How we cite our quotes: (Section.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
In the letter Ms. Silver greeted the students and said she was looking forward to the new school year. [...] She said that second grade would be "a safe, happy year of growth" and "a wonderful, joyful, exciting challenge."
Billy stopped chewing when he heard the word challenge. He put down his fork and touched the lump on his head. He didn't want a challenge. (1.1.21-22)
Right off the bat, we learn that Billy is a bit scared of the road ahead. Yep, he's nervous about the "challenge" of second grade. That word challenge can have positive connotations (a.k.a. a cookie-eating challenge) and some pretty scary meanings, too (a.k.a. a challenging math test). Since Ms. S says this will be a "joyful" challenge, we're thinking she's going with the more positive side of things. But it looks like Billy is a glass-half-empty kind of guy when it comes to thinking about his ability to persevere through the challenges ahead.
Quote #2
The rabbit will be perfect, he thought, recalling that Ms. Silver had noted in her letter that this was the Year of the Rabbit. He picked it up, turned the little thing in his hand. It was only an inch and a half high. Billy shoved the rabbit into his pocket with his other silver things.
His plan was to leave the silver items on Ms. Silver's desk. The gifts would be a way to show her that he was a nice person. He didn't think he could find the words to explain to her what he'd been doing with the red markers. He hoped this gesture would take care of the situation. (1.5.2-3)
Billy is in a pickle: He's had a rough first day at school and is worried that he accidentally insulted his teacher. Yikes, that doesn't sound fun. So now he's got to work hard to find a way to make things right and persevere through some possible awkwardness with Ms. S. We can't help noticing that Billy also wants to avoid talking to Ms. Silver. What do you make of this? Is Billy trying to skate by with his silver doodads? Or is he making a serious effort?
Quote #3
At first, Papa seemed jolly and had good suggestions to offer. He showed Billy how to replicate a cave by crumpling up a piece of gray construction paper, then smoothing it out and gluing it to the inside of the box. Because the paper was crisscrossed with folds and wrinkles, it really gave the shoe box the appearance of worn, silvery rock.
Billy worked diligently. He had a vision in his head of how his diorama should turn out. He wanted to make three or four bats hanging from the top of the cave, and he wanted to make one big bat with its wings spread to look as if it were flying. (2.2.2-3)
Billy is hard at work on his diorama, and he's got Papa as his partner-in-crime. We know that Billy's working hard here because, well, the narrator tells us so. But we also get some clues about exactly what is making this hard work so successful. And it looks like Billy's got some help from Papa and some creative imagination to get his diorama building off to a good start.
Quote #4
"Do you need some help?" asked Papa.
"No," said Billy. He wanted to do it on his own.
"Okay," said Papa." Fine." The sharpness had returned to his voice.
Billy finally cut out a bat that was acceptable, but he couldn't figure out how to attach it to the box and also make it appear as if it were flying, suspended in the air. "Now will you help me?" Billy asked Papa. (2.2.10-13)
Remember how Billy seemed cool with getting his dad's help with his diorama at first? That fades pretty quickly. Now Billy wants to be Mr. Independent when it comes to making the big bat for his diorama. Ultimately, our main man figures out that asking for help isn't such a bad thing—heck, Papa helps him make a bat that looks like it's flying.
Quote #5
"All right," said Papa, clapping his hands. "I wouldn't call it a breakthrough yet, but I've been working hard today. Because of you."
Laid out on the table in Papa's work area were several wooden cigar boxes. Each one had various items placed inside it. The inside of one resembled a landscape, another a city. One looked like a funny face with mismatched watch dial eyes, a doorknob nose, and a black plastic comb mustache. The boxes were in differing stages of completion. (2.5.13-14)
Billy isn't the only hard worker in this book. When it comes to perseverance, we know that Papa has that characteristic in the bag. Since he's an artist, he's always looking for inspiration and pushing through tough times when he doesn't know what to create. But he keeps on trying no matter what, and all that hard work starts to pay off when Billy helps his dad get a cool idea to make dioramas. Maybe hard work really just needs a second-grader as a sidekick sometimes.
Quote #6
His eyelids were the problem—they were as heavy as steel. The situation was worse if he lay down, so he rose from his bed and paced around his room. But the bed was so inviting—soft, warm—that he couldn't help taking a break, allowing himself only to sit on it.
