Pizza and Pages Book Club: Week 8
A Book Discussion Project by Ryann Uden for LIS404LE, Spring 2005
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Synopsis
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Discussion Questions /
Bibliography /
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Walk Two Moons is a Newbery Award
Winning novel that weaves together multiple stories into one moving
tale. Sal Hiddle and her father move from their farm in Kentucky
to live in the town of Euclid, Ohio. In Euclid, Sal makes a new friend
in high-strung and imaginative Phoebe Winterbottom, the girl that lives
next door to Mrs. Cadaver, the mysterious new friend of Sal’s
dad.
Sal tells the story of Phoebe's family to her
grandparents as they travel across the country, following the very same
path that Sal's mother took on her way to Idaho the year before.
The story of Phoebe's family includes the disappearance of Phoebe's
mom, a lunatic, and cryptic messages being delivered onto the
Winterbottoms' front porch. Sal also shares some stories of her
new life in Euclid, while Grams and Gramps share their own tales of
their life together. Underneath it all is the story of Sal and
her family and how they deal with unexpected loss in their lives.
This funny, bittersweet story of love, loss, and life has the capacity
to engage and compel readers of any age.
1.
Whose story is this? Phoebe’s, Sal’s, Sal’s mom, Phoebe’s mom,
Grams and Gramps?
Follow-up: How did you
like reading a story written like this? Was it easy, hard,
difficult, etc?
2. What do you think about Phoebe’s behavior throughout this book? She lies about her mother being on a business trip, she is convinced a lunatic is after them, she thinks her mother has been kidnapped…what do you think of her and her actions? Are they similar at all to Sal's actions? Did you like Phoebe? Sal?
Sal's feelings about Phoebe, from p. 189: "I did like Phoebe. In spite of all her wild tales and her cholesterol-madness and her annoying comments, there was something about Phoebe that was like a magnet. I was drawn to her. I was pretty sure that underneath all that odd behavior was someone who was frightened. And, in a strange way, she was like another version of me--she acted out the way I sometimes felt."
3. What do you think about Mr. Birkway reading the journals aloud? Think about this picture (hold picture up) that is either a vase or two people...how is this like the story of Sal and Phoebe and their families?
4.
Proverbs? How did they fit the story? Which character were
they meant for, do you think?
Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins.
Everyone has his own agenda.
In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?
You can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you
can keep them from nesting in your hair.
We never know the worth of water until the well is run dry. (p.
199)
5. "I wanted to call Phoebe and say that maybe her mother had gone looking for something, maybe her mother was unhappy, maybe there was nothing Phoebe could do about it. When I told this part to Gram and Gramps, Gramps said, 'You mean it had nothing to do with Peeby?' They looked at each other. They didn't say anything, but there was something in that look that suggested I had just said something important." p. 175-176
What was important here? Why didn't Grams and Gramps just say what they thought was important?
7.
Why was it important that Phoebe and Sal spit in the street?
8. Why do the whispers stop staying “Rush, rush” and
start saying “Slow down, slow down”…how did the story feel to
you then? Did you feel like rushing or did you want to slow down,
too? (End Chap 16)
9. Tell me your thoughts as Sal and her grandparents traveled to
Idaho. What did you expect to find when they reached her
mom? Were you surprised that the mother had died? Did you
look back in the earlier parts of the book to see how she explained
things about her mom? "resting peacefully in Idaho" p.
5 If you were surprised, why do you think you didn't pick up on
the clues?
10. Put yourself in the moccasins of Sal, Phoebe or any other
character from Walk Two Moons and describe what you think
might happen in a sequel to this book.
Book
Discussion Guides: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. (2000).
Last accessed May 1, 2005 from
http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-walk.html.
Creech, Sharon. (1994). Walk Two Moons.
HarperCollins: New York, NY.
Simpson, Kathleen. (2002). Literature Circle Guide:
Walk Two Moons. New York: Scholastic Professional Books.
Walk Two Moons. (2004). Last accessed May 1, 2005 from
http://www2.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/teachingwithbooks/producthome.jhtml?productID=10517&displayName=Description.
Walk Two Moons- Team Adventure: LIS 403LE. (2004).
Last accessed May 1, 2005 from
http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/publish/jdbone/adventure/walk.html.