Anna's Secret Wish
by Joan Lowery Nixon and Eileen Nixon McGowan
Bright ribbons of color danced and swirled in Anna's mind. She imagined the intense sky blue of morning spiraled with fire-hot red-orange, the way it looked before the sun rose in her Haitian homeland.
Anna opened her eyes and sighed as she stared at the lifeless black outlines of fruit against her white sketch pad.
"Boring," she thought.
Her shoulders slumped while she crossed her arms and adjusted her weight on the stool. Anna flicked specks of charcoal from her jeans, leaving small black streaks.
"Anna," Mrs. Moreno said, as she stood behind Anna, "please focus on your work. There isn't much class time left."
Mrs. Moreno took a step back and tilted her head slightly as she analyzed Anna's drawing. "Your perspective shows improvement," she said.
Anna mumbled, "Thank you," and picked up her charcoal stick to continue sketching. She glanced at the real fruit, then at her drawing. The fruit she had drawn was almost exactly the same shape and size as the real fruit. Mrs. Moreno is right. My perspective has improved, Anna thought. She brushed a strand of hair from her face, forgetting that her hands had charcoal dust on them. She had probably left a smudge on her face, but she didn't care.
Anna glanced around, noting what some of the other students had drawn. A few of the sketches surely would get A's from Mrs. Moreno. Using only the gray-black charcoal stick, some students had been able to show how the overhead lighting highlighted certain areas of the fruit.
The jarring jangle of the class bell startled Anna. "This class doesn't seem to take a whole hour," she said to her friend, Olivia.
"No kidding." Olivia laughed as she collected her books. She stopped and took a close look at Anna. "What's that?" she asked, as she pointed to Anna's forehead.
Anna smiled and wiped away the smudge. "Occupational hazard."
"I'll be glad when we're drawing something besides fruit," Olivia said.
"Yeah. Still life gets old fast," Anna agreed. "I can't wait to get into color and use the oil paints."
Olivia frowned.
"Not me. Oils are difficult. I mean, with pastels and charcoal, you can erase if you make a mistake.
Don't you have to paint over an oil if you goof?"
Anna shook her head. "There are other techniques."
"You sound like a professional." Olivia smiled.
On the bus ride home, Anna leaned her head against the window and let the cool air blow softly against her face. She observed the yards as she rode past. Ragged or tidy, they were green. Just about the same shade of green too. In a few yards there were bare trees, which reminded Anna of lollipop sticks stuck into lime lollipops.
Anna climbed from the bus, which had stopped at the end of her street. She had walked down this street maybe a hundred times before, but today she carefully observed two parallel rows of white houses with black doors and shutters. All of the units looked exactly alike. Anna slowed her steps, suddenly aware that the only color in the neighborhood came from an occasional bike left in a front yard.
"My block looks like a charcoal sketch," Anna mumbled.
She began to imagine what each house would look like if she could paint every yard and home.
Houses should reflect their owners, Anna insisted to herself. Mr. Ott's house should have a yellow door and shutters, to match his canary hair. Mrs. Reyes would have lots of red flowers in her yard, because she wears red dresses. And because the Dixons have three young children, they could have a door with stripes and splashes in lots of colors.
Anna wished that her drab neighborhood could become a crayon box of color. She imagined yellow, pink, and white blossoms against the deep green swirls of the yard. She pictured lavender flowers floating against lush vines climbing next to the front door of her own house.
She stopped in front of her own home and looked in sudden surprise at the tidy white house with the black shutters. Placed on the two steps leading to the front door were four small clay pots with brightly colored purple and yellow pansies gently quivering in the breeze.
Anna laughed out loud and hugged her books to her chest in happiness.
"I'll never have a charcoal life!" she cried. "Mama sees the world in colors too!
