This story is about about a small group of children in a desert town. They live across the street from an empty field, littered with cactus and dried desert flowers and stones. They call this place Roxaboxen, and imagine that it is a real town. Marian is elected the mayor. They also have a sheriff, an ice cream vendor (in Roxaboxen you can eat all the ice cream you want), a bakery and a cemetery. They dig up old shoe boxes full of stones, and say that this is the ancient money of Roxaboxen - you can even find some of them laying around if you look. The children collect white stones and make Main Street, and make outlines for the Roxaboxen jail, and other stores and houses. If you have anything round to put in your hands, you can pretend to drive a car - but watch out! The sheriff might ticket you for speeding. In the winter time, Roxaboxen sits lonely and barren while the children are in school. But the next summer, they are all back again. These children grow up and tell t heir own children about all the adventures they had in their little town of Roxaboxen.

Vocabulary:

trace

mayor blossomed (to bloom)
ford (to cross a river) decorate
Spelling:

The spelling words will all have long vowel sounds in them.

Study these 10 words to start: made, note, sail, boat, use, soon, bright, pool, open and each.

Focus Questions:

1. What is Roxaboxen? What does it look like?

2. What does Marian dig up for buried treasure?

3. How do they get around the city?

4. Why is Roxaboxen empty in the winter?

5. How do the children end up passing on their memories of Roxaboxen?

6. What are the white rocks used for?

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