Text Leveling System

Carnival at Candlelight

RDQ:	1005	Max Word/Sent	30	Total Words	2025		Diff Words	629
Lex	740	Ave Word/.Sent	7	Hi Freq occurs	1413	69.8%	Hi freq	276	43.9%
AR	3.6	Long Sentences	4.3	Low Freq occurs	102	5%	Low freq	64	10.2%

A Book of Magic. Dawn was breaking in the Frog Creek woods. Jack saw a light shining up ahead. He ran toward it. He ran so fast, he couldn't hear his feet hitting the ground. He couldn't feel the frosty winter air.
As Jack got closer to the light, he could see the magic tree house at the top of the tallest oak. A girl and boy were looking out the window. The girl had dark, wavy hair and sea-blue eyes. The boy had tousled red hair and a big grin on his face. As the two kids waved at him, Jack felt incredibly happy.
"Jack, wake up!"
Jack opened his eyes. His sister, Annie, was standing beside his bed. She was wearing her winter jacket. It was barely light outside.
"I just had a dream about the tree house," she said.
"Really?" Jack said sleepily.
"I dreamed we were running through the woods at dawn," said Annie, "and when we got to the tree house, Teddy and Kathleen were there waiting for us."
Jack sat up. "I just had the same dream!" he said.
"Meet you downstairs," said Annie.
Annie left Jack's room. Jack jumped out of bed, put on his glasses, and threw on his clothes. He grabbed his winter jacket and his backpack. Then he slipped quietly down the stairs and out the front door.
Annie was waiting on the porch. The February air was chilly. Frost sparkled in the grass as the sun rose over the Frog Creek woods.
"Ready?" asked Annie.
Jack nodded and zipped his jacket. Without another word, he and Annie hurried up their street and headed into the woods. They ran through the long shadows of early morning, between the bare winter trees. Then they stopped.
The tree house was back, just as Jack had seen it in his dream! It was high in the tallest oak tree, shining in the cold morning light.
"Wow," breathed Jack. "Dreams can come true."
"Yep," said Annie. "Teddy! Kathleen!" No one answered.
"I guess only part of this dream came true," Annie said sadly. She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed. Annie climbed into the tree house. "Oh, wow!" she said.
"What is it?" said Jack.
"They're here!" said Annie in a loud whisper. Jack climbed in behind her. Their friends
Teddy and Kathleen, apprentices to Morgan le Fay, were sitting under the tree house window. Wrapped in heavy woolen cloaks, they were both fast asleep.
"Hey, sleepyheads!" said Annie. "Wake up!" Kathleen blinked and yawned. Teddy rubbed his eyes. When he saw Jack and Annie, he gave them a wide grin and leapt to his feet. "Hello!" he said.
"Hello!" cried Annie. She threw her arms around Teddy. "We both dreamed you were here."
"Ah, then our magic worked!" said Teddy. "Kathleen suggested we send dreams to let you know we were here, and it seems our magic sent us to dreamland as well."
"But now we are all awake," said Kathleen. "And I am very glad to see you." She stood up, drawing her cloak around her. Her blue eyes sparkled like seawater in the dawn light.
"I'm glad to see you, too," Jack said shyly.
"Are you taking us on another Merlin Mission?" said Annie.
"Not exactly," said Teddy. "Merlin has a most important mission for you. But this time, we will not be going along."
"Oh, no!" said Annie. "What if we need your magic to help us?"
Teddy and Kathleen looked at each other and smiled. Then Kathleen turned back to Jack and Annie. "Morgan thinks you may be ready to use magic on your own," she said.
"Really?" said Jack.
"Yes," said Teddy, "but Merlin is very cautious about sharing magic powers with mortals, even with two as worthy as you. He is also wary of magic being used outside the realm of Camelot. Nevertheless, Morgan has convinced Merlin to let you prove yourselves. You will be tested on four missions."
"But we don't know any magic," said Jack. "Remember what I told you on our last
adventure?" said Teddy. "If we all work together-"
