When You Trap a Tiger

How does this sorry begin?

Page 1 — Lily, Sam and their mom are driving from California to Washington state to live with their grandma (halmoni); their father has passed away; Sam and their mom fight a lot and Sam didn’t want to leave California; it’s raining; Lily feels invisible

1

What’s a good memory Lily has of her halmoni?

Page 9 — Listening to her stories

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Why is Sam difficult?

Page 18 — She doesn’t seem to like anything; she’s angry and critical; she rocks the boat in their family; she’s selfish

18

Explain what kosa is?

Page 30 — A Korean tradition; lay food out for the ones who’ve gone before

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Why does Halmoni hiss when Lily tells her about the tiger?

Page 33 — She believes the tiger is coming to get her because she stole something from them

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Summarize the story in this chapter.

Page 36 — Two little girls lived with their halmoni; the halmoni went to the village and bought rice cakes but a tiger came, ate her and pretended to be the halmoni; the girls opened the door to the tiger and the tiger chased them; the sky god made one the sun and the other the moon; the younger sister was first the moon but didn’t like being stared at, so the older sister who was the sun traded her

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Why was the main character confused?

Page 43 — Her halmoni told her the basement had been flooded, but she found it wasn’t true; she found her halmoni throwing up

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Why did Lily feel like a bad granddaughter?

Page 46 — She didn’t jump in to help Halmoni when she was throwing up

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What did Halmoni steal?

Page 50 — The stars; the bad stories

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Why is Lily anger at her mom?

Page 58 — She doesn’t know the real Lily

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Describe Jensen.

Page 63 — A girl around Sam's age; works at the library; optimistic and friendly; accepting and tries to be helpful

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Who did Lily run into at the library? Describe him.

Page 70 — A boy named Ricky who’s friendly and being tutored by Jensen

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How does Sam feel about Halmoni?

Page 82 — She loves her but thinks she’s crazy

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What advice does Halmoni give Ricky’s dad?

Page 88 — During hard times family should come together

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What does Lily mean, when she thinks, “it’s ok, I’ll be the moon”?

Page 92 — Lily wants her sister to comfort and help her like the older sister did in the story in chapter 5

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Do you think Lily should have made the deal with the tiger?

Page 98 — Listen to your child’s answer

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What illness does Halmoni have?

Page 103 — Brain cancer

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Why is Lily hopeful that Halmoni can be cured?

Page 105 — She thinks the tiger can cure her

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What do Ricky and Lily agree to in this chapter?

Page 115 — To build a tiger cage/trap

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Why is Sam mad?

Page 116 — Lily ran out when they were talking

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What does it mean when the author describes someone as “sticky“?

Page 117 — People are attracted to them; they’re likable and make friends easily

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What does Lily struggle with?

Page 117 — Her self-esteem

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What is significance of the jars?

Page 130 — Halmoni put the star stories into them

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What makes Ricky worried that Lily thinks he’s stupid?

Page 132 — She got frustrated at him when he brought up his comic book stories

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What will Lily use as bait?

Page 137 — The jars

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Using two examples, list how Sam and Lily remember the story differently.

Page 141 — Sam- sees it from the eyes of the protective older sister, Lily- sees it through the eyes of the younger sister and that they're going through the trial together; Sam- the older sister is supposed to protect her younger sister and instead puts her in danger of the tiger; Sam- the older sister opened the window, Lily- the younger sister opening the door; Sam- a sad story, Lily- a happy story; Sam- the sisters are alone and can only wave to each other across the sky, Lily- the sisters are safe and escape the tiger forever

141

What bargain did Lily accept from the tiger?

Page 147 — The tiger will heal Lily’s halmoni if she returns the stories and listens to them

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Do you think this will heal Halmoni?

Listen to your child’s answer

What does it mean when the tiger said, “there are consequences to telling the truth”?

Page 155 — Telling the truth is good, but bad things can come along with

155

What’s Alzheimer’s disease?

A progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.

Why did the server think Halmoni has Alzheimer’s?

Page 164 — Halmoni forgot where she was and what they were doing

164

Describe the drive home from the restaurant.

Page 169 — Sad; mom explained the doctor doesn’t know how long Halmoni will live, so they want to make the best of what they have

169

Describe Lily’s experience at Ricky’s house.

Page 173 — Her mom knows his dad; he lives in a mansion; she and Ricky make their own rendition of rice cakes

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What are the sisters doing in this chapter?

Page 182 — They both have something separate they’re doing but promise not to tell on each other; Lily is going down the stairs to the tiger and Sam is going down the rope outside

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What happened in the story and what was Lily’s reaction?

Page 186 — It was a continuation of the first story; the granddaughter was still cursed being half human, half tiger; she turned into a tiger and ran away; the halmoni looked everywhere for her and filled jars with love; she released a jar into the ocean each full moon; she feels a connection to the granddaughter

186

How does Lily’s mom try to comfort her?

Page 193 — She hugs her; they share a late-night snack; tells her she wishes she could protect her

193

List two similarities between the story and what’s going on at Lily’s home?

Page 199 — The pendant, the white streak, Halmoni thinking her granddaughter’s a tiger

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Why does Lily feel betrayed by Ricky?

Page 209 — He didn’t defend her Halmoni and told his friends about her sickness

209

What did the tiger mean when she said, “it seems you have a tiger side after all”?

Page 214 — She’s got a wild side, tricking Ricky

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Why is Lily’s mom upset that she put mud in Ricky’s pudding cup?

Page 219 — Ricky’s dad offered her a job; it wasn’t nice of her to do

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Why isn’t the tiger in the basement?

Page 227 — Lily told her to leave her alone

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How does Ricky respond to Lily’s apology?

Page 232 — He apologizes for saying mean things about Halmoni

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Why is it important for Halmoni to tell Lily her sad stories?

Page 241 — People can’t bury the past, we need to know what happened to learn and be better

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Why has Halmoni given up?

Page 244 — She’s at peace with dying and knows it’s her time

244

Summarize this chapter.

Page 245 — Lily goes back to the attic, Sam comes in the window; Lily throws the jars against the wall and they shatter; she’s wondering if she’s imagined everything

245

Describe the imagery the author uses to describe how Lily’s feeling when she smashed the blue jar.

Page 249 — The explosion made a supernova of Lily’s emotions; anger, fear, lost hope

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Why does Sam think it’s her fault that Halmoni’s going to the hospital?

Page 253 — She said she hoped Halmoni would die soon

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What’s Sam been doing to show she still believes?

Page 253 — Scattering rice outside

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Do you agree with Lily? Are stories meant to be told?

Page 257 — Listen to your child’s answer

257

Predict what you think Lily’s idea is.

Page 258 — Listen to your child’s answer

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Why did Lily break into the library?

Page 262 — To find the tiger and ask for her magic

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Who is the tiger?

Page 268 — Halmoni’s mom

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What has Halmoni been scared of her entire life?

Page 270 — The tiger inside of her

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How has this hurt her?

Page 270 — She doesn’t see the love around her and doesn’t realize she can be both the tiger and the human

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How does the story Lily told reflect her relationship with Sam?

Page 276 — It tells of the journey they’ve been on as sisters and that they’re not alone

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How did the stories save Halmoni?

Page 278 — They reminded her that she could be anything and that she was everything to her family

278

What connection does Halmoni have to the library?

Page 282 — It was one of her projects; she painted it and added cheesy posters

282

Describe how this story ends.

Page 283 — The bake sale turned into a kosa for Halmoni; Joe forgives Lily; Sam and Jensen are a couple; Ricky passed his language arts test and will be in the same grade as Lily; Sam asks Lily to tell her a story

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