Dear Mothman
Robin Gow
Embedded Files
Dear Mothman
by Robin Gow
2023
Amulet Books
Grade 4+
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Summary:
Noah just lost his best friend, the only one who made him feel seen, the only one who understood him. Now that Lewis is gone, he truly feels alone. He is now the only trans boy in the school. In order to cope with his grief and keep Lewis alive figuratively, Noah starts writing to his favorite cryptid, Mothman. Searching for Mothman himself seems like the only way to still connect with what feels like the only person who ever knew the real him.
Key Words: Friendship, grief, trans, cryptid, identity
Suggested Delivery: Whole class, small group.
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Vocabulary:
Cryptid: creature that is found in stories and that some people believe exists or say they have seen, but that has never been proven to exist.
Mothman: a winged, red-eyed, humanoid creature of legend, reputedly first seen in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, between 1966 and 1967.
Melancholy: a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.
Skeptic: a person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions.
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ELA Teaching Suggestions:
Common Core Standard
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.B
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
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Before Reading
Before reading put pictures of different cryptids on the board. Ex: Mothman, Lochness Monster, Jersey Devil, Bigfoot, Chupacabra.
Ask students to identify each, for the ones they don't know of, put a star next to.
Mini dive into Cryptids: Overview 6 most famous cryptids.
Who is Mothman?
During Reading
Discussion questions:
Do you think Lewis would respond to Noah's letters the same, or differently than Mothman. Explain your thinking.
After Reading:
Think about the question:
If you were to go searching for any cryptid , who would you want to look for? Would you want to find them? Explain why or why not you would want to find them.
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Writing Activity
Through the course of the novel, we see Noah go through his grief journey by writing to Mothman. Pretend you are Noah, but this time write a letter directly to Lewis. What would you tell him? Use descriptive vocabulary to communicate how Noah would be feeling at this moment.
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Supporting the Text:
Other Books By Robin Gow
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