Page turner, mysterious, adventurous, hopeful, beautiful | Reviews: “Gr 5-8–History and fiction marry beautifully in this lively debut novel. It's as if readers jump off the train in Manifest, KS, in 1936 with Abilene Tucker…his thoroughly enjoyable, unique page-turner is a definite winner.” Renee Steinberg, School Library Journal “… Abilene’s first-person narrative is intertwined with newspaper columns from 1917 to 1918 and stories told by a diviner, Miss Sadie, while letters home from a soldier fighting in WWI add yet another narrative layer. Vanderpool weaves humor and sorrow into a complex tale involving murders, orphans, bootlegging, and a mother in hiding. With believable dialogue, vocabulary and imagery appropriate to time and place, and well-developed characters, this rich and rewarding first novel is ‘like sucking on a butterscotch. Smooth and sweet’.” Kathleen Isaacs, Booklist Awards:
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Bibliography:
Vanderpool, C. (2010). Moon over Manifest. New York: Delacorte Press.
Vanderpool, C. (2010). Moon over Manifest. New York: Delacorte Press.
Reading Level: An AR rating of 5.3 (5th grade) with an interest level of middle grades (4th-8th grade).
Suggested Delivery: Shared Reading or Independent Reading
Summary:
Moon Over Manifest is a page turner that will leave readers guessing the next turn in the story until the very end. Abilene Tucker is used to life of a wayfarer hopping from one train to the next with her father until she is sent to Manifest to live with Shady the summer of 1936. There she begins to dig into the past to find some mark left behind from her father’s younger days and to discern the identity of “The Rattler.” Uncovering letters from Ned Gillen, a soldier during World War I, to his buddy in Manifest known only as “Jinx,” Abilene begins to unravel the history of town whose hope has died. It is a sad, but enduring tale of hardship, hope, and discovering one’s identity filled with murder, bootlegging, unsuspected twists, and unusual characters. But, who is “The Rattler?” And what mark did Abilene’s father leave in Manifest?
Moon Over Manifest is a page turner that will leave readers guessing the next turn in the story until the very end. Abilene Tucker is used to life of a wayfarer hopping from one train to the next with her father until she is sent to Manifest to live with Shady the summer of 1936. There she begins to dig into the past to find some mark left behind from her father’s younger days and to discern the identity of “The Rattler.” Uncovering letters from Ned Gillen, a soldier during World War I, to his buddy in Manifest known only as “Jinx,” Abilene begins to unravel the history of town whose hope has died. It is a sad, but enduring tale of hardship, hope, and discovering one’s identity filled with murder, bootlegging, unsuspected twists, and unusual characters. But, who is “The Rattler?” And what mark did Abilene’s father leave in Manifest?
Key Vocabulary:
Manifest (1): to display or show something through actions or appearance
Auxiliary (3): to offer to help
Perdition (10): everlasting punishment; complete destruction
Jinx (35): something or someone who brings bad luck
Spy (36): someone who looks for information to give to the enemy
Drought (46): a long period without rain
Immigrant (64): a person from one country who decides to live permanently in a another country
Geologist (90): a science that studies the earth’s history, especially rocks
Influenza (195): a contagious disease that is focused in the lungs
Rankle (246): to feel angry or irritated
Quarantine (214): being forced to be isolated from others often due to a contagious disease
Definitions were based off of: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
Manifest (1): to display or show something through actions or appearance
Auxiliary (3): to offer to help
Perdition (10): everlasting punishment; complete destruction
Jinx (35): something or someone who brings bad luck
Spy (36): someone who looks for information to give to the enemy
Drought (46): a long period without rain
Immigrant (64): a person from one country who decides to live permanently in a another country
Geologist (90): a science that studies the earth’s history, especially rocks
Influenza (195): a contagious disease that is focused in the lungs
Rankle (246): to feel angry or irritated
Quarantine (214): being forced to be isolated from others often due to a contagious disease
Definitions were based off of: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
Before Reading Strategy:
Before reading the book, have the students research facts about some of the historical references from the book. Some of these references include: World War I, The Great Depression, bootlegging, Spanish Influenza, Prohibition, Ku Klux Klan, and orphan trains. Once you have decided what your students are going to research place them into groups or let them chose their groups. Then, randomly assign a topic to each group. Give them enough time to come up with adequate information as group and prepare a presentation that they will present to the class.
If you do not have time for this, research the different historical references and give the students an overview or fact sheet with the information.
