Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Walk Two Moons
    Walk Two Moons
    Walk Two Moons
    Audiobook5 hours

    Walk Two Moons

    Written by Sharon Creech

    Narrated by Hope Davis

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.

    Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the ""Indian-ness in her blood,"" travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a ""potential lunatic,"" and whose mother disappeared.

    As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold—the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 14, 2006
    ISBN9780060878504
    Author

    Sharon Creech

    Sharon Creech has written twenty-one books for young people and is published in over twenty languages. Her books have received awards in both the U.S. and abroad, including the Newbery Medal for Walk Two Moons, the Newbery Honor for The Wanderer, and Great Britain’s Carnegie Medal for Ruby Holler. Before beginning her writing career, Sharon Creech taught English for fifteen years in England and Switzerland. She and her husband now live in Maine, “lured there by our grandchildren,” Creech says. www.sharoncreech.com

    More audiobooks from Sharon Creech

    Related to Walk Two Moons

    Titles in the series (2)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Children's Family For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Shanda

      Jan 1, 2024

      Shanda
      13 min read

    • Article

      Rag Doll

      May 3, 2018

      Rag Doll
      11 min read

    • Article

      In the Grass

      Jun 3, 2019

      In the Grass
      23 min read

    • Article

      Hauntings

      Jul 5, 2023

      Hauntings
      11 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Sep 1, 2019

      Ayat Jaffar, age 9 Avon, OH Over winter break, I went to Umrah. Umrah is an Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. I went with my mom, dad, and older sister. We went around a big black stone and between two big mountains seven times each in mem

      7 min read

    • Article

      Happy Endings

      Sep 1, 2023

      Happy Endings
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Legend of Sugar Brown

      Jan 30, 2024

      I was on Grandpa’s porch when I heard an unusual sound coming down the gravel road. I ran over to the fence to greet the approaching sound. My 6-year-old eyes grew wide with excitement as I saw a farm wagon that had rubber tires instead of iron rims

      4 min read

    • Article

      Mystery Guide

      Dec 31, 2023

      Mystery Guide
      4 min read

    • Article

      Little House

      Jun 5, 2023

      On Monday nights our mother made popcorn and served it to us in mugs with milk poured over. My younger sister and I carried our mugs into the family room and ate the popcorn with spoons, like cereal. We were five and seven. Until we were allowed to s

      21 min read

    • Article

      Escaping Paradise

      Apr 1, 2019

      Escaping Paradise
      7 min read

    • Article

      Hot & scratchy

      Mar 5, 2020

      Hot & scratchy
      6 min read

    • Article

      ‘In the Country of Women’: Featured Nonfiction from Susan Straight

      Nov 19, 2019

      In our latest edition of featured nonfiction, we present an excerpt from National Book Award finalist Susan Straight’s new novel, In the Country of Women, out now from Catapult. The post ‘In the Country of Women’: Featured Nonfiction from Susan Strai

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Show Boy

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Show Boy
      9 min read

    • Article

      Always Someone Leaving

      Jul 6, 2023

      Always Someone Leaving
      5 min read

    • Article

      There Goes The Neighbourhood

      Jun 6, 2018

      THIS HOUSE HAS GROWN UP WITH MY FAMILY OVER THE PAST 18 YEARS. IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK, THEY’D BE SQUEALING. I don’t think they were properly prepared for the pre-adolescents that invaded their space back in 2000, along with the 18-year-old prepari

      3 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Nov 1, 2022

      Five Poems
      3 min read

    • Article

      Spring Lambs, Show’tastic Weekend

      Nov 2, 2022

      To watch videos of Caspar’s adventures visit his facebook page or watch on YouTube Caspar’s capers Arf arf readers Woof-woof! Wow. It’s been a busy time since the last issue, with lots of road trips visiting all sorts of people. At one stop we had a

      4 min read

    • Article

      Secrets That Hold Us

      Oct 21, 2020

      How could we have lived so long, on an island as small as Jamaica, without knowing our mother's mother still lived? The post Secrets That Hold Us appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      That Particular Sunday

      Jul 6, 2023

      That Particular Sunday
      26 min read

    • Article

      Flights Of Fancy

      Jun 14, 2023

      Flights Of Fancy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Getaway Driver

      Feb 10, 2022

      Getaway Driver
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Family Plot

      May 7, 2020

      The Family Plot
      10 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Walk Two Moons

