Moon Over Manifest

By: Clare Vanderpool

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Copy Right: 2010

12 year old Abilene Tucker has been shipped to a small town called Manifest in Kansas by her father Gideon. Gideon felt like his lifestyle was not appropriate for his daughter especially after Abilene cut her knee and got an infection which almost killed her. So Gideon sent her to the one town that had a major impact on him. When Abilene arrives she is welcome by her father’s old caregiver, Shady who is part bartender part priest. Abilene also meets Hattie Mae the town reporter, and it’s through old newspaper articles and a box of old artifacts found in Shady’s house (that Abilene believes is surely connected to her father) she begins to journey into the past. By reliving the past the people of Manifest overcome their troubles and Abilene finds her home. 

Suggested Delivery: Guided Reading

Lexile Level: 800L

Key Vocabulary: bootlegger, World War 1, spy, conjurer, jargon, diviner

Web Resources:

Meet the Author: Students can meet Clare Vanderpool and learn about what she is doing on http://www.clarevanderpool.com/abouttheauthor.html

Audio Tape: Students can listen to Clare Vanderpool and how she got the idea for Moon Over Manifest, then listen to her read an excerpt from the book.  

Comprehension Strategies:

During Reading: Students will have multiple fishbowl discussions about key parts in the book using the readers guide discussion questions: http://www.midwestbooksellers.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MoonManifest_MidCon_ReadGd_WEB.pdf

After Reading: Students will create a Voki (http://www.voki.com/) resembling one of the following characters: Abilene, Shady, Hattie Mae, Gideon, or Miss Sadie.

Writing: Students will create the next chapter in the story based on the information given in the last chapter of the book. Do Abilene and Gideon stay in Manifest? Or do they pack their bags and travel to a new place?