"Anything is possible!" said Annie. "But you just said you weren't coming with us."
"That is true," said Kathleen. "And that is why we bring you this." She reached into a pocket of her cloak and pulled out a small hand made book. She gave the book to Annie.
The cover of the book was made of rough brown paper. Written on it in neat, simple hand writing was the title:
"You made this for us?" said Annie.
"Yes," said Kathleen. "One line of each rhyme is in Teddy's language, and one is in mine, the language of the Seal People."
Annie opened the book to the table of contents. She and Jack skimmed the list of rhymes, and Jack read some of the entries aloud:
"Fly Through the Air. Make Metal Soft. Turn into Ducks-"
Annie giggled. "These are so cool!" she said. "Let's all turn into ducks!"
"Not now," said Kathleen. "You must use these rhymes very sparingly. There are only ten rhymes in the book, and each can only be used once. They are meant to last you for four journeys."
"Four?" said Jack.
"Aye," said Teddy. "Merlin has agreed that if you can use our magic wisely on four missions, he will teach you the secrets that will allow you to make magic on your own."
"Oh, boy!" said Annie.
Jack put the book of magic rhymes in his backpack. "So where are we going on our first mission?" he asked.
"This research book from Morgan will tell you," said Teddy. He took out a book and handed it to Jack. The cover showed a bright, colorful city surrounded by water.
Jack read the title aloud:
A VISIT TO VENICE, ITALY
"I've heard of Venice," said Annie. "Last year Aunt Gail and Uncle Michael went there on vacation."
"Aye, 'tis a city that has long welcomed travelers," said Teddy. "But you and Jack will travel to the Venice of two hundred sixty years ago."
"What will we do there?" asked Jack. "Merlin has prepared careful directions for you," said Teddy. He pulled a letter out of a pocket in his cloak and gave it to Jack. "Read this when you get to Venice."
"Okay," said Jack. He put Merlin's letter and Morgan's research book into his backpack. "Wait a minute," said Annie. "If we take the tree house to Venice, how will you guys get back to Camelot?"
Teddy and Kathleen smiled and held up their hands. They each wore a ring made of pale blue glass. "These magic rings belong to Morgan," said Kathleen. "They will take us home."
"Remember," Teddy said to Jack and Annie. "Follow Merlin's directions carefully. If you prove yourselves to be wise and brave helpers, he will call for you again soon."
Kathleen nodded. "Good-bye now," she said to Jack and Annie. "Good luck."
Kathleen and Teddy raised their glass rings to their lips. Together they whispered words too softly to be heard, then blew on the rings.
Before Jack and Annie's eyes, the two young sorcerers began to fade into the cool morning air. In an instant, they had disappeared completely.
"They're gone," breathed Jack.
"I guess it's time for us to go, too," said Annie. Jack took a deep breath. Then he pointed at the cover of the Venice book. "I wish we could go there!" he said.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin. It spun faster and faster. Then everything was still. Absolutely still.
Annie laughed.
Jack opened his eyes. He and Annie were wearing purple and pink outfits with huge ruffled collars. On their heads were funny hats. On their feet were red slippers with big bows.
"Who are we?" Annie asked.
"I don't know," said Jack. He didn't feel like a wise and brave helper in his red slippers. He felt stupid.
Together Jack and Annie looked out the tree house window. They had landed in a small tree
inside a walled garden. The sky was gray. Jack couldn't tell if it was morning or evening, but the air felt damp and heavy, as if a storm was about to break.
"I guess this is Venice," he said.
"Let's check our book," said Annie. She opened their research book and read aloud: Today the city of Venice is one of the most popular tourist spots in the world. It lies in a lagoon of the Adriatic Sea. Instead of roads, Venice has waterways called canals. People glide along the canals in shallow boats called gondolas (GON-duh-luz). A man called a gondolier stands in the back of the boat and uses a long oar to propel the gondola through the water.
