The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant

What do you do if you outlive all of your friends? Well, the old woman in this story sets out to combat her loneliness by naming all of the inanimate things in in her life: Roxanne, her bed; her old chair, Fred; her reliable car, Betsy. What do all of these objects have in common for this clever, old woman? She gives them these names because she knows she can't outlive them. This plan seems to work for the old woman, until a small puppy appears at her gate. The old woman feeds the puppy, but then sends him away, due to her past experiences of hurt in losing friends. Time goes by and the puppy grows into a dog and continually visits the old woman by the gate of her house. But one day, the dog doesn't show up. The old woman becomes extremeley concerned about the dog's well being. She decides to search for the dog and name him, realizing that finding her new companion is worth more than her insecurities of losing him as she did with her friends. In the end, she finds the dog and names him Lucky, as he becomes a new member of her family, while filling the void of those she had lost through friendship and love. And although we never learn the old woman's name, we find out the dog's name in the end, along with all of the inanimate objects in her house.

Kathryn Brown's watercolor illustrations aid in the quirkiness and somewhat peculiar thought process of the old woman. In a review by Publisher's Weekly, "the unlikely protagonist of this quirky and tenderhearted story is a litte old lady with cat glasses and a beehive who might have stepped out into the Far Side." The Far Side, I couldn't agree more.

The Old Woman Who Named Things creates the opportunity to teach students on how to identify thoughtshots that authors use in stories. Rylant uses this writing concept of thoughtshots effectively in TOWWNT. In the lesson plan, "Thoughtshots Bring Your Characters to Life," (http://www.readwritethink.org/) instructional plans identify three different types of thoughtshots used in TWOWNT.

1. Internal dialogue/flash-ahead: It was a very pretty puppy, she thought. But it couldn't stay.



2. Internal dialogue: The old woman sat and thought about the shy brown dog who had no collar with a name...



3. Flashback: The old woman thought a moment. She thought of the old, dear friends with the names whom she had outlived.

It is through these thoughtshots that Rylant is able to communicate just how believable and real the character of the old woman truly is, while making the story much more interesting to her readers. The instructional plans also use the story An Angel for Solomon Singer, as Rylant uses the same concept of thoughtshots throughout this story. Isn't it interesting that both of these characters longed for some kind of companionship, and found it in the end!?

The Old Woman Who Named Things is a story that will allow you to empathize with the old woman's need for companionship, although her quirky naming of her house, car, chair are quite creative. In the end, she realizes that taking the risk is well worth gaining the company of Lucky. I believe that readers both young and old will be fully satisfied with the story's happy ending knowing that the old woman will never feel alone again.