Class VII [Raintree Coursebook Theme - 5: For the Love of Books] Chapter - 9: Maggie's First Reader by Bill Naughton

Summary: Maggie’s First Reader

Maggie’s First Reader is story about how books changed housewife Maggie’s life in the most

incredible way. Maggie is the best housewife in her neighborhood—she is a perfectionist. She

feeds her family home-cooked meals and home-baked bread. She is also very particular about

cleaning. However, Maggie does not know how to read. Her mother had died when she was

young and she had been forced to give up school and take up house work.

The new rector of the neighborhood, Father O’Flaherty, is shocked when he discovers this. He

insists that she learn how to read and instructs her son Timothy to teach her within a fortnight.

Timothy tries hard to teach his mother as she carries on doing household chores. On the night

before the deadline, she finally learns how to read.

This changes Maggie. She looks around her and starts reading everything she can get her hands

on—including labels on jars and her prayer book. She is fascinated by words and her house fills

up with magazines. Her husband suggests she joins the library. Maggie is reluctant at first but

after reading Gone with the Wind, she is hooked. She goes to the library every day and reads

long into the night.

Maggie is so enchanted by reading that household chores no longer matter to her. She either

burns the meals or buys them from outside. Her family is not pleased with these changes in her.

Her husband Harry asks Father O’Flaherty for help and together they come up with the idea of

‘Reading’ Day. According to this offer, Maggie gets to read every Thursday from midnight to

midnight, but the rest of the week she has to go back to doing her chores around the house.

Maggie accepts this offer. Her family no longer takes her for granted and make sure they are

extra quiet on Thursdays when Maggie reads.

This plan works for a little while, but Harry once again goes rushing to Father O’Flaherty for

help. He complains that his wife has given up reading and taken up writing instead. According 

to Harry, writing is worse as it distracts Maggie more than reading. Father O’Flaherty tells Harry

that there’s nothing to be done but to accept that Maggie is a remarkable woman. As Harry and

Timothy walk back home, Timothy suggests that the rest of the family help with chores as

Maggie writes her book. Harry reluctantly agrees to this idea. Timothy is proud of his mother

and thinks her book will be worth waiting for.

Maggie’s story is like that of many women. They are forced into housework by society and not

given the chance to realise what they really want to do and what their talents are. They have to

put family before their own desires. Reading—books, education and knowledge—helps society

destroy old-fashioned ideas and make progress. This is demonstrated in the story when

learning how to read helps Maggie discover who she really is and what she really wants to do

with her life—she wants to be an author. It also teaches us to support such women in our lives

and not take their work for granted.

The story is written in English as spoken in Ireland. This language helps make the story more

authentic and realistic. The humorous way in which the story is written helps us to realise an

important value without any need for preaching. It also makes the story very enjoyable. 

 Comprehension
 A. 1. Maggie was considered the best housewife in Clegg Row because she always provided fresh home-cooked food for her family—be it pie, stew or home-baked bread. She would never let them eat unhealthy food from outside. She took great care of her husband and five children. She took good care of her house, getting up early in the morning to clean it.

 2. Father O’Flaherty thought that a respectable wife and mother like Maggie must learn to read. His advice to her was to learn from her son Timothy.

3. Maggie loved reading her first ‘stiff-backed’ book (Gone with the Wind). She could not stop at just one. She started going to the library every morning and coming back with a book hidden in her shopping basket. She could not stop reading and would read late into the night. Soon, she started bringing back more than one book from the library.

4. The deal Harry struck with Maggie was that Thursday would be ‘Reading Day’. Maggie could read undisturbed every Thursday, from midnight to midnight. She could read for an hour or two on other days as well, provided she did the household chores and made them food.

5. Harry and Timothy went chasing off after Father O’Flaherty a second time because Maggie had put aside reading and had taken up writing, which was worse. Harry was alarmed because the house was filled with paper and pencils and Maggie did not respond at all when she was writing.

B. Reference to Context 

 1. a. Timothy looked at Maggie with wonder because he had never seen that look on Maggie’s face before or that light in her eyes. She looked as though she was in awe, discovering the words that had always been around her.
 b. Maggie walked around the kitchen, looking at the shelves and reading aloud everything that she had been unable to before. She read the labels and instructions on all the tins and cans. She picked up the prayer book and read from it. There was a look of awe and discovery in her eyes.

