - Does a good deed always need monetary payment?
- What did the wizard call Dawn’s kiss on his cheek? (a generous gift)
- Describe the song the wizard sang.
- Sprout was hoping for adventure. Did he find it? When did he realize it? (song of the wizard.)
- What else did the song sung by the wizard teach?
- What had Sprout thought he had not found that day to write about in his book? (hero)
- What did the wizard tell Sprout about finding a hero?
- What happens when a hero starts to think of oneself as a hero? (risk of becoming the Flagon Slayer)
- “Always we are free to choose between________and__________.” (good and evil, honesty and cheating, happiness and dissatisfaction)
- How much time did Sprout and Dawn spend with the wizard? What did it seem like?
- Why did the wizard advise Sprout not to be too hasty in his departure?
- List some of the lessons Sprout learned and added into his red book-the beginning of the story of his life.
- What did the author mean when he wrote “All life books end with a happy loving home in sight.”?