21 lenas garden

Level: J
DRA: 18
Genre:
Fantasy
Strategy:
Analyze/Evaluate
Skill:
Story Structure
Word Count: 302

Lena’s Garden
by Heather Clay
illustrated by
Mary DePalma

1.5.21

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

ISBN-13:978-0-547-02721-0
ISBN-10:0-547-02721-4

1032759
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN

1_027210_AL_LRSE_CVR_L21_LENA.indd 1

5/17/10 6:35:53 PM

Lena’s Garden

by Heather Clay
illustrated by Mary DePalma

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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Printed in China
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02721-0
ISBN-10: 0-547-02721-4
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Lena and her family were
moving to a new house in a
new neighborhood. Lena was
sad about moving because she
had to leave her pretty garden.

2

Lena had planted all kinds of
flowers and she loved to watch
them bloom. She had also planted
berry bushes. She gave the plants
water and pulled out the weeds.
Whenever she saw a sick plant,
she tried to make it better.
3


Lena looked out the window
at her garden. She knew that a
new family was going to buy the
house. She wondered if the new
owners would know how to take
care of her garden.
4


She thought hard all night
long. Then she had an idea.
She wrote some directions and
told the new owners just how to
care for the garden.
5


Lena left the directions for the
new owners when she moved.

She got right to work planting
a garden in her new yard, but
she often thought of her old
garden.
6


One night, Lena dreamed about
her old garden. In her dream,
all the flowers had turned brown.
When Lena woke up, she was
worried and upset. “Oh, I hope
the new owners are taking good
care of my garden!” she cried.
7


Dear Lena,
I love my new home, and most
of all I like the garden.
Thank you for leaving such
good directions for taking
c a r e o f it !

Your friend,
Dolly

A few days later, Lena got a
letter and a picture. They made
her feel much better.

8


Dear Dolly,
I am so glad that you like
the garden! I have planted a
garden in my new yard. The
flowers are just starting to
bloom.

Your friend,
Lena

Lena was so happy. She
wrote Dolly a letter right away.
Lena sent Dolly a picture, too.
9


The next Saturday, Lena and
her family visited the old house.
She thought that the garden
looked great.
Dolly said, “Thanks for
teaching me how to take care of
your garden!”
“Thanks for doing such a
great job!” replied Lena.
10

Responding
Story Structure
Who is this story about? Where
does the story happen? What
happens in the story? Make a
chart.
TARGET SKILL

Write About It
Text to World Draw a picture
of a garden you would like to
visit. Write two sentences about
this garden.
11


WORDS TO KNOW

better

saw

turned

night

thought

window

pretty

told
LEARN MORE WORDS

berry

bloom

neighborhood

Story Structure
Tell the setting, character, and
events in a story.
TARGET SKILL

Analyze/Evaluate
Tell how you feel about the text,
and why.
TARGET STRATEGY

GENRE A fantasy is a story that
could not happen in real life.
12


Level: J
DRA: 18
Genre:

Fantasy
Strategy:
Analyze/Evaluate
Skill:
Story Structure
Word Count: 302

Lena’s Garden
by Heather Clay
illustrated by
Mary DePalma

1.5.21

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

ISBN-13:978-0-547-02721-0
ISBN-10:0-547-02721-4

1032759
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN

1_027210_AL_LRSE_CVR_L21_LENA.indd 1

5/17/10 6:35:53 PM