2. a. Father O’Flaherty said this to Harry.
 b. The ‘remarkable woman’ was Maggie. She was remarkable because she had learned how to read very late in life. But she read voraciously and had now taken up writing.
 c. Harry had trouble accepting that Maggie was remarkable. This was because he was used to Maggie taking care of him and the household. Reading and writing took time away from this. Harry would no longer have the perfect home-cooked meal and glistening house. He would have to actively help out with the chores at home which he never had before. 

C. Answer these questions in detail.

1. Timothy had to work very hard to teach his mother how to read. She had no time to sit, busy as she was with all her chores. So he had to follow her around as she worked, trying to teach her words like ‘cat’ and ‘dog’. He tried to teach her gently but he sometimes had to bully her into learning. He put in a lot of effort for a fortnight and on the day before the last, he finally succeeded. Maggie read out ‘Tom filled his can at the well’ clearly.

2. Father O’Flaherty was one of the main people responsible for Maggie’s development. He cared a lot for the people in his church. When he discovered that she could not read, he was shocked. He knew that was a problem and insisted that she learn. He bullied Timothy, her son, into teaching her within a fortnight. He did not take no for an answer from Timothy, who would otherwise not have bothered teaching her. He tried to help her family when they could not cope with her continuous reading. But when he realised that there was no stopping Maggie, he advised her family to accept it. He knew that she was a remarkable woman, reader and writer. Father O’Flaherty knew how reading could give strength to a person. He helped Maggie become a stronger person and helped her achieve her dreams. 

3. The first time Maggie started reading all the labels on the bottles in the kitchen, Timothy felt a little uneasy. He had never seen his mother look that thrilled and it made him a little uncomfortable. Harry initially was okay with Maggie reading. He even suggested she go to the library. But when Maggie’s reading took away time from her household chores, he was not happy. The house was a mess and Maggie was so busy reading that she had no time to make the top-quality home-cooked meals that she used to before. She would serve food that was burned or shop pies with tomatoes, bread and butter. This made Harry furious. He wanted things to go back to the way they used to be. When Maggie started writing, Harry panicked. But after speaking to the rector, he reluctantly agreed to help out with the house and be supportive of his wife.
 4. Maggie was once the best housewife in her neighbourhood. She kept a perfect house. It was always sparkling clean and you could smell the aroma of delicious home-cooked food from it. You could see that Maggie always put in her best effort at what she did. It was the same with reading. When she started reading, she could not stop. She read all the jars and bottles in her kitchen and all the magazines she could find. When she was done with those, she had to join a library to satisfy her hunger for reading. She was a voracious reader. Reading distracted her from all her old cooking and cleaning chores. She preferred reading late into the night to keeping a ‘perfect’ home. Soon, Maggie felt like she could write better than most books she had read and so she started writing. This distracted her more than reading ever had. The house was filled with paper and pencils and Maggie wrote for hours. Maggie was a remarkable housewife, reader and writer who had not realised how talented she was. Once she learned to read, she was finally free to become the amazing woman she always had been. Reading provided her with the strength to achieve her dreams.


D. Think and Answer (To be done in Raintree Textbook)
1. Maggie was a perfectionist. She was an amazing housewife and made sure that all the food that she and her family ate was home-cooked and of the best quality.
2. Father O’Flaherty was a determined man who wanted to make sure Timothy taught Maggie to read. 3. Harry was initially supportive of his wife’s desire to read.
4. Timothy realised he had been taking his mother for granted and now wanted to be supportive of his mother’s dreams. He was understanding, encouraging and helpful.

Grammar (To be done in Raintree Textbook)
A. 2. although 3. wherever 4. so that 5. unless 6. and
B. 2. compound 3. compound 4. complex 5. simple 6. complex 7. simple 8. complex

Vocabulary
1. S – gobble; NS – eat
2. S – scorching; NS – hot
3. S – gulp; NS – sip
4. S – spotless; NS – clean
5. S – chomp; NS – chew
6. S – wonderful; NS – good
7. S – bellow; NS – shout
8. S – furious; NS – angry

B.
2. to speak in support of someone
3. to continue to do something
4. someone who refuses to try something new
5. refuse to change what you are saying despite criticism

MAGGIE’S FIRST READER

A. Answer in brief.

1. What did Mrs. Baines comment about Maggie?

 Ans: Mrs. Baines apparently was envious of Maggie as she was a great housewife. Mrs. Baines first

seemed to appreciate Maggie for the way she worked hard. But that appreciation seemed like

a prelude to her sarcastic comment about Maggie attending Mass with a prayer book without

being able to read even a single word.

