Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Winner, 1995 Newbery Award
Quick Summary
Thirteen-year-old Sal takes a road trip with her grandparents to see her mother who left home unexpectedly.
Favorite Quote
In her world, no one was ordinary. People were either perfect—like her father—or, more often, they were lunatics or axe murderers.
About the Author
Sharon Creech wrote three books in England before publishing Walk Two Moons, her first book published in the United States. The journey that the main character takes in the book is based on her own road trip travel experience as a 12-year-old, although the plot does not resemble her own real life.
My Project
For the background, I used a piece of a road map showing Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (far left), the place where Sal's mom sent Sal her last postcard. The year is hand written on a blue piece of paper representing the mysterious blue notes that Sal's friend receives. To represent the saying "Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins," I added two yellow moons cut from craft foam and two tiny moccasins I made with leather and seed beads. By happy coincidence, I saw that the word "Indian" was written in red on the far right of the map in between the two moccasins. In the book Sal talks about how she prefers being called an Indian (rather than a Native American).
Final Thoughts
This book was a delightful surprise. It has a story-within-a-story format. (Sal tells her grandparents stories about her friends while they are on the road trip from Ohio to Idaho.) I did guess some (but not all) of the major plot twists, but that didn't diminish my pleasure in the book. The narrator has a fun sense of language, making up words and using them in a rhythmic way. While the narrator experiences some heartbreaking events, she also has a good sense of humor. For example, she describes her teacher as having "a few squirrels in the attic of his brain" and a neighborhood as "a caboodle of houses roosting in a green spot."
Your Turn
Readers: If you read this book, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.