Explain HOW Avery's father in the story "Avery's Gift" is SIMILAR to Ellison's father in the article "Chicken of the Sea Is So Wacky--Of Course It Was Created by Kids."
Avery's Gift
“Everything looks beautiful,” Avery whispered to Danielle as
they waited for others to arrive. Balloons and flowers festooned
the music room, and above the table lavishly laden with cookies
and punch stretched a banner that read, “Happy retirement,
Mrs. Vadakin! We’ll miss you!”
2 But as perfect as everything looked, Avery couldn’t help
feeling beset by doubts. More students began to arrive, and
teachers and parents, and a mass of cards and gifts began to
grow on the table next to the food. Avery held onto the large
manila envelope she’d brought, a viper in her hand, agitated by
thoughts that she should have gotten Mrs. Vadakin something
else.
3 “What’s in the envelope anyway?” asked Danielle, nibbling
a cookie.
4 Avery, embarrassed, replied, “It’s something I wrote for
Mrs. Vadakin.”
5 “Something you wrote, like an essay?”
6 Avery lowered her voice. “Not an essay, a piece of piano
music.”
7 “A composition?” Danielle asked. “I didn’t know you
composed!”
8 Avery looked at the envelope in her hands, hoping it hadn’t
been a mistake, hoping it wasn’t too ridiculous a gift for an
exceptional teacher. Avery didn’t actually write music, but her
father was a professional composer, creating masterpieces for
both film and theater. He was the one who convinced her to try,
arguing an original arrangement was the perfect gift—something
meaningful.
9 So, her father transcribed the piece for her. Note by note,
chord by chord, Avery played her piece repeatedly while he
wrote out the notes, and when they finished several hours later,
Avery was flushed with accomplishment.
10 But now the reservations had returned. Reluctantly, Avery
sidled up to the table and began to slip her envelope into the
mound.
11 Danielle snatched it up, and to Avery’s mortification, called
out “Mrs. Vadakin, Avery has a unique gift for you!”
12 Avery froze while Mrs. Vadakin took the envelope and
opened it, her mouth dropping open in surprise.
13 “Avery, you wrote this yourself?”
14 Avery forced herself to nod.
15 “May I play this right now?” Avery closed her eyes and
wished herself a thousand miles away as Mrs. Vadakin moved
to the piano and settled herself at the bench and everyone
gathered.
16 While Mrs. Vadakin played, Avery’s melody, full of light and
shadows, filled the room. When the final haunting chord hung in
the air, everyone burst into applause. Avery blushed but smiled
back at Mrs. Vadakin, whose eyes glistened with tears.
17 Her father was right: this was the perfect gift.
'Chicken Of The Sea' Is So Wacky — Of Course It Was Created By Kids
When Ellison Nguyen was 4 years old he got the chance to meet Thi Bui, the illustrator of one of his favorite books. He was so inspired by her work that he promptly wrote and drew his own picture book — "It came to me," Ellison, now 6, explains simply.
Chicken of the Sea tells the story of three farm chickens: Every day they wake up, they lay eggs, they go to sleep ... and then they start the process all over again. They're bored and ready for an adventure, until, one day a rat pirate arrives at the farm ready to enlist the chickens to sail the high seas ("but they're too dumb to be pirates," Ellison says).
The project became a multi-generational collaboration. Ellison's dad, Viet Nguyen (who is also very good at writing books), helped him with the story, and got in touch with Thi Bui to see if she might like to illustrate it. Bui enlisted her son, Hien Bui-Stafford, 13, for the job.
"My mom ... helped me with pointers like the background or like a posture of the character," Hien says. "We usually would work like after school or during the weekends when we had our time together. Really the whole thing looked really bad without my mom."
Bui thinks her son is just being modest.
"I really was intimidated by the idea of illustrating this story because it's way more creative and imaginative than what I normally do, which is non-fiction," Bui says. "So I needed Hien brain, which was like closer to Ellison's brain to give me the raw material to work with and so he did all the line drawings on his own."
Bui says if she had been illustrating this book, she would have probably "overthought" it – doing lots of research about chickens. Her son was able to be more intuitive.
"Hien just thought: chicken," she says. "And then he drew this thing straight out of his imagination and it was spot-on."
Viet Nguyen says he loved working with his son Ellison on the book.
"It affirmed for me something that I think a lot of artists and writers know, which is that it's really crucial for us to try to tap into the playfulness that's inside of us — and the child's capacity to think beyond the conventions that we've absorbed as adults," he says, adding: "So I hope to continue exploiting Ellison in the future."
As for 6-year-old Ellison's review of working with his dad?
"It was great," he says.
When asked what moral he hopes his readers will take away from Chicken of the Sea, Ellison asks for clarification about what a "moral" is. Told that it's an idea people take away after reading a book, he replies: "Nothing."
So why end the book with a party? Simple: "I like happy endings," Ellison says.
3 answers
I. Introduction Paragraph
A. Write your thesis statement.
The thesis statement tells the controlling idea of your essay.
The controlling idea is your answer to the question in the prompt.
II. Body Paragraph 1
A. Topic Sentence
B. Cite evidence from the selection(s) that supports your controlling idea.
C. Explain how the evidence supports your controlling idea.
III. Body Paragraph 2
A. Topic Sentence
B. Cite evidence from the selection(s) that supports your controlling idea.
C. Explain how the evidence supports your controlling idea.
IV. Body Paragraph 3 (if needed)
A. Topic Sentence
B. Cite evidence from the selection(s) that supports your controlling idea.
C. Explain how the evidence supports your controlling idea.
V. Conclusion Paragraph
A. Restate your controlling idea in different words.
B. Give a final, wrap-up statement.
A. Thesis statement: Avery's father in "Avery's Gift" and Ellison's father in "Chicken of the Sea Is So Wacky--Of Course It Was Created by Kids" are both similar in their supportive attitudes towards their children's creativity.
II. Body Paragraph 1
A. Topic Sentence: Both fathers encourage their children to pursue their creative passions.
B. Evidence: In "Avery's Gift," Avery's father convinces her to write a piece of piano music as a gift and transcribes it for her. In "Chicken of the Sea," Ellis's father collaborates with Thi Bui to get his son's book illustrated.
C. Explanation: Both fathers go above and beyond to help their children bring their ideas to fruition, showing unwavering support for their creative pursuits.
III. Body Paragraph 2
A. Topic Sentence: Both fathers recognize the importance of tapping into a child's imagination and playfulness.
B. Evidence: In "Avery's Gift," Avery's father believes that an original arrangement is the perfect, meaningful gift and encourages her to try. In "Chicken of the Sea," Viet Nguyen acknowledges and fosters his son's capacity to think beyond adult conventions.
C. Explanation: Both fathers understand that fostering creativity means allowing children the freedom to think outside the box and be uninhibited by conventional thinking.
IV. Conclusion Paragraph
A. Restate thesis: In summary, Avery's father and Ellison's father are similar in their unwavering support for their children's creative passions and recognition of the importance of tapping into a child's imagination and playfulness.
B. Final statement: Both fathers serve as positive role models for how parents can encourage and support their children's creativity.
1 answer