Stories and Books
 

The Little Red House With The Star Inside
Author unknown, adapted and retold by Terry E. Qualls

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was tired of all his toys and tired of all his play.
“What shall I do?” he asked his mother.  His mother, who was a wise woman, said, “You shall go on a journey and find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside.”
The little boy thought that his mother’s ideas were normally very good, but this one was very strange.  “Which way shall I go?” he asked his mother.  “I don’t know where to go or how to find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside.”  His mother, who was a wise woman, replied, “Go down the lane past the farmer’s barn and over the hill.”  After you do this, hurry back and tell me all about your journey.”
So the little boy put on his cap and his jacket and started on his way.  He had not gone very far down the lane when he came to a merry little girl dancing in the sunshine.  Her cheeks were like pink rose petals and her hair was as bright as a new copper penny.
“Do you know where I may find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside?” asked the little boy.
The little girl laughed.  “I never heard of such a thing.  Ask my father, the farmer,” she said.  “He knows many things.”  “Perhaps he can help you.”
So the little boy went on until he came to a big black barn were the farmer kept the supplies for his family for the long winter months.  The farmer himself stood in the doorway of the barn looking out over the green pastures and golden grain fields.
“Do you know where I may find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside?”  Asked the little boy of the farmer.
The farmer laughed, too, just as the little girl had.  “I’ve lived many years and know of many things, but, alas, I have never heard of such a thing as a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside.”  He chuckled, then said, “you should ask the old lady who lives in the little blue cottage at the foot of the hill.”  “She knows many things.”  “She can make brown molasses, and white taffy, and yellow mittens!”  “Perhaps she can help you.”
The little boy went on.  While he was walking, he started thinking about the little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside.  “It would be very warm in the winter with no windows to let in the in cold winter air and the star would give a nice light,” thought the little boy.  He walked on and on until he came to the little blue cottage at the foot of the hill, which belonged to the old lady.
When the little boy came up to the cottage, he politely knocked on the door.  “Who is it?” asked the old lady.  “My mother has sent me in search of the little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside.”  “Can you help me?”  Asked the little boy.
“Come in, come in”, answered the old lady.  The little boy came in and sat down beside the old lady.
 He had walked a long time and was beginning to get hungry.  The old lady knew that little boys are often hungry, so she offered him her one piece of fruit, which was sitting on the table beside her.  Not wanting to eat all the old lady’s food, he asked if she would share it with him.
“I would love to,” replied the old lady.  She then reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a knife.  With the knife she cut across the piece of fruit and offered half to the little boy and kept half for herself.
The old lady began to eat her half of the fruit, but the little boy just sat staring at the old lady.  When at last she had finished her half, the little boy asked, “Do you know of the little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside?”  “I’ve asked the little girl with the copper colored hair and the farmer in the big black barn, but they did not know of such a thing.”
“Indeed I do know of such a thing, and so do you,”  answered the old lady.  “You see, you hold it in your own little hand.”  Not realizing what the old lady had said to him, he looked down at the piece of fruit he had been holding.  “Do you see the star inside the little red house with no doors and no windows?” asked the old lady.  “I do!!  I do!!  I see it!!  I see it!!”  exclaimed the little boy.  With that, he politely thanked the old lady, ran out of the house, up the hill, across the lane and into the home of his mother, who was a wise woman.
Extension:
“Vocabulary”
 
wise journey strange lane
barn jacket merry petals
supplies pastures alas chuckled
cottage "foot of the hill" molasses taffy
mittens apron

Extension Activity:
“Recalling Details and Drawing Conclusions” literacy activity
Guide the students in recalling some of the details of the story by asking some of the following questions:
Extension Activity:
“Star Printing” art activity
Materials” Procedure:
Recall the part of the story where the old lady cut open the apple to revel the star inside the little house with no windows and no doors.
Inform the students that they are now going to make pictures of the star inside the little red house.
Students dip the cut edge of the apple into the red paint and print onto their paper.
You may want to display these with the caption:  “We found the little red house with the star inside!”

   Extension Activity:
“Sequencing” literacy activity
Materials: Procedure:
Help the students to recall the events in the story in the proper sequence.  These may be written or drawn on the board or overhead, depending on the ability of your students.
Inform them that they are now going to get to make a storyboard to take home so they can retell the story to their families.
Pass out pencils, etc., then “The Little Red House” handout, noting the blank square in each picture.  Instruct the students to look carefully at each picture and decide which happened first in the story. Put a “1” in the correct square.  Continue with the other pictures.
Students may then color, cut out, and glue the pictures to the sentence strip, from left to right, to retell the story.

Extension Activity:
“Big Book” literacy activity
Materials:

Procedure:
Enlarge the pictures from the handout or make your own to go with the story.  Color them.
Affix the pictures to the cardstock or poster board in the correct order to retell the story.
Show the pictures to your students and ask them to help you in retelling the story in their own words.
Write down what they say for each picture.  Turn it into a retelling of the story.
Copy the retelling (write out or type on computer and ‘cut and paste’) and rubber cement to the proper page in your new Big Book.
Laminate, bind and enjoy!

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree, by Gail Gibbons

After reading and discussing this book with your students, you might want to do the Seasonal Booklets activity listed on my Apple Science page.
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