2. The rector instructed Timothy to teach his mother to read. Do you think the rector was justified in

being so demanding of the Gregory family? Why / Why not?

 Ans: When Father O’Flaherty heard that Maggie, a respectable wife and mother could not read,

he was shocked. He wanted Timothy to train her within a fortnight or else he said he would

take Timothy to task. Though it seemed unfair he probably must have done so because of the

importance given to education. He also may not have wanted others to make fun of her. The

rector may not have expected her to go to extremes and neglect her daily chores. He was well

meaning but it turned out disastrous for the family.

B. Answer in detail.

1. How much time did Timothy take to teach his mom? How did he react when he heard his mom

read clearly?

 Ans: Timothy had to work really hard to make his mom read even simple words like cat and dog

for nearly a fortnight. Maggie was so busy with her household chores that she hardly found time

to sit and learn to read. But like a miracle, on the eve of the last day she started reading clearly

without any hesitation.

 Timothy was thrilled to see his mom read and felt very happy for her as she beamed in pride.

But soon he started feeling uneasy as his mom was just unstoppable. She went around reading

everything that her eyes caught sight of. Timothy had to forcibly stop her.

2. What effect did Maggie’s reading ability have on her as well as her home?

 Ans: Maggie was extremely happy and proud about her newly acquired skill. She wanted to

flaunt her ability to read by reading anything and everything that caught her eyes. Any printed

word fascinated her. She did not mind whether it was a recipe or a prayer book or even any

obscure magazine. Her busy reading schedule affected her home front. The house that was spick

and span started looking messy and cluttered with books and magazines. Maggie hardly found

time to concentrate on household work. Outside food, which was never allowed in the house till

then, started finding its place in the kitchen as well as at the dining table. There was a total change

of atmosphere in the house, absolutely different from what it was before Maggie started reading.

C. Read the lines and answer the questions.

1. “Try! Sure that’s no good at all. Anyone can try.” (Maggie’s First Reader)

 a. Who speaks the above lines? To whom?

 b. What does he want the person to do?

 c. Why does he mean by ‘Anyone can try.’?

 Ans: a. The above lines are spoken by Father O’Flaherty to Timothy.

 b. He wants Timothy to teach his mother to read.

 c. When Timothy responded saying that he would try, Father got annoyed and said ‘anyone’

can try. However, Timothy as her son should not just try but must somehow teach his

mother to read.

2. “I’d never read one o’them.” (Maggie’s First Reader)

 a. Who makes the above remark?

 b. What is the person talking about?

 c. Did the person change the view later?

 Ans: a. Maggie makes this remark.

 b. She is talking about the books which have stiff backs.

 c. Yes, she did. She was so enamoured by the stiff-backed book Gone with the Wind, that

she never stopped getting similar books from the library to read.

D. Answer in brief. (Think and answer)

1. How do you think Maggie started reading all of a sudden?

 Free response Suggested Ans: Maggie must have been a quick learner. Though she gave the

impression of not listening to Timothy, she must have been concentrating on all his instructions.

She also must have intended to help her son who had to meet the deadline set by Father

O’Flaherty. Perhaps she was practising to read while working, without Timothy’s knowledge.

2. Do you think it was right on the part of Maggie to be reading throughout the day without

attending to other chores in the house?

 Free response Suggested Ans: I feel when we become interested in reading fiction, it is very

difficult to concentrate on other things around. We are taken to a different imaginative world and

we get lost in it. That must have happened to Maggie too. Her addiction to reading must have

made her ignore her duties as a wife and a mother. It certainly did not seem fair to the others but

they should have helped her.

E. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)

Between Timothy and Harry, who do you think was proud of Maggie? Why?

 Free response Suggested Ans: I think between Maggie’s husband Harry and Timothy, Timothy was

proud of Maggie. Initially, Harry was very happy, and he even encouraged her to join the library and

read. But, he seemed quite disturbed by his wife’s transformation as her responsibilities as a housewife

got affected and the home front suffered a lot. Timothy too was affected, but I think he was always

proud of his mother for her culinary skills and now he was proud of her reading skills. He was her

teacher after all. Though he did not express it explicitly, he seemed equally proud when his mom

wanted to take to writing. He wanted to support her in every way possible. Like a child who feels proud

of his or her parents, Timothy too felt proud and happy seeing his mother become so proficient.