Whom does Ratta meet on the road?
Where do they enter Bordertown?
ANALYTICAL REASONING
Should Ratta take Mamie home to die or bring her to Aubergine? Answer yes or no, and give a reason for your choice.
How could the traveling bard know the story of the witches without ever having met them?
DISCUSSION PROMPT
How do stories and rumors affect us?
VOCABULARY
Source: verb; get (a product) from another country or business. Chapter sentence: …Ratta wondered where the bard had sourced his story, because so far almost everything he said was rooted in truth.
Sparingly: adverb; to a meager degree or in a meager manner. Chapter sentence: She used them sparingly, and alone.
Voluminous: adjective; large in bulk or volume. Chapter sentence: The shepherd turned, and Ratta could see that the voluminous figure was no man, but an older woman.
Wizened: adjective; lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness. Chapter sentence: The bell around Tracks’ neck tinkled as he stood to peer with interest into Mamie’s wizened face.
Adversary: noun; someone who offers opposition. Chapter sentence: Their differences settled for now, the childhood adversaries sat side by side as the wagon rumbled beneath the Western Gate.
Choose one of the words above and use it in your own sentence.
CHAPTER 18
THE GATHERING
In this chapter, the witches begin to gather at Potluck Yarn.
CRITICAL READING
What does Wheat’s staff allow Smokey Jo to do?
Who takes Smokey Jo’s sweater when she gets locked in the dye shed?
What is a Watcher?
ANALYTICAL REASONING
Should Ratta reveal the Lost Tale? Why or why not?
Who knows where the missing stone is? Pick one of the witches, and give a reason for your choice.
DISCUSSION PROMPT
When is teamwork important?
VOCABULARY
Translucent: adjective; allowing light to pass through diffusely. Chapter sentence: The translucent white bark began to curl as it smoldered, releasing a delicate aroma in the instant before it ignited in blue flames.
Sundries: noun; miscellaneous objects too numerous or too small to be specified. Chapter sentence: Lily and Smokey had spent over an hour in the sundries tent at the farmers’ market and had returned to the Potluck with paper twists full of herbs and spices.
Migratory: adjective; habitually moving from place to place, especially in search of seasonal work. Chapter sentence: Over sun-bleached pantaloons tucked into hiking boots, the woman wore an oilskin mantle of the type favored by migratory trekkers from the Western Highlands.
Vapor: noun; a suspension in the air of particles of some substance—visible, but often barely so. Chapter sentence: Soon it became an angry green cloud and Smokey, no more than vapor herself, understood who it was.
Possessively: adverb; in a manner that indicates a desire to own and an unwillingness to share. Chapter sentence: Gently, she laid her bundle on its surface, keeping her hand possessively on the shawl-wrapped body.
Choose one of the words above and use it in your own sentence.
CHAPTER 19
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
In this chapter, the witches discover that not all of the participants are who they seem to be.
CRITICAL READING
Who is Little Teal?
Where did Smokey Jo leave Wheat’s staff?
How many witches does Smokey Jo believe are left?
ANALYTICAL REASONING
Could Trader be a witch? Answer yes or no, and give a reason for your choice.
Is Skye going to be able to take her mother’s place in the circle? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION PROMPT
Why are responsibilities important?
VOCABULARY
Sullenly: adverb; in a bad-tempered or sulky manner. Chapter sentence: She watched sullenly as the serving girl set out steaming plates of food before the new arrivals.
Humorless: adjective; without laughter or humor. Chapter sentence: The girl seemed humorless.
Mantle: noun; a sleeveless garment like a cloak but shorter. Chapter sentence: and knit in an allover lattice pattern, it hung like a mantle over her shoulders.
Exceptionally: adverb; to a greater degree than normal. Chapter sentence: Like most Northlanders, she was exceptionally tall.
Matriarchal: adjective; characteristic of a family or society where women are the heads of the group(s). Chapter sentence: “The lines of the Twelve are matriarchal,” Lily said.
Choose one of the words above and use it in your own sentence.
CHAPTER 20
FINDING THE LOST TALE
In this chapter, Ratta reveals the Lost Tale.
CRITICAL READING
Where are the Northland Guard fighting next?
Where is the soldier who tries to enter the dye shed?
Which First Folk could change the seasons?
ANALYTICAL REASONING
Could the witches’ visions be true? Answer yes or no, and give a reason for your choice.
Should the witches try to use the magic crystals like the First Folk did? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION PROMPT
What is power and in what ways do we use power?
VOCABULARY
Infiltrator: noun; someone who takes up a position surreptitiously for the purpose of espionage. Chapter sentence: Glaring at the infiltrator, Aubergine shielded Trader with a protective arm.
Fixate: verb; attach (oneself or one’s attention) to a person or thing in a neurotic way. Chapter sentence: Mae’s gaze was fixated on the hourglass.
Lithe: adjective; gracefully thin, and bending and moving with ease. Chapter sentence: Ratta smiled, observing the lithe young woman in the hourglass as she searched the anteroom.
Intently: adverb; with strained or eager attention. Chapter sentence: Holding her breath, she listened intently, relieved to hear the sound of a wagon picking up trash in the back alley.
Probe: verb; examine physically with or as if with a probe. Chapter sentence: In her features Ratta recognized the probing eyes of the man at the stagecoach inn…
Choose one of the words above and use it in your own sentence.
The Broken Circle
Yarns Of The Knitting Witches
Student Workbook
All content contained in the student workbook is intended for personal use and may not be reproduced in bulk or sold without the written consent of the author. All definitions provided have been collected from open source dictionaries.
The Broken Circle Student Workbook by Cheryl Potter
Edited by Deborah Robson
Illustrations Copyright © 2013 Frank Riccio
Map Copyright © 2013 Joe Wilkins
Layout Design Copyright © 2013 Joel Lacoss
Copyright © 2013 Potter Press, LLC
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryl Potter is a fiber artist and author, but is best known as the founder of Cherry Tree Hill Yarn. She has a BA from Middlebury College and an MFA from the University of Arizona. The Broken Circle is her seventh book and first novel.
THE ENTHRALLING SAGA OF POTLUCK YARN CONTINUES
Look for Cheryl Potter’s
Book Two: The Secrets of the Crystal Caves
Coming soon from Potter Press.
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Visit www.potluckyarn.com
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The Broken Circle: Yarns of the Knitting Witches Page 34