"That sounds like fun," said Jack.
"Yep," said Annie. She closed the book. "Let's go. 
"Wait," said Jack. "We don't even know what our mission is yet." He took out Merlin's letter and unfolded it. He read aloud:
Dear jack, and Annie of Frog Creek
your mission wilt require great patience and a bit of magic. The Grand Lady of the Lagoon is in terrible danger. The only one who can help you save her from disaster is the Ruler of the Seas. To locate him, follow these directions: When waters rise beneath the moon, visit the Grand Lady of the Lagoon. To find out where you need to go, Seek out a painter named Tiepolo.
At midnight two men wilt tell you the time. To the top of their tower hurry and climb. The King of the jungle wilt carry you there, Not over Land, but high in the air.
An angel of gold wilt show you the way To the sea by night, and home by day. -M
Jack pushed his glasses into place. "Hmm," he said.
"I wonder who the Grand Lady is," said Annie. "And why do we need to save her?"
"I'm wondering lots of stuff," said Jack. "What about the King of the Jungle? We're in a city, not a jungle. And what about that angel? And"
"Let's just take one thing at a time," said Annie. "What are we supposed to do first?" Jack looked back at the letter and read: When waters rise beneath the moon,
Visit the Grand Lady of the Lagoon.
"So let's start by finding the Grand Lady," said Annie. She headed down the tree house ladder. Jack put Merlin's letter into his backpack, along with Morgan's research book and Teddy and Kathleen's book of magic rhymes. Then he climbed down the rope ladder and caught up with Annie.
Jack and Annie walked over a pebbly path as the sky darkened. Good, thought Jack. It's night.
He didn't want anyone to see him in his silly outfit-especially the red slippers with the bows. "That must be the way out," said Annie. She led Jack to a wooden gate in the garden wall and pushed it open.
Jack and Annie stepped through the gate onto a quiet, empty walkway. Next to the walkway was a narrow lane of water.
"I guess that's a canal," said Jack.
"And that must be a gondola," said Annie. She pointed to a long, curved black boat rounding the corner. In the last light of day, the gondola was gliding silently up the canal toward them. "Yikes," whispered Annie.
There were two people in the boat a gondolier and a passenger. Each wore a black cloak, white gloves, and a ghostly white mask. The masks had long, pointy noses shaped like bird beaks. The passenger sat in the middle of the boat, holding a lantern. The gondolier stood in the back, pushing a long oar through the water.
"They look a lot weirder than us," said Annie. "No kidding," said Jack.
"Hello!" the passenger shouted.
The person's voice was muffled behind the white mask. "Do you need help?"
"Yes!" Annie shouted back. "Can you take us to the Grand Lady of the Lagoon?"
"Yes, of course. She is back that way!" answered the masked passenger. "Come."

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Dialog: Unlabeled Speaker

Vocabulary: Some difficult words

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Inferences: Some implications

Complexity: Several ideas - closely related

Concept: Fanciful

Chapters

Headings

Features

Simple Plot

Topic

Time

Celebrations

*History

Danger

Costumes

*Entertainment & Fun

Low Frequency Words

absolutely	adriatic	apprentices	breathed	cautious
contents	convinced	curved	dreamland	entries
ghostly	gliding	gondola	gondolas	gondolier
incredibly	instant	journeys	kathleen	lagoon
language	lantern	leapt	locate	mission
missions	mortals	muffled	nevertheless	passenger
patience	pebbly	propel	prove	realm
require	research	rhyme	rhymes	rough
rounding	ruffled	seawater	shallow	skimmed
sleepily	sleepyheads	sorcerers	sparingly	surrounded
tiepolo	tourist	tousled	unfolded	venice
walled	wary	waterways	wavy	weirder
whisper	wilt	worthy	yawned	yourselves