Walk Two Moons
 | |
| Author | Sharon Creech |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult fiction |
Publication date | June 12, 1994 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-06-023334-6 |
| LC Class | PZ7.C8615 Wal 1994 |
Walk Two Moons is a novel written by Sharon Creech, published by HarperCollins in 1994 and winner of the 1995 Newbery Medal.[1] The novel was originally intended as a follow-up to Creech's previous novel Absolutely Normal Chaos; however, the idea was changed after she began writing.[2]
Plot
The novel is narrated by a 13-year-old girl named Salamanca(Sal). Sal's mother has recently left Sal's father, and Sal's grandparents are taking her on a cross-country car trip to Lewiston, Idaho to see her mother. Sal loves nature and was very close to her mother before she left. On the trip, Sal entertains her grandparents by telling a story about her friend in Euclid, Ohio, Phoebe Winterbottom, whose mother suddenly disappeared and left their family too, and about Ben Finney with whom Sal begins a tight relationship. Over the course of the book, as Sal's story unfolds and their car travels west, she reveals more details about Phoebe, and why her story reminds Salamanca of her own. The more she told her grandparents of Phoebe's story, the more she felt like her story is connected to Phoebe's story.
Themes
The major themes in the story include the development of new relationships, dealing with grief, love, death,[3] cultural identity,[4] women's roles as mothers and wives,[5] the hardships of life, and the adventures of misunderstandings and coming to terms with reality. In 1997, it also won the Literaturhaus Award, Austria, and the Newberry Award. Creech drew on her own background for many of the book's themes and images, including Sal's love of nature, her relationship with her mother, and the road trip to Idaho that frames the narrative.[6] In an interview, Creech said that she found the aphorism that gives the book its title ("Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins") in a fortune cookie.[2][7]
Awards
In 1995, Walk Two Moons won the Newbery Medal, the United Kingdom Reading Association Award, and the United Kingdom's Children's Book Award. In 1996, it received the WH Smith Mind-Boggling Book Award. In 1997, it also won the Literaturhaus Award, Austria, and the Young Adult Sequoyah Award.[2]
References
- ↑ "1995 Newbery Medal and Honor Books". American Library Association. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
- 1 2 3 "Walk Two Moons". Author's Website. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ↑ "The 1990s Newbery Medal Winners: Walk Two Moons: Major Themes". Cliffs Notes. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
- ↑ Segal, Marta (April–May 2002). "Stepping through Walk Two Moons". Book Links. American Library Association. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
- ↑ "Walk Two Moons". The Newbery Project. 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
- ↑ "EBMA's Top 100 Authors: Sharon Creech". Educational Book & Media Association. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
- ↑ "Sharon Creech Interview Transcript". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Giver |
Newbery Medal recipient 1995 |
Succeeded by The Midwife's Apprentice |