Background and Summary
Author
Sharon Creech was born July 29, 1945 and grew up in South Euclid, Ohio. Before
becoming an author, Creech was an English teacher and an editorial assistant.
She lived eighteen years in England then came back to the United States and
wrote Walk Two Moons, Creech’s first
book published in America. Several of Creech’s novels have won the Carnegie
Medal, the British Carnegie, and the American Newbery Medal. Creech wrote Walk Two Moons in 1994 and won the
Newbery Medal in 1995. Creech originally wrote Walk Two Moons as a sequel to Absolutely
No Chaos but then changed the idea of the novel after she began writing. Walk Two Moons parallels Creech’s
childhood: growing up in Euclid, Ohio, visiting her cousins in Lewis County,
Kentucky, and her love of nature. Creech has also written fifteen other Young
Adult novels, including Love That Dog,
Chasing Redbird, and The Wanderer.
Sharon Creech’s
first novel written in America, Walk Two
Moons, is about a Native American thirteen-year-old girl who is taking a
road trip with her grandparents to her mother’s final resting place in
Lewiston, Idaho. Salamanca Tree Hiddle, who goes by the nickname Sal, lost her
mother in a car accident a year before the story begins, although the reader is
not aware of Sal’s mother’s death until the story ends. Up until a year before,
Salamanca lives with her mom and dad in Bybanks, Kentucky, on a beautiful farm.
But her mother is unable to shake off a deep sense of inadequacy next to her
selfless husband, so she decides to take a road trip to Lewiston, to figure out
who she really is. But on the way to Lewiston, the bus she is traveling in
spins off the road and catches on fire. The crash kills every passenger except
Margaret Cadaver, a thirty-year-old nurse who lives in Euclid, Ohio. After the
terrible accident, Sal’s father decides to move from Bybanks to Euclid, to
befriend Margaret and seek consolation from his loss.
While Sal and her grandparents drive across
the United States, Gram and Gramps decide to travel in Sal’s mother’s tracks by
visiting the tourist attractions that were on the postcards that she sent to
Sal while on her trip. Along the way, Sal tells her grandparents about her
friend Phoebe Winterbottom, a snobby rich girl with a wild imagination, whose
mother has also ran away. Through the stories Sal tells her grandparents about
Phoebe, the reader learns the connection between the Winterbottom and the
Hiddle family; Phoebe’s mother, like Sal’s mother, also struggles with the
feeling of inadequacy and not being appreciated for everything she does for her
family. Mrs. Winterbottom decides to leave home without explanation in order to
mend her past and figure out who she really is. While Sal is telling her
grandparents about Phoebe’s family, Sal realizes how important her own family
is and that she needs to value every moment she has with her dad, gram, and
grandpa. Most importantly, Sal learns to not judge others before giving them a
chance, to forgive her mother for leaving and her father for moving to Euclid.
Sal also learns how to move forward after her mother’s death.
Interest
This story would is appropriate
for readers in the middle adolescence stage (5th-6th
grade), especially to girls. Because this story involves high emotions and
drama of the female main character, it is not a book that boys would enjoy;
however boys might enjoy certain characters in the story, such as Gram and Gramps
due to their eccentric behavior, but males would not connect to the story as an
entirety. While this story would not particularly appeal to boys, the leading
female characters, the drama, the road trip across the west, and learning more
about oneself and those around her, are all aspects that middle adolescent
females would be able to connect with.
Developing
Mature Readers
This book deals with several
tasks young people face as they mature. Independence
from Parents: Salamanca’s mother dies a year before the story starts,
although the reader does not learn this fact until the end of the story. Sal
struggles with her mother’s sudden departure and goes through a rebellious
stage; she will not listen to her father’s explanation for moving to Euclid, Ohio,
Sal will not give Margaret a chance to explain why Mr. Hiddle (Sal’s father) and
she are friends. Sal’s friend Phoebe Winterbottom also struggles with
independence from her parents. Phoebe’s mother has also disappeared without
explanation and refuses to let her father take control of the situation. While
the story unravels, the reader learns that although Sal is fighting the
inevitable separation from her mother, along the trip to Lewiston, Sal is
growing closer to her father and to her grandparents. Sal’s reconciliation with
her father teaches readers that an individual can experience the loss of a
parent, but she is still emotionally dependent on a family member’s love and
acceptance.
Relationships
with the Opposite Gender: When Sal moves to Euclid, Ohio she is forced to
meet new friends. One person particularly Sal befriends is Ben, a thirteen
year-old-boy who is also forced to grow independent from his mother, who was
admitted to a psychiatric ward. Ben and Sal’s relationship, though platonic for
the majority of the story, grows increasingly romantic as the story unfolds. Through
this aspect of the story a reader learns that her peers face the same trials
she faces and she is not the only one experiencing the loss of a parent. The
reader also learns through this aspect of the story that pursuing friendships
with girls as well as with boys is acceptable.