    4/5

    1,754 ratings137 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I cried. Very well written, narrated with a lot of diversity, and a good book to make you think about what you have.
    • 4/5
      While on a road trip to go visit her mother in Idaho, thirteen year old Sal entertains her grandparents with strange tales about her friend Phoebe. There's a lot in this story to digest, I may go back for a re-read soon.
    • 4/5
      Two 13 year old girls who are dealing with their mothers' absence, the story told by one, Sal on a trip with her grandparents to her mother's last location. It is a story about loss and stories and learning about one's own life by examining others' lives. There is a low key slightly mocking humor and while the story was well enough put together I found some discordant notes.
    • 5/5
      Ghjj
    • 5/5
      “It seems to me that we can’t explain all the truly awful things in the world like war and murder and brain tumors, and we can’t fix these things, so we look at the frightening things that are closer to us and we magnify them until they burst open. Inside is something we can manage…”Sometimes we can find our own stories if we “Walk Two Moons” in someone else’s story. Creech imaginatively unwinds Sal’s story as she tells the story of her friend, Phoebe in this book for young readers. We hear Phoebe’s story as we ride along with Sal and her grandparents on their journey across country. It is a journey of discovery and a cherished time with her grandparents. As we journey with Sal and her grandparents and hear Phoebe’s story, we grow to discover that Sal is also telling us her story. It is a story of mystery and youthful suspense, adventure and enlightenment as well as a journey of loss and sadness that leads us to hope.
    • 5/5
      loved the remembering in this book
    • 4/5
      I didn’t realize until I’d finished the audiobook that I was listening to an abridged edition. Considering that Creech interweaves three stories in one – that of Sal, of her best friend Phoebe, and of Sal’s cross-country trip with her grandparents to find Sal’s mother, the abridgement made the storylines easier to follow. However, the abridgement also left out some details that hinted at the ending, and thus heightened the suspense of the novel for me.According to Creech’s Newbery acceptance speech, the book’s title comes from an American Indian proverb, “Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins,” that she received in a fortune cookie about four years before finishing the book. The proverb plays a part in the story as well. The main character, Salamanca Tree Hiddle, or Sal, is a 13-year-old of Native American heritage (her name is the name of a tribe), as is her missing mother (and Creech). Sal and her father move from Kentucky to Ohio shortly after her mother’s disappearance, where Sal meets Phoebe, whose mother also disappears temporarily. If this isn’t enough missing mothers, Sal’s budding love interest, Ben, also has a mom who’s gone. By the end of the book, you find out why they’re gone and what happened to each of them.Sal’s (and her mother’s) and Phoebe’s stories are told in flashback, within the framework of the trip Sal takes with her paternal grandparents from Ohio to Lewiston, Idaho, where Sal’s mother was heading. Along the way, Sal tells her grandparents Phoebe’s story, and through it, begins to understand her own. The six-day trip traces Sal’s mother’s route and takes them many places I’ve been – Chicago and Lake Michigan, Madison and the Wisconsin Dells, Minnesota, the Badlands and Black Hills and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Yellowstone and Old Faithful in Wyoming, Montana, and Lewiston. According to the Newbery acceptance speech, the trip also mirrors one Creech took with her parents when she was 12.The characters are funny and fully-realized – especially the grandparents, whose love for each other is palpable. Their dialogue in particular is down-home (Gramps calls Gram his “gooseberry” and both call Sal their “chick-a-biddy”). Actress Mary Stuart Masterson did a marvelous job narrating the audiobook with this and with portraying Phoebe’s prissiness, Sal’s sometimes-typical-teen reactions, the anguish of both girls, and the eccentricities of other characters.This book was written at a 5th-6th grade reading level and is mainly recommended for grades 6-12, although some reviewers suggest ages as young as 8. I think it is more suited for at least age 10 and up, because all of the major characters are 13 and older, and because of the complexity of the multilayered plots. There is plenty of plot to hold a reader’s interest, however, and the book deals with poignant themes of loss and acceptance. I found this book to be both expressive and gripping, and I believe it is a Newbery winner that will appeal to adults and older children.
    • 4/5
      It took me awhile to get into the rhythm of this book...the story-within-a-story takes a bit of getting used to, and some of the dialogue seemed a little improbable. But the pieces started falling together eventually, and in the end, I loved the way Creech's novel reminds us how we often have to sneak up on the truth in our own way and in our own time.
    • 5/5
      Incredible book. The narrator was excellent at bringing it to life
    • 4/5
      This is the story of Sal Hiddle's road trip across the US with her grandparents.Despite completely loving it and it making me cry, it did drag a bit in the second half, I found myself skipping ahead, which I very seldom do in books. Which was probably an error, because I spoilered myself with a twist I hadn't seen coming, although in some ways reading the second half of the book watching Sal lie to herself that her mother isn't dead was an even more powerful read.What's it about? Stories in stories. How we understand our own stories through listening to other people's stories, and understand ourselves through reflections in others. How we should see things from the other person's point of view.There is a strong theme of women who leave, who are being crushed by the pressure of family life and just run away. Sal's mother, crushed by the still birth of her second child, goes on a roadtrip (which has a tragic outcome). Phoebe's mother, leaves with no warning and goes to rebuild her relationship with the child she gave up for adoption. There is a half told story about the time even Sal's grandma left her grandpa for three days to run off with the egg man, who actually wrote her love letters. What do we take from this, women who leave and mostly return? Their children are sad and angry and bitter about it, but also are taught that a person has to go out and do things, and mother dogs drive off their puppies when they are weened.There is also so much death in this book. The only other Sharon Creech I have read is 'Love that dog', I wonder if all her books are about someone needing to grieve who isn't ready to grieve yet and has to try and understand their loss? I was not prepared for the baby dying, or the snake bite, or gram dying, or for the twist that Sal's mum can never come back because she is dead. It is such a sweet book in so many ways, with blackberry kisses and farm life and all the highlights of traveling across the USA, geysers and badlands, and then so much tragedy. I guess that is life.Oddly, in a book where many unusual things happen, it was the English teacher deciding to read out people's personal journals without realising that anonymisation doesn't work in a tiny class that struck me as most stupid and unlikely!
    • 4/5
      Ive read this book several times before (in grade school and as a teenager) and find the story compelling and interesting and it always makes me cry at least a little bit. The split format of the book as Sal tells the reader about several different times in her life works well and the story is emotional and serious and hilarious in turns.

