Claribel A. Ortega
Witchlings
Module one
Chapters 1-4: Worse than a Spare??
Comprehension
Start Here
Let’s revisit some of the many challenges the Witchlings characters need to face in the first few chapters:
Go Deeper
More to Explore
Learn more about the different Witchlings Covens!
Get Creative
Get Creative
Character cards: You can make as many or as few cards as you like. To start, write the name of each these four characters on the top of 4 different cue cards: Seven Salazar, Valley Pepperhorn, Thorn Laroux, Nightbeast. We don’t have enough information to turn these into cards yet, so start making some notes with details you have learned about each one. Include details about what they look like as well as characteristics and abilities. Here are some details you might want to include:
Seven Salazar: wears combat boots, purple hoodie, has curly hair, pointy hat; favourite cake is pineapple jam, anxious & determined; middle name is Nightshade; dreams of becoming a reporter for town newspaper (the Squawking Crow); loves the study of plants and using their properties in potions, favourite book series: Witches of Heartbreak Cove, favourite bands: Kill the Goose, the Lovespells. SPARE.
Valley Pepperhorn: Seven’s bully; mean, scary, wealthy; tall, only wears black (jeans, boots, sweater), black eyeliner, black nails, black lipstick, pink hair. SPARE.
Thorn Laroux: new girl, straight black hair, petite, deep dark blue eyes, talkative. SPARE.
Nightbeast: rumours of this giant wolf that eats Witchlings.
Extra characters: Do you want to make more? Here is a list of the characters we have been introduced to so far in the book. Choose which ever ones you like and start a cue card for each: Poppy, Fox Salazar, Talis Salazar, Beefy Salazar, Edgar Allen Toad, Town Gran, Town Uncle, Tiordan Whisperbrew, Inkpen Killian.
Coven artwork TM/(R) Scholastic Inc. Art © 2021 Lissy Marlin
Journal
Writing Prompt
Being a spare is symbolic of not fitting in. In the “Witchlings” episode of Ainara’s Bookshelf, Claribel Ortega reflects on her experience of living in the United States, far from her homeland in the Dominican Republic homeland, and the challenges of being a diaspora kid.
Share an instance from your own life when you felt similarly out of place. What contributed to that feeling of not fitting in? What did you do or wish you had done to discover your sense of belonging?
