Bird Lake Moon

Sunshine State Book

Author: Kevin Henkes

Grade Level: 3rd - 8th grade

Summary:  Mitch Sinclair goes to Bird Moon Lake to stay with his grandparents because his parents are getting a divorce. His mother and grandparents aren’t getting along very well and Mitch fantasizes about moving into the empty house next store. A boy Mitch’s age named Spencer and his family own the home next door and decide to visit for the first time since their oldest child, Matty drowned at the lake. Mitch tries to scare Spencer’s family by attempting to make them think the house is haunted, so he and his mother can move into the house. Spencer is the only one who sees all Mitch’s jokes and thinks they are messages from Matty. The boys soon become friends and spend every day together until the boys go on their separate ways.

Read Aloud: I would read the part in Chapter 1 when Mitch tries to claim the house next door to his grandparents as his own.

Classroom Uses:

v  Go over the concept of alliteration by having the students come up with words that begin with the letter M to describe Mitch. They can also come up with S words that describe Spencer.

v  Since Bird Lake Moon is full of strained relationships have the student’s choice a relationship and write an apology letter from one character to another. ( Ex. Mitch and his grandparents, Mitch and his father, Spencer and Lolly and their mother)

ESOL Strategies:

v  Read the students an excerpt out of the book that describes the lake and have them illustrate the lake.

v  Use a graphic organizer to sort of the conflicts in both Mitch and Spencer’s lives.

Personal Opinion:  I enjoyed this book up until the very end. I felt like the story wasn’t finished yet and the readers were left hanging. The rest of the book kept you interested the entire time and was a very realistic story and death for children.