This document contains 4 short passages: 1) A summary comparing the plots of "The Tiger Rising" and "Because of Winn Dixie" where the protagonists feel out of place in a new town until making a new friend. 2) A 3 stanza poem personifying the concept of fear. 3) A short story about a kitten named Puck who is trapped in a burlap sack and thrown into water, but manages to escape and drag himself onto land, losing sight of his mother. 4) A brief biography of the author, Mr. Falck, stating he is a 4th grade teacher who enjoys the ocean.

1. Falck's Digital Portfolio 2010-2011

2. Table of Contents 1. Text-to-Text Connection 2. Fear Personification Poem 3. Water, We Must Be Near Water 4. About the Author

3. Text-to-Text Connection : The Tiger Rising is a story about a boy named Rob who moves to a new city and seems out of place until he makes a new friend. This same storyline happens in Because of Winn Dixie . In the beginning of Because of Winn Dixie , Opal moves to a new town and like Rob feels out of place until she befriends a dog she meets in a grocery story. Both novels have a lot in common.

4. FEAR Fear wakes up early before the sun but doesn’t feel well rested. Fear is always looking over his shoulder as if someone is going to hurt him. Fear is walking down the alley after midnight when strange noises are happening everywhere. Fear takes off his head like a mannequin just to get a good night of sleep. All of fear’s dreams are nightmares. Nightmares where he is always falling down a staircase and at the end is the mouth of a hammerhead shark.

5. Water, We Must Be Near Water Puck shivered. The kitten was filled with fear. He wanted to be back in the Underneath where it was safe and he was free. He wanted to be playing with his sister, Sabine. The Calico cat tried to comfort Puck, but also knew she didn’t have much time. She scratched at the burlap bag and slowly the bag began to open. The opening tore more as she continued to slice it with her nails. The hole got big enough for Puck to squeeze his head through. Then big enough for him to squeeze all of his body through. Puck made it out of the burlap bag and with all his strength tried to swim. It took every muscle in his body to move at all. The water kept rushing over his small body, it pushed him this way and that way. Eventually, he was pushed to the side of the water and he dragged his body onto a muddy patch. When he looked back into the water there was no sign of the burlap bag, no sign of his mom.

6. About the Author Mr. Falck is a 4 th grade teacher at Grafton Kennedy Elementary. He doesn't have a mohawk, a tattoo, but he does likes the ocean.