Walk Two Moons

I just recently took on the responsibility of coming up with our grade-level's weekly vocabulary words. We use a common text that is read aloud in each class, and the vocabulary comes from that text. I had a bunch of make-up testing to administer, which provided an abundance of time for me to finish our first book, Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech.

Walk Two Moons won the Newbery Award, an award that goes out to the best piece of children's literature every year. Typically these are the types of books that appeal to both children and adults and feature rich, vivid characters, and a well-developed plot. I think adults enjoy these books just as much as children!

Walk Two Moons tells the story of Sal, who is on a journey with her grandparents to visit her mother - all the way from Kentucky to Idaho. Her grandparents love a good story, and coax a series of stories from Sal about her best friend, Phoebe. As the stories progress we learn more about Sal as well.

Three storylines are built upon as the story progresses. One follows the adventures of Sal and Phoebe. They encounter a "lunatic" who weaves in and out of the story, the curious Mrs. Partridge, an enthusiastic teacher, a kiss-hungry boy, and a woman named Mrs. Cadaver who is spending quite a lot of time with Sal's father. Somehow, all of these people are connected, and the connections become more clear as the book progresses.

The second storyline follows Sal and her interactions with her father throughout time, as well as memories of the times when her mother was around as well. Here the reader is exposed to Sal's inner feelings, often hidden around others.

The third storyline follows the often humorous misadventures of Sal and her crazy grandparents as they travel to Idaho. Each pit stop brings a new story to life, and we also get some looks into the stories of her grandparents' past.

It all weaves together in the end with plenty of surprises, both good and bad. The stories are so wonderfully developed and the characters feel like you've known them for a long time. I must say that I would recommend this book to children (10 and up) and adults with equal enthusiasm. Just don't forget to keep a box of tissues nearby.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

60/100 books and still on track!