Sense of
Accomplishment: Sal’s
goal throughout the novel is to reach her mother’s final resting place in
Lewiston, Idaho. Her goal is made evident to the reader throughout the novel;
Sal hears the wind whisper to her: “hurry,
hurry,” or “rush, rush.” When
Gram and Gramps spend too long at a certain tourist spot, Sal becomes anxious,
wanting to reach Lewiston in a certain number of days in order to reach the
town for her mother’s birthday. As Sal and her grandparents draw closer to
Lewiston, Sal no longer hears the wind whispering to her; this is an indication
that Sal has finally accepted her mother’s death and that life must now move
forward. Sal’s goal of reaching Lewiston for her mother’s birthday is
accomplished at the end of the story. This task teaches readers that a personal
goal takes time to accomplish and is a physical and emotional journey. Creech
presents Sal’s accomplishment in both a negative and a positive way. Sal’s goal
is presented negatively because she takes the time she has with her
grandparents for granted, focusing only on reaching her mother’s resting place.
At the same time, Sal’s accomplishment is presented positively because her
adventure across the west helps her move forward from her mother’s death.
Potential Issues
One aspect of this book that is
an issue is the worldview. The worldview in this story could easily come across
as pantheistic. The main characters in the story, the Hiddle family, are Native
American, so Sal prays to nature. A second aspect of this book that is an issue
is the role of the mother; children might get the idea that running away from
family issues is permissible by the actions of Mrs. Winterbottom and Mrs.
Hiddle. Creech presents the role of the mother in a negative way; Mrs. Hiddle
believes she is an inadequate spouse, so she decides to leave her family and
Mrs. Winterbottom is not appreciated for her hard work. Both mothers in this
story cannot emotionally handle their role and try to escape that role. On the
other hand, Creech presents Mrs. Hiddle’s and Mrs. Winterbottom’s reaction to
their feelings negatively; Mrs. Hiddle dies in a car accident and Mrs.
Winterbottom is forced to untangle the web of lies she has formed. A third
aspect of this novel that is an issue is Sal and Phoebe’s disobedience. After
the mothers disappear, Phoebe and Sal are disobedient to their dads. The novel
presents the girls’ disobedience in a negative light; both Phoebe’s and Sal’s
father tries to explain the disappearance, but Phoebe and Sal refuse to listen
and try to take matters into their own hands.
I recommend this novel for middle adolescents,
fifth to seventh graders, and teachers. Scholastic recommends this novel for
third grade through eighth grade. I believe this story could be taught in either
public or Christian school; however, the teachers would definitely have to talk
through the behavior of Phoebe’s and Sal’s mothers, and Phoebe and Sal’s
disobedience. If taught in a Christian school, Christian school teachers have
an opportunity to address the novel’s Pantheism. If I used this book in a
classroom I would assign it as outside reading for individual students rather
than reading the story as a class. The reason for this recommendation is that
boys would not take interest in the story, and some of the girls might not want
to finish reading the novel because of its slow pace.
Parents or
teachers wanting to use this novel in their curriculum have many resources
available to help students learn the content and themes of the story in a fun
and creative way. First, the website Scholastic
has many lesson plans, creative activities for students, writing prompt
questions, and vocabulary lists for Walk
Two Moons. Bright Hub Education is another website that offers teachers and
parents creative activities for students to become engaged in the story, along
with quizzes and a story analysis provided for the teacher or parent. Third,
the website Teaching Books offers an
alternative to simply reading Walk two
Moons. This website, along with lesson plans, also provides an audiobook
for students to listen as he or she reads.
Along
with lesson plans, chapter quizzes, vocabulary quizzes, and writing prompts,
educational website, Scholastic provides
teachers and parents with exceptionally creative ideas. Scholastic realizes that chapter quizzes are not always the most
effective way to help students remember chapter content, so author and teacher
Lori Licciardo-Musso suggests chapter quiz alternatives.
One activity
Licciardo-Musso suggests is for each child to create a brochure and a map. of
each tourist site Sal and her grandparents visit in the novel. In Walk Two Moons Sal and her grandparents
travel to various famous geographical places throughout the United States.
Students can create a colorful map of America and travel brochures of each tourist
site that Sal and her grandparents visited.
Another activity
students can do with this novel is create a pizza. the plot of Walk Two Moons unfolds quickly and
students will not want to stop each chapter (there are forty-four chapters) to
do an activity or quiz, therefore Lori suggests that instead of interrupting
each chapter, each student should a symbolic pizza. On one side of the pizza
the student will make a collage of important themes from the book. On the other
side the student will divide the pizza into six equal parts and each slice will
have a chapter summary will have a chapter summary of seven chapters.
Furthermore,
students can expand their vocabulary. Walk
Two Moons contains a copious amount of funny words such as ‘caboodle,’
‘diabolic,’ ‘gallantly,’ and ‘pandemonium.’ The teacher can use the new words
from this book to put together a vocabulary list for the students to learn and
interact with.
Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. New York:
HarperCollins Publishers, 1994. Print.
iVillage. “Two Activities for Teaching
Themes from ‘Walk Two Moons.’” Bright Hub
Education. 2012. Web. 17
Apr. 2013.
Scholastic. “Walk Two Moons Lesson
Plan.” Scholastic. 2013. Web. 16 Apr.
2013.
Teaching Books. “Walk Two Moons.” Teaching Books. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
