Isn't that about...

Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons is one of those books that everyone thinks they have read.  I mentioned that this was the next book I was reading to a couple of people and their reaction was, "isn't that the one with the grandmother who gets bit by a snake?" or "isn't that the one with the part Indian girl and the car?"  Isn't it funny what we remember about books.  Because in fact Walk Two Moons is about a part Indian (who herself dislikes the term Native American) girl who drives across the country (in a car) with her grandparents, and her grandma does in fact get bit by a snake.  But I don't think that that is the main point of the book. 

The book is about understanding.  Understanding others, understanding situations, understanding relationships and most importantly understanding yourself and what got you to this particular point in time.  "Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins," is a saying Salamanca's father says often.  "I know what it means," I [Salamanca] said..."I used to imagine that there were two moons sitting in a pair of Indian shoes, but my father said it means that you shouldn't judge someone until you've walked in their moccasins.  Until you've been in their shoes.  In their place" (61). 

So you see the book is about understanding, about empathy.  But this is also a book that is on virtually every 5th-8th grade reading list.  Almost every schoolchild has read this book.  And to them it's about the snakebite, or the car, or the drive.  But that's so childlike.  Children can hear the same story as adults and what sticks out to them is the fascinating details not the main message adults hear.  As Salamanca said, "My father once said I was as gullible as a fish.  I thought he said edible.  I thought he meant I was tasty" (55).  The message was obstructed by the fascinating details.

I love that...if you want a message give a message, if you try to disguise it in story then children just get the story.  But you know what? There is no just about story-because even if the child says Walk Two Moons is about a snakebite, or an Indian, or a car they have still embodied the narrative and its underlying message of understanding even if all they verbalize is the snakebite.

Enjoying literature, not always searching for the "big idea," taking time to delight in the details...that's kids stuff.



PS Quick shout out.  Sharon Creech has also written one of my all time favorite books Love that Dog.  It is a simply delightful snapshot of a young boys encounters with poetry.  Seriously you should buy that book today.  (no really, it's like $5 on amazon and worth every penny-really it's worth 500 pennies).