Moonflower
Kacen Callender
Embedded Files
Moonflower
by Kacen Callender
2022
Scholastic Press
Grade 3-7
Lexile Level 730L
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Summary:
Moon is a 12-year-old who is struggling with depression and as a result has a hard time being present in reality. Moon believes that their mother resents them because they are sad all the time. Their only true escape is to the spirit realm at night. Moon soon realizes that being in the spirit realm comes with a price, and they attempt to rectify their wrongs they have committed through life. Moon learns how to deal with their shadows through help from the spirits and learns how to cope with their depression.
Key Words: Acceptance, depression, resilience
Suggested Delivery: Whole class, small group.
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Vocabulary:
Realm: a royal domain; kingdom
Apothecary: a person who prepared and sold medicines and drugs.
Depression: is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.
Celestial: positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy.
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ELA Teaching Suggestions:
Common Core Standard
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
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Before Reading
Cover the essential vocabulary listed above. Zoning in on depression as it is a major topic in the book. It is pivotal that students understand that Moon is struggling with depression and what depression can physically do to someone.
Open a class discussion:
What is depression? How can depression affect a person's life?
During Reading
There are multiple instances where Moon faces difficulties with their emotions. In small groups, find a quote from the text that displays one of these hardships. Analyze the quotes together as a class and come up with examples of how Moon showed resilience.
After Reading:
Students will design a one sheet book.
It will include:
A title page with an original cover
4-5 key events in the story illustrated
One sentence description to go with each illustration
The book should highlight the key events that fit each of the plot points in the story. ex: Rising action: Moons first trip to the spirit realm.
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Supporting the Text:
In this resource, author Kacen Callender provides some inside as to how they made some of their creative decisions. Also, how they talk about sensitive subjects like depression in a book meant for a 8-12 year old audience.
Other Books by Kacen Callender
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