4. what can you infer about Anna from this selection?
a. anna enjoys drawing with charcoal more than painting with oils
b. Anna is worried her new home isn’t as bright as her home in Haiti
c. Anna has poor vision and Connor see certain colors
d. Anna is a precessional artist who knows many techniques*
5. which excerpt from the selection supports your answer to the previous question?
a. Bright ribbons of color danced and swirled in Anna's mind. She imagined the intense sky blue of morning spiraled with fire-hot red-orange, the way it looked before the sun rose in her Haitian homeland.
b. Mrs. Moreno is right. My perspective has improved, Anna thought. She brushed a strand of hair from her face, forgetting that her hands had charcoal dust on them. She had probably left a smudge on her face, but she didn't care.
c.Ragged or tidy, they were green. Just about the same shade of green too.
d.She glanced at the real fruit, then at her drawing. The fruit she had drawn was almost exactly the same shape and size as the real fruit.**
6. Which best describes the theme of “Anna’s Secret Wish”
a. each person sees beauty in a different way**
b. charcoal sketches are boring
c. people should paint their homes bright colors
d. artists use multiple techniques
7. restate the theme you selected in the previous question. support that theme with two details from “Anna’s Wish.”
Each person sees beauty in a different way. In the text Anna wishes that her drab neighborhood could become a crayon box of color.
Anna also says “I’ll never have a charcoal life!” she cried “Mama sees the world in colors too!”.
10. which resource would be most helpful in finding a definition for malicious
a. thesaurus
b. a dictionary**
c. a newspaper
d. an encyclopedia
12. which sentence uses coordinate adjectives?
a. talia wore a pink, striped shirt**
b. talia wore a shirt, shorts, and shoes
c. talia wore a pink shirt with stripes
d. talia wore a pink shirtt and shorts yesterday
13. which word in the following sentence is modified by an adverb
The soccer panther forcefully kicked the ball.
a. soccer
b. player
c. kicked*
d. ball
4. c. Anna has poor vision and Connor see certain colors
5. a. Bright ribbons of color danced and swirled in Anna's mind. She imagined the intense sky blue of morning spiraled with fire-hot red-orange, the way it looked before the sun rose in her Haitian homeland.
6. a. each person sees beauty in a different way
7. Each person sees beauty in a different way. In the text Anna wishes that her drab neighborhood could become a crayon box of color. Anna also says "I'll never have a charcoal life!" she cried "Mama sees the world in colors too!".
10. b. a dictionary
12. a. talia wore a pink, striped shirt
13. c. kicked
4. The inferred answer is d. Anna is a professional artist who knows many techniques.
To infer this, we can look at the passage where Anna mentions that oils are difficult, but there are other techniques she can use. This suggests that Anna has knowledge of different artistic techniques and is aware of the challenges and benefits of each.
5. The excerpt that supports the answer to the previous question is d. She glanced at the real fruit, then at her drawing. The fruit she had drawn was almost exactly the same shape and size as the real fruit.
This excerpt shows Anna's attention to detail and her ability to accurately depict objects in her drawing. It indicates that she has skill and precision as an artist, which aligns with the idea that she is a professional artist who knows many techniques.
6. The best description of the theme of "Anna's Secret Wish" is a. Each person sees beauty in a different way.
Throughout the story, Anna expresses her desire to add color and beauty to her surroundings. She imagines vibrant colors and unique details for each house in her neighborhood. This highlights the idea that everyone has their own perception of beauty and can see it differently.
7. The restated theme is: Each person sees beauty in a different way.
Supporting details from the story include Anna's wish for her drab neighborhood to become a crayon box of color and her statement that she will never have a charcoal life because her mother sees the world in colors too. Both of these details emphasize the idea that individual perspectives and preferences determine what is beautiful.
10. The resource that would be most helpful in finding a definition for malicious is b. a dictionary.
A dictionary provides definitions for words, and it would be the most appropriate resource for looking up the meaning of the word "malicious."
12. The sentence that uses coordinate adjectives is a. Talia wore a pink, striped shirt.
Coordinate adjectives are two or more adjectives that independently modify the same noun. In this sentence, "pink" and "striped" both independently modify the noun "shirt."
13. The word in the sentence that is modified by an adverb is c. kicked.
The adverb "forcefully" modifies the verb "kicked" to indicate how the action was performed.