Word of the Day/The Shrinking of Treehorn

It's day 4 of our Word of the Day feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: The boys and I choose a different book every day and they pick a word from it for which they don't know the meaning. They each write the word at night and the next day we try to use it in conversation as much as we can.

Today's word is shirk, a verb meaning "to avoid doing something that should be done." I'm sure we'll have lots of opportunities to use this word.

And we're reading The Shrinking of Treehorn, in which Treehorn's principal thinks Treehorn is shirking instead of shrinking.

The Shrinking of Treehorn
Author/illustrator: Florence Parry Heide/Edward Gorey
Publisher: Holiday House (1971)
Source: Public library

Treehorn is shrinking, but no one seems to care very much. His mother, father and teacher, when they're not wrapped up in their own problems, think he's either behaving badly or just trying to be different. This book, along with Treehorn's Treasure and Treehorn's Wish, is part of a trilogy.

A couple of books to go along with The Shrinking of Treehorn:

An activity to go along with the book: Make your own slow cooker Shrinky Dinks.

Disclosure: We are an Amazon affiliate, which means that if you click on any links to Amazon  in this post and purchase anything, we will earn a small commission through our relationship with Amazon.