Thief of Always

After our discussion on the first three chapters of The Thief of Always, please continue reading today quietly. During period 4, we'll go to the lab and complete some writing.

Please use the ideas and prompts below to write journal and/or blog posts. You may write as many of these as possible. Remember that you will be graded on how much you write--so open up and get creative!

More Journal/blog ideas for the Thief of Always:

Chapter Four - Seven:

1. Pg. 33; “Another day, another dollar.” Collect sayings that your parents or family use. List these sayings in your journal. Start a poem with a saying and explore its meaning or relevance.
2. Pg. 46; “This was a place where dead things belonged.” Start a description of a setting with the words: “this was a place where…” Perhaps turn your list into a catalog or chant poem.
3. Pg. 49; The description of autumn. This passage uses a lot of imagery: appealing to our senses through words that recall a touch, taste, smell, sound, or sight. Pick a season and, using imagery, describe it without naming it.
4. Pg. 55; The description of the musty room with the masks. Barker uses effective imagery here as well in this passage. You should note that the most important detail is left for last and that there is a build up of details. Write a description of a room, leaving the most important detail for last. (he does this again on page 56 when describing clothes).
5. Wendell’s practical joke (pgs. 59-62). Write about a time you played a practical joke on someone or when someone played a practical joke on you.
6. Pg. 68; Make a list of things you would like for Christmas. Add to your list odd items that may be impossible to find or get. Be creative!
7. Pg. 70-72; Describe an old gift given to you many years ago or describe a favorite gift. Where is this gift now, or what happened to it? Explore this exercise in a poem or short vignette.  

Chapter eight-thirteen:

10. Pg. 80; Tell a water story from your real life; describe a time when you encountered water.
11. Pg. 81; Describe a precious item you lost or that was stolen from you.
12. Pg. 83; Describe a dream you have.
13. Pg. 89-92; Describe a transformation or explore the possibility of being something else. What would you like to be? Why?
14. Describe a time you witnessed or participated in the death of a living being.
15. Pg. 130. An appositive is a description of a named noun. It is used after a comma to clarify or provide further detail to something already identified. Carna is described in a series of appositives (the appositive phrase is italicized): “Carna, the tooth-stealer; Carna, the devourer; Carna, the beast.” Use the appositive to describe an object or person.

This covers the first half of the book. The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book has 13 chapters. The second does as well. There are 26 chapters in all. Why do you think Barker divided his book in this manner?

Part Two: 

Chp. 14-26

1. Pg. 139. Start a story with the sentence: “He knocked on the door…” continue the story.
2. Describe a time in your life when you wished that time would move faster or slower.
3. pg. 153. Draw a picture of a house or place. Use this drawing to start a story or poem set in that location.
4. Pg. 194. Describe your attic or a fictional attic. What sorts of things are there in the dark?
5. Pg. 199. Start a story or poem with the line: “There were five doors ahead of him.”
6. Chp. 20 – Have a conversation with an inanimate object. What might it say or believe?
7. Pg. 220. Oh, to be a vampire again…. Start a poem with a similar line. Choose a noun that you would want to be “again” and use this repetition (like pg. 220) to create verse.
8. Chp. 23. Write about the war between two or more inanimate objects. What would they argue about? Who might win?
9. Describe a time when you stole or thought about stealing something.
10. Pg. 266. Start a poem, story with the line: “The days were…”

HOMEWORK: Complete the book The Thief of Always. Use the prompts above to write in your journal and on your blog during the week. The more you write, the higher your grade for this project will be.