The ABC

1
The ABCs of Milkweed

• Nicole Benjou
• Midterm Project
• Literature Circles Extension
• Fall 2006

2
Milkweed

• By Jerry Spinelli

3
A is for Armband

• I was about to open the door when Mr. Milgrom
  said, No, wait. Slumped against one wall was a
  large, stuffed cloth bag embroidered in black and
  green designs. Mr. Milgrom reached into the bag
  and pulled out a blue-and-white armband. He
  slipped it over my coat sleeve onto my right arm.
  I got this for you, he said.(page 94-95)

4
B is for Buttercream

• We ate candy all day long. My favorite was
  buttercream with a hazelnut inside. There was
  usually only one to a candy box and often not
  even that, and I was not good at telling them on
  sight. So I broke open chocolates by the
  hundreds, searching for my prize. (page 25)

5
C is for Cow

• The cow had become something to believe in or
  not to believe in. Like angels. Mothers.
  Oranges. How could something as large as a cow
  live in the ghetto and not be seen? How could it
  survive? What would it eat? Rubble dust?
  (page 115)

6
D is for Dr. Korczak

• I loved his goatee even more than his mustache.
  It was so soft and white. I wanted to rub my
  face in it. I wanted to climb inside it and live
  there and peek out. I think he wanted me to be
  an orphan very badly. I hated to disappoint
  him.(page 54)

7
E is for Enemy

• I thought This is what the enemy does. He
  flies overhead in his airplane. If he sees you
  in the street below, he reaches out and drops a
  bomb on your head.(page 16)

8
F is for Family

• And Uncle Shepsel, propped on his elbow, was
  pointing at me and saying, Why is he sleeping
  here? He smells.I regret to inform you, said
  Mr. Milgrom, that you are not a rose garden
  yourself these days. Uncle Shepsel pounded the
  floor. Hes not family.Mr. Milgrom looked
  straight at him. He is now.(page 99)

9
G is for Ghetto

• They marched us to the ghetto. Since they had
  finished the brick wall topped with broken
  glass and coils of barbed wire I had not been
  able to visit Janina. I took this as a personal
  insult and challenge.(page 79)

10
H is for Horses

• The horses went round and round. As each
  wonderful horse went by, its large black eye
  seemed to look straight at me. So proud and high
  were their heads, I saw for the first time how
  miserable were the real horses plodding the
  streets.(page 60)

11
I is for Interchangeable

• They found the Jew. Or should I say, they found
  a Jew. Jews were interchangeable. One was as
  good as another. I was to learn this many
  times.(page 66)

12
J is for Janina

• Her elbows were on her knees and her face leaned
  into her cupped hands. Her hair was curly and
  the color of bread crust. Her eyes were brown as
  chestnuts. They were very big.(page 29)

13
K is for Katherine

• When I said one day to my daughter, Katherine,
  Drive around, out of town, and I brought along
  a trowel and a bucket, she did not ask why. Why
  I said, Stop here, and dug it up, she said
  only, Milkweed, right?(page 207)

14
L is for Lice

• Using all my strength, I was finally able to
  pull the comb through my hair. I could feel the
  lice and their eggs peppering the back of my
  neck. I heard them ticking onto the floor.(page
  159)

15
M is for Milgrom

• When you own nothing, its easy to let things
  go. I supposed my last name was Milgrom now, so
  Pilsudski went too. I kept Misha. I liked
  it.(page 104)

16
N is for Nazis

• Jackboots and Flops came through the lines,
  screaming into the peoples faces, poking them
  with clubs and rifles, spitting in their
  faces.(page 96)

17
O is for Orphans

• Unlucky orphans, I said. I told her that was
  what Enos called them orphans who did not live
  in Doctor Korczaks home, or any other, and who
  roamed the streets hungry and begging and
  sick.(page 84)

18
P is for Pickled Egg

• Although Janina did not like her comb, I knew of
  something she would like very much. Almost every
  time she ate I heard her mutter, I wish I had a
  pickled egg. I knew about pickled herring but
  not pickled eggs. I thought Ill find an egg
  and a pickle.(page 161)

19
Q is for Quick

• Hes stupid, said the unlaughing boy. Hell
  get us in trouble.
• Hes quick, said Uri. And hes little.
• Hes a runt.
• Runt is good, said Uri.
• (page 5)

20
R is for Running

• I am running.
• Thats the first thing I remember.
  Running.(page 1)

21
S is for Stone Angel

• I thought of the stone angel. I pictured the
  snow falling over it, two crests of snow rising
  on the tops of its wings. So silent, the both of
  them, the angel and the snow. I pretended I was
  the stone angel.(page 98)

22
T is for Trains

• We said nothing of the trains the next day. We
  didnt have to. Everyone in the ghetto knew.
  The words were in the air, buzzing with the
  fliesTrainsDeportationsStawki
  Station(page 174)

23
U is for Uri

• I had never seen him so mad. His hair looked
  redder than ever, only this time it was not
  because he was laughing. He punched me in the
  forehead. The back of my head banged against the
  wall. Someday Im going to have to kill you to
  keep you alive.(page 59)

24
V is for Visible

• When I finished eating the tomato, I stood and
  walked off. I didnt run. When I looked back,
  she was still watching me. Her round, unblinking
  eyes made me feel as if I had just become
  visible, as if I had never been seen
  before.(page 29)

25
W is for Wendy Janina

• Wendys middle name. I left it blank. I knew
  someday I would find you. Shes been waiting
  four years for a middle name. I want you to give
  it to her. Janina, I said.(page 206)

26
X is for Exist

• Ferdi said, Oranges dont exist.
• We dont exist said Ferdi under the rug one
  night.(page 88)

27
Y is for Yellow Stone

• I waggled my yellow stone in Uris face. What
  about this?He stared. Yesit was your
  fathers. He gave it to you.I was greedy.
  What else?Before you were kidnapped, he
  said. Thats all.(page 31)

28
Z is for Zionists

• Voices shrieked out of the blinding lights
  Move! Move! All you filthy sons of Abraham! All
  you stinking Zionists! All you dirty Jewish pigs!
  Line up! Line up!(page 95)