Book of the week: Bird Lake Moon

This post has been a long time coming.  One of our staff members recommended Kevin Henke's chapter book Bird Lake Moon months ago.  I trusted her, checked it out, and started reading it.  I just couldn't get into it.  One of the main characters, Mitch, is upset over his parents' divorce.  He spends a lot of time hiding under his neighbor's porch, wishing that he and his mother could move into that house.

I found this to be totally contrived.  My parents got divorced, and I didn't spend any time hiding under any porches.  I found Mitch's behavior to be totally unrealistic and it just turned me off.  So I abandoned the book to the stack next to my bed.

This week, I am teaching fifth grade classes at Yates about writing book reviews.  The class did Bird Lake Moon as a read-aloud, so I decided to read them the reviews.  I got so hooked by the reviews, I picked up the book and finished it, and I  loved it.  I just needed to see that Mitch's character would grow and evolve.

This book has mystery and humor and will appeal to children who come from divorced families.  It will also lead to discussions about doing the right thing, even if it isn't the easy thing.