978-1-941302-43-9

AB O U T T H E B O O K

A new life begins for Marion when her mother inherits an old family house and decides to make it their home. With its own private beach and a view of the sea, the house has all the makings of a happy new life. But when Marion discovers strange rock carvings nearby, and learns that a sinister-looking lighthouse watchman may be part of a local legend come to life, it becomes clear that things are not as idyllic as they seemed.

L E A R N I N G STA N DA R D SCCSS ELA: RL.5.1, RL.5.3, RL.5.5, RL.5.7 RL.5.9, W.5.1, W.5.3, W.5.4, W.5.5, SL.5.2, SL.5.3, SL.5.4, RL.6.1, RL.6.3, RL.6.5, RL.6.7, W.6.1, W.6.3, W.6.4, RL.7.1, W.7.1, W.7.3, W.7.4,

T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Written by Mathieu Reynes and Illustrated by Valerie Vernay

Quick Writes are a great activity to stimulate students’ thoughts on a topic, theme, or conflict within the story before reading the novel. Students should be encouraged to write as much as quickly as they are able and to respond as they wish. You may find that some students prefer to create webs, poems, or visuals representations of their ideas.

Here are a few examples of Quick Writes for Water Memory:

• What is a legend? Why do people create legends? What purpose do they serve in communities? • Have you ever been in a strange, new environment? How did you feel? What did you do to begin to feel comfortable in this new place? • Describe your definition of a “happy home.”

• What would you sacrifice for family?

Q U I C K W R I T E S

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Life on the sea has always been extremely difficult. For centuries, fisherman and sailors have lost their lives in storms and accidents.

P R E R E A D I N G

It is highly recommended that you read at Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, specifically pages 60-63, which deal with closure, pages 70-72, which deal with panel transitions, and 152-155, which deal with word/picture combinations. Depending on the needs of your class, you can have students learn these specific terms and use them to identify the different transition and combination styles. Alternately, you can utilize your understanding of them to guide the discussion when examining specific panels or pages.

Highlight individual panels and or pages, and ask the following questions:

• What is going on in this panel or on this page?

• What is the purpose of the specific pictures in telling the story? How do they enhance the words?

• Why did the creator choose to put these words and pictures together in this way?

• How does color affect the scene?

• What do we learn about the character from the images?

• What mood is being set and how?

Examine the specific sequence of panels:

• Why did the creator put these panels in this particular order?

• What’s happening between the panels?

• A great exercise is to have students act out a short scene in the book, getting them to fill in the action occurring between the panels. This demonstrates to them that the gutter (that space between panels) is just as important as the other storytelling elements in the book.

• How does the transition between these panels indicate things like mood and character?

• How do the panel transitions affect the speed of the scene?

• Why did the creator choose this speed?

V I S UA L L I T E R AC Y ST R AT E G I E S

From Jonah in the Bible and tales of the Sirens and the Scylla in ancient Greece and Rome, to Davy Jones in the 19th century, superstitions, myths and legends have been told around the world to help explain and warn about the risks of the sea. Water Memory is a tale set in contemporary France that draws inspiration from some of these traditional legends.

Remind students that legends are traditional stories that are sometimes thought of as historical but cannot be proven. Examples of legends students may be familiar with include King Arthur, Casey Jones, and The Headless Horseman in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

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D I S C U S S I O N Q U E ST I O N S• Why do you think Marion’s grandmother left all of her photos of the grandfather behind when she moved after his death?

• What is happening to Marion in the nightmares?

• Why were sea creatures washing up on to shore? Why do you think Caroline remember it happening previously?

• What is in the jars in the basement of the lighthouse? How do you think the room was used?

• The title of the book Marion finds at the lighthouse translates to: “The Memory of Water: The Curse of the Normann Family”. According to this book, what happened in 1904?

• There is a wordless section of the book from pages 47-50. What is going on in these pictures?• What did the lighthouse keeper realize on page 55?

• Do you think it was bad luck, poor timing, or something else that caused Marion to be caught in suddenly rising tides in the cave on her way home from the lighthouse? Why? Quote from the text to defend your answer.

