Here is a readers guide for MOON OVER TENNESSEE created by graduate student Katherine Gandre.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crist-Evans, Craig. 1999. MOON OVER TENNESSEE: A BOY’S CIVIL WAR JOURNAL. Ill. by Bonnie Christensen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395912083
SUMMARY
Recommended ages 8 +
This journal brings to life the experiences of a 13-year-old boy and his father as they join the Civil War at Gettysburg. This three month journey is a life lesson about balancing physical, mental, and emotional well-being during the hardships of life (war). This boys memories of home give him (inner) strength and keeps him centered, focused, and able to cope with the daily grind and atrocities he witnesses first hand.
The author uses figurative language throughout the story – metaphor, personification, simile, onomatopoeia – to paint his pictures. He also incorporates several writing styles – imagery, understatement, symbolism – to underscore the grave and somber tones of war, “… rode from Gettysburg to Tennessee…saw…country weeping” (p 59).
AWARDS
2000 IRA Best Books
2001 IRA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet
2003 Lamplighter Award Nominee
2003 IRA Teacher’s Choice
NY Public Library One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing
REVIEW EXCERPTS
KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Exquisite, somber black-and-white woodcut illustrations accompany the poems; the images are often as lyrical as the text."
BOOKLIST: “The lyrical collage of men and war invites comparison with Gary Paulsen's Soldier's Heart (Booklist's Top of the List choice for 1998),…. An evocative book, written with language so vibrant it begs to be read aloud.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “haunting black-and-white woodcuts capture a broad emotional range. A casual scene of soldiers and horses resting under a tree on their way to battle offers a marked contrast to a searing image of men with lanterns searching for bodies on the abandoned battlefield”
BOOK REVIEW: “While the story is filled with action, it is mainly one of emotions and understanding.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “This book is an evocative work, capturing the voice of innocence and hinting at the horrors of war.”
BOOK REPORT: “This book would be an excellent addition to any collection, not only for its descriptions of the Civil War and the emotions surrounding death, but because it is an excellent example of the use of journals. “
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE READING
Who fought in the Civil War?
Do you have a family member who has been in a war and has shared their experiences with you?
At your age, how would you feel about leaving home – leaving your family – to help others in a war?
SUGGESTIOINS FOR READING ALOUD
Past/Present: Have one student read the stanza that are about the past; have another student read the stanzas about the present.
• April 30, 1863
; May 3, 1863;
June 10, 1863
Narrator/Dialog: Have one student read the descriptive lines; have other students read the dialog.
• May 6, 1863;
June 19, 1863;
July 3, 1863
Present/Dream: Have one student read the stanzas that are about the present; have another student read the stanzas that are dreams.
• July 15, 1863
Different voices: Have different students read each stanza.
• July 22, 1863
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES
Social Studies/Art Research Project: Flip calendar: divide class into 5 groups to represent the 5 years of the Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Each group will generate one year calendar with the names of 9 battles recorded on their dates.
• If the Union won, the information should be recorded in Blue.
• If the Confederacy won, the information should be recorded in Gray.
• Additional information will be added at the bottom of the calendar for each side: Generals in charge, number dead, number wounded, total number involved.
• The top page of each month’s calendar will be a picture of life during the Civil War (examples: camp life, battle, slave life, map, flags, important people, etc.). Maps and flags must be hand-drawn; other illustrations can be found in books or on the internet.
Writing assignment: Play music of the time period and have students write in their own journals (for 10 min) for 5 days. Each entry should include a date, location, weather conditions. Each day assign them a topic to write about: traveling, practicing for battle, camp life (eating/sleeping, taking care of animals), a battle, going home (alone).
Math assignment: Provide factual information and then make up a mathematical word problem (example: 1000 soldiers fought, 250 were killed, 600 were wounded; What percentage did not get hurt?) Other ideas include distances traveled, battles won/lost, etc.
RELATED WEB SITES/BLOGS
Best of History Web Sites: http://www.besthistorysites.net/ushistory_civilwar.shtml
Pro Teacher Directory: http://www.proteacher.com/090053.shtml
The Civil War Homepage: http://www.civil-war.net
Civil War: http://www.civil-war.net
Civil War Battles by State: http://americancivilwar.com/statepic
Social Studies for kids: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/uslistcivilwar.htm
Civil War Journeys: http://www.civil-war-journeys.org/civil_war_battles_map.htm
RELATED BOOKS
Fiction
Beatty, Patricia. 1987. CHARLEY SKEDADDLE. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-688-06687-9.
Beatty, Patricia. 1995. JAYHAWKER. New York: Beach Tree Books. ISBN 0-688-14422-5
Beatty, Patricia. 1993. TURN HOMEWARD, HANNALEE. New York: Beach Tree Books. ISBN 978-0-688-16676-2
Brill, Marlene Targ. 1998. DIARY OF A DRUMMER BOY. Brookfield, Conn. : Millbrook Press. ISBN: 0-7613-0118-6.
Collier, James Lincoln and Christopher Collier. 1994. WITH EVERY DROP OF BLOOD. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0329077376.
Denenberg, Barry. 2003. WHEN WILL THIS CRUEL WAR BE OVER?: THE CIVIL WAR DIARY OF EMMA SIMPSON. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0-439-55517-5.
Hite, Sid. 2003. THE JOURNAL OF RUFUS ROWE: A WITNESS TO THE BATTLE OF FREDEICKSBURG. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0-439-35364-5.
Hunt, Irene. 2002. ACROSS FIVE APRILS. New York: Berkley Jam Books. ISBN 0-613-95390-8.
Murphy, Jim. 2003.THE JOURNAL OF JAMES EDMOUND PEASE: A CIVIL WAR UNION SOLDIER. (Series: My name is America). New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 0-439-55537-X
Pinkney, Andrea Davis. 1999. SILENT THUNDER: A CIVIL WAR STORY. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN: 0786804394.
Reeder, Carolyn. 1997. ACROSS THE LINES. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0-689-81133-0.
Rinaldi, Anne. 2004. GIRL IN BLUE. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-439-67646-5.
Robinet, Harriette. 1995. IF YOU PLEASE, PRESIDENT LINCOLN. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 068931969X.
Nonfiction
2005. YOUNG HEROES OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH. Peterborough, NH: Cobblestone. ISBN 9780812679014
Bircher, William. 2000. A CIVIL WAR DRUMMER BOY: THE DIARY OF WILLIAM BURCHER, 1861-1865. Mankato, Minn.: Blue Earth Books. ISBN 0-7368-0348-3
Hendrix, John. 2009. JOHN BROWN: HIS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780810937987.
Murphy, Jim. 1990. THE BOY’S WAR: CONFEDERATE AND UNION SOLDIERES TALK ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-89919-893-7
Smolinski, Diane. 2001. KEY BALLTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR. (Series: Americans at War. Civil War). Chicago: Heinemann Library. ISBN 1-58810-097-9
Poetry
Fleischman, Paul. 1993. BULL RUN. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0060214465.
Lewis, J. Patrick. 2007. THE BROTHER’S WAR: CIVIL WAR VOICES IN VERSE. Including photographs by Civil War photographers. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. 1426300360.
Ntozake Shange. 2009. WE TROUBLED THE WATERS: POEMS. Paintings by Rod Brown. New York: Collins. ISBN 9780061337376.
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