Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All: List 1

by Chanel Miller
With her friend Iris Lam, 10-year-old Magnolia Wu goes on a quest to return all the socks left behind in her parents' laundromat.

This list covers "The Bing Qi Ling Bubbles Birthday"–"The Black-and-White Checkered Sock."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3
15 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. self-conscious
    excessively aware of your appearance or behavior
    When Magnolia saw the laundromat through a classmate’s eyes, she became self-conscious of the smallest things.
  2. taint
    place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
    It occurred to Magnolia that maybe Iris had been bitter about New York because she was homesick, and that feeling was tainting her view of everything glorious the city had to offer.
  3. infuriated
    marked by extreme anger
    “This is a two-hundred-dollar blouse you RUINED, and I am UTTERLY infuriated.”
  4. engulf
    flow over or cover completely
    The woman chucked the blouse at Mrs. Wu, and Magnolia watched as it engulfed her mom’s face like a floppy stingray before sliding off.
  5. incident
    a public disturbance
    But Magnolia knew the incident was over and would never be brought up again.
  6. pummel
    strike, usually with the fist
    Ms. Lam’s face was glossy with sweat, her booming voice leading a group of women who were all punching the air as if pummeling an army of ghosts.
  7. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    Magnolia slunk along the back wall, following Iris into an equipment room full of weights and two large exercise balls.
  8. radius
    area indicated by the length from the center of a circle
    Magnolia knew almost everyone within a mile radius of the laundromat—the muscly man with twinkly star sheets that helped soothe his nightmares, the lady with paint stains on her overalls, the kid with guinea pig hairs on his pajamas, the list went on and on.
  9. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    Magnolia was thrilled by all of it, but she noticed that as confident as Iris had been pitching this idea in the equipment room, her demeanor on the street was entirely different.
  10. flurry
    a rapid active commotion
    She pointed to a flurry of pigeons.
  11. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    She taught her cockroaches were less scary if you named them Itsy Bitsy Badadinga, so if one scuttled past, you could say, Itsy Bitsy Badadinga is here to party.
  12. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    As they continued down the street, Iris’s shoulders slowly unfurled from their hunched position until she and Magnolia were walking side by side.
  13. imaginative
    marked by independence and creativity in thought or action
    “That’s what makes you so smart: the imaginative part,” said Lisa.
  14. significance
    the quality of being important
    “My dad gave me these socks as a gift when I became old enough to sweep the floors, my first job. I was frustrated at first, wanted to go straight to cutting hair, but he said every role has significance, no matter how small.”
  15. persist
    refuse to stop
    As Carl had predicted, they’d made a few wrong turns, but as long as they persisted, they’d end up in exactly the right place.
Created on 六月 8, 2026 (updated 六月 9, 2026)

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