• The plaque on the fountain in town with one of the unusual carvings is written in French. It translates to read “In memory of the disappeared of February 2, 1904 G Normann.” Sam later tells Marion that G Normann was the sculptor who made the fountain in the 1950s. Sam then explains the legend of the sculptures to Marion. Paraphrase his explanation.

• Sam also said that people gave up the tradition of carving the sculptures for those who had died at sea after the 1904 storm. Is that true? Provide one piece of evidence from the illustrations and one quote from the text to prove your answer.

• Virgil tells Marion a different version of the legend of the rock carvings than Sam did. Why does he believe the storm of 1904 occurred?

• Virgil believes the curse in the legend continues. What does he believe the water spirits want? What pattern has he documented over several generations to show this is occurring?

• Marion and Caroline have an argument over Marion spending time with Virgil. Compare and contrast how Marion and Caroline try to understand the past.

• Virgil notices signs of the spirits coming back around the village. What has been happening? When there is a storm, what does Virgil choose to do?

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D I S C U S S I O N Q U E ST I O N S C O N T I N U E D

• At the end of the book, Virgil leaves Marion a note. What does she learn?

• Marion makes a final tribute to Virgil. What does she do?

• How does Valeria Vernay’s use of color contribute to the mood of the different parts of the story?

• Water Memory is a work of fiction. The legend of the sea spirit was created by the author. What are the fictional historical events that would make it a legend?

E X T E N S I O N AC T I V I T I E S

The legend of the sea spirits was told partially by Sam and continued by Virgil in Water Memory. Using the text and comic art for guidance, write your own Legend of the Sea Spirit story.

Marion’s family had a long history in the village. Create a family tree for Marion using the information Virgil provides.

Her ancestors influenced Marion’s life. Artemis Normann died almost 100 years before she was born. Even if they left, one by one each of her relatives came back to the village by the sea. Fishing and lighthouse keeping were traditions in her family. Traditions can take many forms. Are there traditions in your family that have passed from generation to the next? Write a paragraph about a place or a tradition that is important to your family.

Marion’s grandfather died before she was born. She wanted to know more about him. Think of someone you have never met or have little memory of. Write a paragraph stating who the person is, their relationship to you, and what you wish you knew about them.

In the graphic journal at the end of the book, Mathieu Reynes shows photos of the places that inspired him while writing the story. Choose a photograph or an image in a magazine and write a description of the setting or sketch it as you would if you were creating your own graphic tale.

The book could be seen as a story of what happened when Marion moved to a village by the sea. Create a fictional account of something that has happened to you as a graphic story. You may use the templates found on the Lion Forge website http://www.lionforge.com/educational-resources/

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Water Memory Teacher’s Guide and Water Memory Discussion Guide © 2018 The Lion Forge, LLC. Water Memory, originally published in France as La Mémoire de l’eau - Intégrale © DUPUIS 2014, by Vernay, Reynès www.dupuis.com All rights reserved. Published 2017 by The Lion Forge, LLC. LION FORGE™, ROAR™, and the associated distinctive designs are trademarks of The Lion Forge, LLC. No similarity be-tween any of the names, characters, persons, and/or institutions in this issue with those of any living or dead person or institution is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental. Printed in Czech Republic.

A B O U T T H E AU T H O RMathieu Reynes was born in Paris in 1977 but spent his childhood on the Basque coast. After several years of scientific studies in Bordeaux, he turned to comics and animation. After a few years he decided to devote himself primarily to the comic.

G U I D E W R I T T E N BYMichele Telerski-Rees has her Master of Library and Information Science from Kent State University. For more than twenty years Michele has been sharing her love of reading with young people in a variety of capacities. She can currently be found on a school story rug in Central Ohio.

M O R E G R A P H I C N OV E LS F R O M L I O N F O R G E

SHEETS978-1-941302-67-5

GENERATIONS978-1-941302-50-7

WATERSNAKES

978-1-942367-75-8

MAE VOL. 1978-1-5493-0279-4

A B O U T T H E A RT I STValerie Vernay was born in 1976 in Lyon She trained as an illustrator, initially working in children’s picture books. Today she works in both comics and children’s illustration.

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