Night of the Full Moon

by Gloria Whelan, Leslie Bowman (Illustrator)

Overview

In the winter of 1840, the night of the full moon is approaching. Nothing will stop Libby Mitchell from visiting her best friend, Fawn, during a special ceremony at the nearby wigwam camp. But Libby’s adventure takes an unexpected turn when soldiers suddenly rush in. They order everyone at the camp, including Libby, to move off the land—immediately! With each passing day, the displaced people must move farther away from home. Will Libby ever see her family again?
 
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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307789068
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/31/2011
Series:	A Stepping Stone Book: A Stepping Stone Book History
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Gloria and her husband Joseph moved from Detroit to the woods of northern Michigan several years ago.  Many of Gloria's books take place during the summer -- because she does a lot of her writing during the northern Michigan blizzards!  Gloria has been telling stories for as long as she can remember.  Before she could read or write, she used to dictate stories to her baby-sitter, who would type them out.  Being an only child, many of Gloria's stories were about having a brother or sister.   Gloria would like to have written Little Women, because Jo March was one of her role models growing up!   Gloria once had a set of five wtching guinea pigs, all named after Detroit Tiger baseball players!  

Editorial Reviews

Whelan packs quite a story into this brief sequel to Next Spring an Oriole , set in 1841 in the shrinking woods near Saginaw, Mich. With Mama in labor, Libby Mitchell must miss the naming ceremony for her Indian friend Fawn's new baby brother. Libby sneaks off to the festivities alone but, just as they are about to begin, government troops round up everyone in the Potowatomi village for a forced migration west. With her tanned skin and dark hair, and dressed in Fawn's clothes, Libby is taken for an Indian and accused of lying when she tells the soldiers she is white. After three days of arduous journeying, Fawn's father orchestrates an escape in order to return Libby to her frantic parents and newborn brother, and to flee with his own family into the northern wilderness. Told in simple, well-chosen language, this satisfying chapter book is as captivating as any in the Little House series, but far more insightful and thought-provoking with regard to historical events and the not-so-rosy aspects of settler-Native American relations. Ages 7-9. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 3-5-Whelan successfully follows the writer's dictum of ``show, don't tell'' in this brief novel set in northern Michigan in the 1840s. Libby's best friend is Fawn, a Potawatomi girl who lives nearby. The two families have supported each other through some hard times, so Libby's mother and father are distressed when government agents talk about moving the Indians out of Michigan. One day, Libby disobeys her father and visits the Potawatomi camp for a ceremony-the same day soldiers come to force the clan west. Dressed in her friend's clothes, Libby suffers with the People as they are herded like sheep south and west, until Fawn's family risks their own safety to return her to her parents and to regain their freedom. Just as Alice Dalgliesh did in The Courage of Sarah Noble (Scribners, 1987), Whelan uses action, integrated plot, and well-drawn characters to personalize history, creating powerful, immediate images that humanize the Indians without preaching. Period details, including some Potawatomi words, keep the story firmly fixed in time. An exciting adventure sure to provoke strong feelings, this is for new or reluctant readers, and would make a good read-aloud.-Sally Bates Goodroe, Houston Public Library

School Library Journal

"An exciting adventure sure to provoke strong feelings, this is for new or reluctant readers, and would make a good read-aloud."—School Library Journal.

From the Publisher