He turned his bedside lamp off and on and off and on. He tried to read. He tried to draw. He tried counting backward from one thousand.
He looked at the dragon stamp on the envelope from Ms. Silver. Then he took the pearl in his open palm and stared at it until it blurred. He pretended it really was magic. "Stay awake," he whispered. "Stay awake."
Just then an idea came to him. Billy's idea was to scare himself so badly he couldn't sleep. (3.3.19-22)
Billy's action plan is pretty impressive. He's working so hard to stay up and he's willing to try anything. And when we say anything, we mean it—he's even willing to scare himself silly if it means he'll have a chance of pulling his first all-nighter. Well one thing's for sure: Having so many different options for keeping himself awake shows us just how hard he's working to reach this goal.
Quote #7
"We could play with the Drop Sisters," said Sal.
"Will that keep you awake more than anything else?" asked Billy. He was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goal.
Sal nodded.
"Okay," said Billy. (3.4.24-27)
Billy wants to pull an all-nighter and he's in it for the long haul. Just check out that determination. He's ready to persevere through tired eyes, scary monster nightmares, and silly stories with his little sis. Did you notice how he doesn't even fight Sal about playing with the Drop Sisters? When she says that it'll help her stay up, he hops on the storytelling bandwagon.
Quote #8
When he came back to Sal's room with the disappointing news that it was only 11:03, Sal was sleeping on the floor beside the Drop Sisters, her head on Coughdrop.
Billy made very little effort to wake her. He made very little effort to do anything. He couldn't. All at once it felt as if his pajamas were made of lead. His legs could barely hold him up and it took everything he had in him to drag some blankets off Sal's bed, fall to the floor next to her, and cover both of them.
He would give it one more try. He raised his head and opened his eyes as wide as he could. "Stay awake," he commanded himself. A swift, invisible hand pressed his head down and stitched his eyes shut. He tried to conjure up an image of the monster under his bed, but he didn't even have the energy for that. (3.4.54-56)
Sometimes trying just isn't enough—check out all the ways that the narrator tells us Billy feels like he's fighting forces bigger than himself. But with those lead PJs and the "invisible hand" pushing him down, Billy doesn't stand a chance. In fact, it's almost as if Billy doesn't have any choice in the matter. What do you think about this? Is it simply impossible for Billy to persevere any further? Or could he have tried even harder?
Quote #9
Billy was supposed to practice reading his poem aloud at home, but he didn't like practicing in front of Mama, Papa, or Sal. Mama thought he should practice in front of someone, so Papa pulled out his cello with the mannequin arms from his studio and moved it to Billy's room. "You can practice in front of this," said Papa. "I knew it would come in handy someday." […]
Reading to Poetry Man was easier than reading to a real person. Billy practiced every day.
Billy practiced every day at school, too. The second graders took turns reading their poems at the front of the room. (4.4.3-4)
You know how the saying goes: Practice makes perfect. Well, Billy sure is taking this one to heart. And his practice time doesn't stop at school—he and his parents even work out a way for him to have an audience at home with Poetry Man (a.k.a. the cello with mannequin arms that Papa made). It's true that Billy hits some roadblocks in his practicing, like the fact that he doesn't want to do it in front of his family members, but with a creative bunch like the Millers, they find an easy way around that hurdle.
Quote #10
He touched the silver netted top of the microphone and he could tell that the power was off. He swallowed. Before he could change his mind, he began to recite his poem from memory. He felt the first few words catch in his mouth and then they rolled out of him as easy as could be.
He did it quickly, but he did it. When he was finished, he could hear the rush of blood in his ears. He felt light, as if he weighed next to nothing.
He scanned the crowd for Mama, and he saw her instantly. She was right at the foot of the stage. Their eyes connected, and he knew that she'd been watching him. She'd heard him, even without the microphone on. She was smiling and nodding.
Explosions like little volcanoes were going off inside him. He felt wonderful. Maybe he'd never felt better. (4.5.72-75)
So Billy really wanted to recite his poem by heart, but we're sorry to report that he fumbled that one. Yep, he forgets every word and has to use to use the printed copy. But later he gets the chance to prove to himself that he can recite that poem like a champ, and he gets to show Mama, too, which makes victory all the sweeter. Billy's feeling so great that it has us wondering if this accidental goal ends up being way better than his original one.