Title - A Gathering of Days, A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 Author: Blos, Joan W. Publisher: Troll Associates Print Synopsis Authors Purpose Genre When Catherine's mother dies in childbirth and her father decides to remarry, Catherine must face painful changes. This novel, written in diary form, tells of a pivotal year for 19th-century New Englander Catherine Cabot Hill -- one of change, loss, and leave taking. Entertain Historical Fiction RDQ (Reading Difficulty Quotient) Accelerated Reader Lexile Find at 2787 6.4 1030 Amazon RDQ based on a maximum of 3000 words Levels are suggested levels based on RDQ, not official levels Sentences Total Words Different Words Max Word/Sent 107 Total # of Words 3487 # of Different Words 1136 Ave Word/.Sent 15 Hi Freq occurs 2485 71.3% # of Hi freq words 426 37.5% % of Long Sentences 33.2 Low Freq occurs 316 9.1% # of Low freq words 268 23.6% Subjective Criteria Illustrations: No support Dialog: Multiple speakers Dialog: Broken dialogue Dialog: Unlabeled Speaker Vocabulary: Many difficult words Language: Many descriptive words Sentences: Many Long Complex Text structure: Difficult Inferences: Some implications Complexity: Several unrelated ideas Concepts: Abstract/Complex Social Chapters Features Character traits Complex plot First Person Dialect/Accents Topics *History Low Frequency Words abated account achieving actual admiration advertisements affection amidst angle announced aplenty apparition approval assay assured await ballot befallen boughs boundary callers capacious capitals cassimere cellar cellar's charcoal commended companionship contentedly cough courier cover's curling currants cyder demurred departing despite determined devising dismissed disported distinguish diverse dogged drawn dreadful dwelt engage ermine'd excellent familiar fashion fastened fellow festively fetched flaring flourish foolscap fortunately frequent frock further gathering gayest gesture girth gnawed granted guidance hale handwork harness harsh headless healthy hearth height hereabouts holt homeward honour hosts household ignorant ignored improved inclement inclined increase inspecting instances instructed instruction intelligence intermeddle intruder joining knit knitting knowing knowledge labour ladies lanky latch lengths lengthy lightly liking linen location margins massachusetts meadow measure mending meredith mislead mistook misused mocks morocco morrow muffled muffler musical naught newly noisily noted obeyed observed offend oft openly ought pantaloons parlours pathway patterned paused peddlars peering perkinses permission persists petulant phantom pianos piper piper's pitty pleasant pleasantly portions practiced praised precept preparations presented presently prettily prevail priest prolong prompt prove proved provisions prudent purpose pursues queerest queried raggedly rattling recall recently recruiter reflected remarked rendered renewal repeatedly resembles resolved responsible resumed retrieve reveal revealed rooty royal ruefully sabbath sattinett scarce scarcely scarlet scowled separates sere service services severe shading shakespeare shawl silhouette simper sisterly sleighs sophy sought spectral speculation spilt sternly stitched stitching stocking stockings stray'd stylish subscriber suggesting supposing surely sustain swiftly tangle tastefully tattered terrified thereafter thereto thine tho thrashed thrashing thread threatened throughout tinkers tongues torches transpired travelled trims trough trousers truly twas uncommon unmarried vagrant vaguely virtues ward weary witty wrinkles yankee younger youngest