HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
by Katrina Van Horn illustrated by Chris Vallo Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01704-4 ISBN-10: 0-547-01704-9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
2 You want me to do what? Andy asked, turning to stare at his mom. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized how rude he sounded. I mean he cleared his throat. I m not sure I heard you correctly, Mom. Oh, I think you did, Mom said. I said I want you to come with us to see Uncle Togashi s performance. Tonight. We have to be at the theater in half an hour. I also mentioned that you should change out of that ratty tee shirt. But Mom! It s Friday night! Video game night! Remember? I really need to unwind. I ve had a hard week at school. Andy furrowed his brow and slumped in his chair, trying to look totally exhausted. Nice acting! Mom replied. You should be on stage with your uncle. Now go change your clothes. Andy sighed.
As he changed into a clean shirt, Andy thought about the long, painful evening ahead. He loved Uncle Togashi, sure, but he did not love the theater. Ugh. Just the word theater made Andy shudder. He had no idea what kind of performance Uncle Togashi was in, but he was sure he wouldn t like it.
So what is this performance Uncle T. is in, anyway? Andy asked his parents as they drove to the theater. If it s a musical, I might get a little sick to my stomach. It s not a musical. It s a kabuki play, said Dad. And I m expecting you to be on best behavior, young man. Oh-oh, thought Andy. That old familiar term young man meant Dad was pretty annoyed. 5
6 Uncle Togashi is a talented kabuki performer, and it will do you good to experience something different for a change, added Mom. Andy remembered hearing Uncle Togashi use the word kabuki before. He had no idea what it meant, probably because his mind went all blurry whenever Uncle T. discussed the theater. He decided not to ask his parents, since they were already annoyed with him. He d find out soon enough anyway. He put on his headphones and blasted the music. Mom gave Andy a look. OK. I ll turn it down, Andy said with a frown. Mom parked in a vacant lot near the theater. Wow, this kabooli stuff sure is popular, Andy said. His parents glared at him. Kabuki, said Mom. And we happen to be early. I m sure there ll be a big audience. Traditional Japanese theater doesn t come to town every day.
8 Mom was wrong. The audience was not big. As Andy and his parents waited for the performance to begin, he counted about 20 people in the rickety wooden seats. He started feeling sorry for Uncle Togashi. Andy decided to make his applause extra loud, no matter how bad the performance might be. Andy looked at the program. The play was called The Forty-Seven Ronin. Who are the forty-seven ronin? Andy asked his parents. Mom smiled and said, They are warriors who have lost their jobs. They lost their jobs because their leader died. The play tells about what the warriors do after that. That sounded sort of cool, Andy thought. Maybe this wouldn t be so bad after all.
10 Andy read the first page of the program. It was a history of kabuki theater. It said kabuki was a mix of dance and acting that has been popular in Japan since the 1600s. It also said all the roles in kabuki are played by men, even if the characters are women! Andy couldn t imagine his big, deep-voiced uncle playing the part of a woman. Then the theater darkened. The curtain went up.
The whole performance felt as if it were taking place on some far-off planet. At first Andy tried to follow the plot, but then he gave up and just watched and listened. The music was like nothing Andy had ever heard. The actors danced and gestured with grace and strength. They never made a jerky or awkward movement. Andy wondered how much time they d spent practicing. He d have to remember to ask Uncle Togashi after the performance. 11
12 When it was all over, Andy was in a daze. So what did you think? Dad asked. That sure was wilder than any video game, Andy said. I think that means he liked it, said Mom. Let s go say hello to your uncle and tell him what a great job he did, Dad said, putting an arm around Andy. Okay, Andy said. There s only one problem. I have no idea which character he was. Do you? Mom and Dad both shook their heads no. They all laughed and headed backstage.
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Responding TARGET SKILL Cause and Effect Copy the chart below. Then write three more causes and effects from the story. Cause Mom told Andy to change his clothes for the performance.??? Effect Andy put on a clean shirt.??? Write About It Text to Self Do you like plays better than music concerts? Write an opinion essay that tells what you think. Be sure to start by stating your opinion clearly. Then give reasons that you feel this way. 14
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TARGET VOCABULARY applause blasted blurry familiar jerky rickety rude vacant ExpaNd YouR VoCabulaRY audience kabuki musical program theater traditional TARGET SKILL Cause and Effect Tell how one event makes another happen and why. TARGET STRATEGY Monitor/Clarify As you read, find a way to clear up what doesn t make sense to you. GENRE Realistic fiction is a story with events that could happen in real life. 16
Level: P DRA: 38 Genre: Realistic Fiction Strategy: Monitor/Clarify Skill: Cause and Effect Word Count: 773 3.2.9 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01704-4 ISBN-10: 0-547-01704-9 1031560