The Cursed Moon

By Angela Cervantes

Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Angela Cervantes’ Website: 

https://angelacervantes.com/

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Have students write and record a booktalk for The Cursed Moon.

https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib4/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/15887/Book%20Talk%20Summative.pdf

Rafa likes to write spooky stories. Write an original spooky story:

https://keepemthinking.com/2020/10/how-to-write-a-scary-story/

Rafa takes deep breaths (Inhale. Exhale.) when he gets stressed.  Look at this and other stress-coping skills:

https://www.verywellmind.com/top-school-stress-relievers-for-students-3145179

Vocabulary:

Brianna likes to learn big words. Make a list of all the big words Brianna uses in The Cursed Moon and find their definitions.

https://images.app.goo.gl/jKUuf3yUj4t6tjSe9

There are several Spanish words in The Cursed Moon. Make a list of the words and their definitions.

https://images.app.goo.gl/jKUuf3yUj4t6tjSe9

Learn some Spanish.

https://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_for_children

MakerSpace Activities:

Jaguar:

Draw a jaguar:

https://artprojectsforkids.org/how-to-draw-a-jaguar/

Make a jaguar:

https://learncreatelove.com/printable-tiger-jaguar-crafts/

Learn about a jaguar and do a presentation using Canva or Google Slides:

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/jaguar

https://yout.ube/oJaWpgGtDWA?si=CPCtb3jhEvENuNV9 (9:54)

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/jaguar

Blood Moon:

Create a model of how a Blood moon occurs. (1:43) https://yout.ube/bcrIGzQ1Ur4?si=K10ShPMZhouHy3Jf

https://kids.kiddle.co/Lunar_eclipse

Make homemade popcorn like Rafa’s abuelos do for storytime on the porch:

https://aileencooks.com/20150712cooking-with-kids-making-popcorn/

Discussion Questions:

Based on the title and cover of the book, what are some predictions you can make about the story?

What do you think of the book’s title? What other title might you choose?

Talk about a time when you saw a ghost or thought you saw a ghost.

Talk about a time when you felt like your life was out of control like Rafa felt on page 2.

Rafa often has to inhale and exhale to calm down when things aren’t going right. What do you do to calm down?

On page 20, Abuela and Rafa discuss a glass-framed tapestry on the wall. It says “The Future is Unwritten.” What does this statement mean to you?

Rafa tells a lie on page 53 about telling Jayden a scary story. Is there ever a good reason to lie? Explain your answer.

In chapter 7, Rafa and Jayden use a drone to retrieve the outdoor furniture cushions that were scattered by the storm. What would you use a drone for, if you had one?

On page 73, Abuela tells Rafa to write down his fears and nightmares and give them happy endings. How do you deal with your fears and nightmares?

Rafa and Brianna both lived with Nikki before she went to prison. Why do you think their views on Nikki coming home are different?

Why do you think Rafa kept the journal hidden from his family on page 92?

On page 94, Rafa experiences a huge disappointment. He is uninvited from the camping trip because of his grades. Have you had a disappointment like that? Talk about what it was and how you felt.

Jayden and his sisters are willing to drop out of the camping trip as a sign of solidarity with Rafa after he was asked not to attend. What do you feel strongly enough about to make a stand like they are doing?

Abuela says, “Secrets are dangerous” on page 102. What does she mean? Give an example.

Which is scarier, the Caretaker or Furry Toe? Why?

If you were Rafa, how would you have handled Brianna wanting to go on the camping trip differently than he did on page 162?

On page 172, Cash tells Rafa that his dad does not like Rafa’s family because of what Rafa’s mother has done. Is it fair to not like a whole family because of what one person has done? Explain your answer. How would you deal with this happening to you?

The ghosts can send messages to Rafa on his phone on page 55. The ghost of Xavier can appear on the phone, but disappear from the video later on page 65. Cash’s and Rafa’s phone calls drop as they get near the campsite on page 178. Why do you think ghosts can use and disrupt technology?

Do you think Nikki does or does not deserve a second chance, page 185? Explain your answer.

Why do you think everyone who was in the woods the night the caretaker tried to take all the students are losing their memories of the events?

If you could change one thing in the book, what would it be? Why? 

Why do you think the author wrote this story?

What questions do you have unanswered that you would like to ask the author?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader's theater for The Cursed Moon on the Texas Bluebonnet Award website.

Watch the book trailer for The Cursed Moon on the Texas Bluebonnet Award website.

Angela Cervantes talks about The Cursed Moon (2:00):

https://youtu.be/8-pr6rhny4M

Read Alikes: 

Allen, Sarah Elisabeth. The Nightmare House. A middle-grade novel about a girl who sees possessed souls and ventures into a haunted house in the forest on a mission to save them, and defeat her own demons, in the process. (Novelist Plus)

Schwab, Victoria. City of Ghosts. Surviving a near-fatal accident that gives her the ability to enter the spirit world, the daughter of television ghost-hunters visits with her ghost best friend and meets another girl who shares her abilities before realizing the dangers that come with her powers. (Novelist Plus)

Segel, Jason. Nightmares! "Twelve-year-old Charlie and his friends must stop nightmares from taking over their town before it's too late"--. (Novelist Plus)

Oh, Ellen. Spirit Hunters. Feeling uncomfortable from the moment she arrives in her new home, Harper is dismayed by local rumors that her house is haunted and that every family that has ever lived there has suffered terrible tragedies, a situation that turns sinister when her cheerful little brother begins acting in alarming ways. (Novelist Plus)

Mejia, Tehlor Kay. Paola Santiago and the River of Tears. In Silver Springs, Arizona, her mother's stories of the monstrous La Llorona are thrilling but unbelievable to science-loving Paola until she and her best friends Dante and Emma take a walk through a cactus field near the Gila River. (Novelist Plus)

Reviews:

Booklist (August 2023 (Vol. 119, No. 22))

Grades 4-7. Rafa is a storyteller who can come up with the scariest stories to send chills down anyone’s spine. He knows that his stories are fictional, so he is never frightened about anything except his mom, Nikki, who has been in and out of his life. But a new kind of fear brews when Ms. Martin warns Rafa about the upcoming blood moon and tells him to refrain from telling any scary stories. Rafa initially disregards her cautionary advice, and while they sit in a tree house under the blood moon, he tells his friends a story about the Caretaker, a being who takes children. Strange things begin to happen, and it seems like his nightmarish stories are coming to life. It’s up to Rafa to stop the Caretaker before it takes its next victim. Award-winning author Cervantes is back with a story that will captivate horror fans. Cervantes’ storytelling is a balance between earnest and eerie that will have readers at the edge of their seats.