Walk Two Moons

Creech, S. (1994). Walk Two Moons. New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers.

Brief Annotation: The books tells the story of Salamanca Tree Hiddle, who is on a long road trip with her grandparents to visit her mother's grave on what would have been her mother's birthday. During the course of the trip (and book) Salamanca tells her grandparents of her new life in Ohio and mainly about her best friend, Phoebe Winterbottom. Interspersed within Salamanca's story is her own story about her mother and her death. The road trip endures deaths, memories, and new beginnings, and all culminates in Salamanca's visit to her mother's grave, ultimately finding peace.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction.

Grade Level: 5-8

Readers who will like this: Readers looking to connect with the main character, readers coming of age.

Response/Rating (1-4): ****. This book is incredibly powerful and moving. The writing is beautiful, and the author handles the interweaving plots with ease. It is the perfect "coming of age" tale for any student who has experienced loss or the feeling that they don't belong.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Have you ever lost someone close to you? What kind of feelings did you experience?

Reading Strategies Connection:
Double entry journals (Yopp & Yopp. Pp 80). This book is very heavy with plot, and I believe that double entry journals will really help students to understand all the different plot points and be able to connect to the story more. In the double entry journals, the students put on one side of the paper any meaningful plot points, quotes, and ideas. On the other side, students will put their own responses and ideas to the text they had previously written. Both a better understanding of the story and a more meaningful connection will be made with this strategy.