Walk Two Moons--by Sharon Creech

Creech, S. (1994). Walk Two Moons. New York, NY: Scholastic Incorporated.

And so the book starts: Don’t Judge a Man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins. The main character in this book, Salamanca Tree Hiddle, Sal for short, certainly walks two moons in more than one set of moccasins. To briefly set the story line, Sal is on a cross-country journey with her Native American grandparents from her mother’s side. Their mission is to find Sal’s mother who took a trip to her native Idaho and failed to return. What we do know is that Phoebe’s Gram and Gramps want to see their daughter who was resting peacefully in Idaho. Sal wants to take this trip, but she is afraid. Finally, Sal’s dad wants to stay in Ohio to visit a woman, since he has already seen his wife in Idaho. During this journey Sal tells an incredulous story about her new friend Phoebe. Sal’s father moved to Ohio from Kentucky when his wife did not return.

Two plots are happening at once, Sal’s search for her mother and Phoebe and Sal’s story about the lunatic. Both the trip and the story about the lunatic are beautifully written, with all of the characters becoming alive, especially Sal’s Gram and Gramps. These two are really in love.

This is my first book to review because it is one of my favorite books in any age group. Even though this book is written for a tween audience, I have recommended it to many adult friends. When you talk about human values, this book concentrates of kindness, love, care, empathy, and if you can call humor a value, this book is full of it.

My daughter recommended this Newberry winning book to me in 1996, and I have thanke