Watercress

Discussion questions

• Why does the narrator feel embarrassed to eat fresh watercress collected by the roadside? 

• How do her feelings change after her mother tells her about family in China during the great famine? 

• How does the color palette in the illustrations change when the mother discusses her memories of China? 

Vocabulary

• pelting (verb/gerund): raining heavily

• abrupt (adj.): sudden or unexpected

• sodden (adj.): soaked with liquid

• famine (noun): extreme lack of food

• bitter (adj.): harsh taste

• horizon (noun): boundary between earth and sky

• unearth (verb): dig up or uncover

• glinting (verb/gerund): gleaming or shining

Video content

• I’m Your Neighbor Book Award Interview:  https://video.link/w/0sHwd

• *NPR audio: Embarrassed By Your Parents? 'Watercress' Explores That Universal Kid Experience

• Holiday House interview: https://video.link/w/HtHwd 

Publisher content 

• Holiday House discussion guide 

Activities

• Think about a time you tried a new, unfamiliar food. Write about your experience and/or draw a picture.

• Research some recipes that involve watercress as an ingredient.  Or choose which recipe you would most want to prepare here.  

• Watercress is rich in lyrical language.  As you read, have students volunteer examples of metaphorical language in the book, as well as descriptive verbs (e.g. unearth, squelches)  and adjectives (e.g. glinting, sodden).  

• Write about an experience in nature you’ve had, using descriptive language similar to the book.  Illustrate your narrative.  

• Discuss how perspective and color play an important part in the book, as some parts of the illustrations are detailed, but objects further away seem more blurred and faded.  

• Research Chinese watercolor paintings and landscapes.  After comparing them to the illustrations by Jason Chin, create your own watercolor painting in this style.  

• This website has a lot of information about the racist stereotyping that Asian-American Pacific Islanders specifically experience around food in America. There are ideas of companion texts and scripts to follow to help guide you through this discussion: https://booksforlittles.com/orientalism-food-shaming/

Companion books