      Even though I like this book I took issue with it on this read through because of something I didnt really pick up on before; its kinda racist. Im not saying the author holds any malice towards Native Americans, but the way she includes that part of her protagonists identity relies quite a bit on stereotypes and tropes. I would still highly recommend this book, but also probably recommend checking out some reviews written by Indigenous people as well.
    • 2/5
      Walk Two Moons is the sad story of Salamanca Tree Hiddle whose mother left Sal and her father to travel out west, but never returned home. Sal takes a trip with her grandparents to follow the path her mother took. While on the trip, Sal tells her grandparents the story of her friend, Phoebe Winterbottom whose mother also disappeared. By alternating between the two stories, we get a chance to see the parallels between them and the differences that ultimately leads to the lesson or theme of the book which is dealing with loss. Newbery Award-winning books often have deeper meanings behind the actions of the characters, and this book was no exception. I did think that the book was almost too sad, leaving the reader with the message that there is very little in life to be happy about. Otherwise, this is a very well written story, full of emotion.
    • 5/5
      This book dealt with some really tough topics. I like the way Sal somewhat tells her story thru her storytelling of Phoebe. It was very impactful how she also learned from her experiences with Phoebe. Her grandparents are just wonderful. It was an emotional read at some points but very worth it.
    • 5/5
      Book on CD performed by Kate HarperFrom the book jacket: "How about a story? Spin us a yarn."Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned."Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold — the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.My reactionsI never read this book, though I had heard of it. Well, I had heard the title, though I knew nothing about it. Somehow, I had it in my head that “Walk Two Moons” was the name of a Native American character in the novel. It isn’t. Rather it refers to a saying that you never really know someone until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins. I was completely drawn into the book from the beginning, as I learned that Sal was forced to move from her beloved Kentucky farm some 300 miles north to a town where there wasn’t even a tree in her yard. I could completely understand and empathize with her distress over this move. (Heck, I’m facing a move in the next year or so from my home to a smaller residence and I’m not happy about it … at all.)I loved the intergenerational nature of this story. Sal is on a long road trip with her grandparents as she tells the story of Phoebe and the lunatic. It’s clear that she has a close relationship with Gram and Gramps, though she is sometimes embarrassed by their behavior. I was happy for her that this relationship gave her a sense of security and comfort, when her missing mother and her father’s methods of dealing with that absence did not seem to be what Sal needed. I also like how Sal’s own story was revealed as she told the story of her friend Phoebe. The similarities – and differences – provided a way for Sal (and the reader) to absorb what had happened, to face the truth, even if coming at it sideways. I finished it sitting in the car, crying. It is sad, but still a hopeful ending as Sal and her father come to terms with all that has happened and begin to find happiness again. Kate Harper does a marvelous job performing the audiobook. She really brought these young teens to life: Sal, Phoebe, Ben and Mary Lou. And I loved the voice she used for Gram - Huzza Huzza!
    • 4/5
      Good children’s book
    • 5/5
      I wish I had found Walk Two Moons when it first came out. In fact, I wish it had been on my reading list in school because I know I would have eaten it up. I know this because, despite my current age, I still fell deeply in love with this book. It's ageless, and it's wonderful.