Before reading the book, have the students research facts about some of the historical references from the book. Some of these references include: World War I, The Great Depression, bootlegging, Spanish Influenza, Prohibition, Ku Klux Klan, and orphan trains. Once you have decided what your students are going to research place them into groups or let them chose their groups. Then, randomly assign a topic to each group. Give them enough time to come up with adequate information as group and prepare a presentation that they will present to the class.
If you do not have time for this, research the different historical references and give the students an overview or fact sheet with the information.
During Reading Strategy:
Have the students keep a running diary. After Reading a couple chapters (where ever you are stopping for the day), have the students record their opinion on what has occurred based off of teacher prompts (for example, do you think it was right or wrong for Jinx to trick Ned for the catfish?) or allow the student to free. As part of this students also have to record their predictions for what may happen next. Before finishing for the day, having students share what they have written.
Have the students keep a running diary. After Reading a couple chapters (where ever you are stopping for the day), have the students record their opinion on what has occurred based off of teacher prompts (for example, do you think it was right or wrong for Jinx to trick Ned for the catfish?) or allow the student to free. As part of this students also have to record their predictions for what may happen next. Before finishing for the day, having students share what they have written.
After Reading Strategy:
Using the mementos from the story, have the student write a story surrounding one of them. Be sure to have at least one student write about all the mementos. To do this you can write out each memento once, then repeat the process until you have one slip for each student. Then draw what each student will be writing about or draw the slip yourself. To help the students get started bring in an example of the memento or a picture of it.
You can also host a class discussion about the book. Here a list of discussion questions provided by Randomhouse. http://www.midwestbooksellers.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MoonManifest_MidCon_ReadGd_WEB.pdf | |
Inferential Comprehension Writing Strategy:
Make a list of characters whose name fits their personality (Sister Redepta (think redemption), Shady, Jinx, Manifest, etc.). Then have the students chose a character to write how the person’s or place’s name fits or does not fit their personality. For example, Shady preferred shades instead of day light ( “…as if Shady himself was also thrust into the light of day and he was left stunned and unsteady.”) (Vanderpool, 2010, p.217). Students can either work in pairs or individually.
Make a list of characters whose name fits their personality (Sister Redepta (think redemption), Shady, Jinx, Manifest, etc.). Then have the students chose a character to write how the person’s or place’s name fits or does not fit their personality. For example, Shady preferred shades instead of day light ( “…as if Shady himself was also thrust into the light of day and he was left stunned and unsteady.”) (Vanderpool, 2010, p.217). Students can either work in pairs or individually.
Electronic Resources:
This is a website with an interactive timeline for Hattie Mae’s News Auxiliary. The creator included summaries of the newspaper column and their pages as well as the dates for World War I. With the information organized, the students can see the timeline of events. Enabling them to be able to better comprehend the events in the novel.
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/moon-over-manifest-hattie-maes-news-auxiliary
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/moon-over-manifest-hattie-maes-news-auxiliary
Great book trailer to introduce the book. It gives a lot of detail without giving away any of the twists. This will generate student interest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L5ilcNxytk | |
Here is a teacher guide that can help you, the teacher, get started. This came from Random House. http://www.randomhouse.com/ teachers/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/MoonOverManifest _TeachEdition_WEB.pdf | |
Resources:
Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. (n.d.). Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved July 17, 2013 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/.
Moon over Manifest -- Hattie Mae's news auxiliary timeline . (n.d.). time toast. Retrieved July 17, 2013, from http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/moon-over-manifest-hattie-maes-news-auxiliary.
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved July 17, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L5ilcNxytk.
Randomhouse (2011). Educators Guide: Moon Over Manifest. Retrieved July 17, 2013 from http://www.randomhouse.com/
teachers/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/MoonOverManifest _TeachEdition_WEB.pdf .
Randomhouse (2010). Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool:
Reader's Guide Discussion Questions. Retrieved July 17, 2013from http://www.midwestbooksellers.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MoonManifest_MidCon_ReadGd_WEB.pdf.
Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. (n.d.). Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved July 17, 2013 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/.
Moon over Manifest -- Hattie Mae's news auxiliary timeline . (n.d.). time toast. Retrieved July 17, 2013, from http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/moon-over-manifest-hattie-maes-news-auxiliary.
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved July 17, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L5ilcNxytk.
Randomhouse (2011). Educators Guide: Moon Over Manifest. Retrieved July 17, 2013 from http://www.randomhouse.com/
teachers/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/MoonOverManifest _TeachEdition_WEB.pdf .
Randomhouse (2010). Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool:
Reader's Guide Discussion Questions. Retrieved July 17, 2013from http://www.midwestbooksellers.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MoonManifest_MidCon_ReadGd_WEB.pdf.