Red Socks and Yellow Socks

							The Remarkable Christmas
  of the Cobbler’s Sons
                      CHALLENGING WORDS

                               amazement
                                beginnings
                                  bulbous
                                 caraway
                                 lopsided
                              mountainsides
                                 nonsense
                               quarrelsome
                                remember
                                tomorrow




                         SUMMARY

       It’s Christmas Eve, but there is little cheer and no
      holiday feast for the poor cobbler and his three sons.
     Then a strange little man comes knocking at their door.
       Could he be the legendary goblin king who brings
            miracles and magic to one hut every year?
                         --- Conversation Questions---

(1)   Describe your favorite part of the story.
(Answer)     ALA
(Follow Up)     Tell why this was your favorite part.

(2)   Assume you were one of the little boys. Tell how you would feel if
      someone came in acting so mean and rude.
(Answer)     ALA
(Follow Up)    Share a time someone was mean or rude to you.

(3)   Imagine how the boys felt when oranges, candy, and money began
      falling out of their pockets.
(Answer)       ALA
(Follow Up)       Recall a time you were surprised by a gift.

(4)    Compare your home to the hut of the three boys.
(Answer)        ALA
(Follow Up)       Do you feel you live better or worse than they do?

(5)   Define bulbous.
(Answer)      Shaped like a bulb [a bulbous nose].
(Follow Up)     Describe the shape of your nose.

(6)   List three people the cobbler mended shoes for.
(Answer)       Farmer, baker, and butcher.
(Follow Up)       List the three things he received in return for his services.

(7)   Name the nonsense words the cobbler used to tell what they were
      having to eat.
(Answer)      Schnitzle, schnotzle, and schnootzle.
(Follow Up)      Does your family ever use nonsense words to make something fun?

(8)   Tell who will pay the cobbler when he mends the soldier’s boots.
(Answer)      A captain or a general.
(Follow Up)      Share who pays for your shoes when they tear up.

(9)    Search for what the wind whispered of Christmas eve night.
(Answer)      Good fires in big chimneys, of the pines on the mountainsides, of snow
              loosening and sliding over the glaciers.
(Follow Up)      Tell what else the wind does besides whisper.

(10)   Find page twelve. Describe what the goblin king looked like.
(Answer)      Great peaked hat tied onto his head with deer thongs, round red face, a
              bulbous nose, and big ears.
(Follow Up)      Describe what you look like.
                                       Activities

1.      Make a list of the names of the characters in the story.

2.      Pretend you are one of the three children and write a short letter to the
        goblin king thanking him for his magic gifts.

3.      Write a paragraph describing what the little hut looked like.

4.      Write a paragraph telling what fell out of the children’s pockets when they
        turned upside down.




                                   Introductions

1.      Bring in an old shoe. Ask the children if they know the name for a person
        who repairs shoes. Say, “Today we will read about a very poor cobbler, his
        three sons, and a Christmas miracle”.

2.      Draw a picture of a very poor looking hut. Ask the children if they or their
        family have ever been able to help someone poor at Christmas. Say, “Today
        we will read about a very poor family and a Christmas miracle”.

3.      Copy and color a picture of the goblin king. Ask the children if someone
        who looks so mean and grouchy could bring Christmas cheer. Say, “Today
        we will read about this goblin king and the poor family he helps at
        Christmas”.




Book: The Remarkable Christmas of the Cobbler’s Sons
Author: Ruth Sawyer                               Illustrator: Barbara Cooney
ISBN: 0-14-054916-1                               # of Text Pages: 19
                                      Building Oral Vocabulary
 8           porridge             12            hospitality          21                             cartwheels
                                        Prediction Questions
 6   Tell what you think the dried brush was going to be used for.
11 Guess who was knocking at the door.
14 How do you think the boys will react to the little man taking the quilt?

     This resource is made available by KYREADS-Barren County School system, an AmeriCorps program, funded in part by the
       Kentucky Commission on Community and Volunteer Service and the Corporation for National and Community Service.