      Salamanca Tree Hiddle (Sal)is a thirteen year old narrator who will steal your heart. We embark on a car trip with Sal and her eccentric grandparents, all the while learning bits about their lives, her life, and the life of her best friend Phoebe. Let me please tell you how much I loved each and every character in this book. Sal is sweet, kind and witty far beyond what her age dictates. Her grandparents are the picture of what true love really is. Even Phoebe, the girl who worries about everything, fits perfectly in the story. There is everything to love in Creech's characters and they make the story come to life.

      Sharon Creech weaves the stories of Sal and Phoebe into a story that took my breath away. A story that is funny, honest, and at times so heartbreaking that you'll find yourself teary eyed. During the car trip Sal's thoughts take the reader on a journey through her innermost self. I adored watching her grow, make observations, and just become even more amazing. I'm not even certain I'm making sense at this point. That's how much Walk Two Moons threw me off. It's beautiful.

      This is a must read for people of all ages, but I definitely suggest you put it in the hands of your middle grade reader as soon as possible. Young readers will learn from, and walk with Sal. Older readers will get the chance to revisit some of those hidden feelings we hide. The raw ones that we push down as we grow up. It's a wonderful, and terrifying, feeling all at the same time. In my opinion, Walk Two Moons is a book that will make a reader out of a non-reader. I sincerely hope you love it as much as I did.
    • 5/5
      This is the story of a twelve-year-old girl coming to terms with the absence of her mom. It’s told in two parallel narratives. One is in present-time, on a road trip with her grandparents. The other is the story she tells to her grandparents that involve her mom and what happened with her and her dad after she left.The classic trifecta ensues: 1) they move somewhere she doesn’t like 2) Dad starts seeing another woman 3) No one in school likes her. In the process, she befriends another girl, and HER mother leaves. This is the interesting part, as our main character gets a taste of what a pill she was, having to console someone in the same situation.It’s a good story, especially if you know what a broken home is like. And the style, full of odd quaint country expressions and quirky humor. It’s not a cheesy Hallmark story. It reminds me of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie or “Holes” by Louis Sachar or “I Am the Cheese” by Robert Cormier. All of these have an unreliable narrator and implication of something sinister going on below the surface.
    • 5/5
      Pandora’s Box provides a nice analogy for present-day life in Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons. Why would Pandora open the box? Why would hope be left inside? And what would be found at the bottom of a box of good things?Sal’s mother is absent. Her father moves her away from their home, making her go to a new school, where her new best friend is suddenly missing her mother too. All this is in the story Sal tells her grandparents as they take her on a road trip, as the three strands of Walk Two Moons weave beautifully together. Simple language illuminates complex topics, offering a convincingly childish point of view, with very natural avoidance of the true, and pleasing persistence of imagination. Maybe a lunatic stole the mother. Maybe the neighbor killed her husband and buried him in the yard. Maybe…Or maybe life falls inevitably into the realm of Pandora’s box. With hope at the bottom, lifting both reader and characters to safety. Walk Two Moons invites adult readers to walk in the shoes of children, while simultaneously inviting children to walk in the shoes of their parents. Truth is hidden between the imaginations, and truth hurts. But hope will save.Written for children, best for mature readers (5th grade up?), and for readers who choose to think, Walk Two Moons is the sort of novel that just might invite a child to see through different eyes and find their own hope waiting. Coming of age, coming to wisdom, and coming in hope… Highly recommended.Disclosure: It came highly recommended and it was a birthday present.
    • 5/5
      13 year old Salamanca Tree Hiddle's mother left home mysteriously, and eventually, even though Salamanca knows where she is, knows she will not come back.Her eccentric grandparents take her on trip across country to see her mother, and along the way, she tells them the story of her friendship with Phoebe... a girl whose mother also left her mysteriously without explanation.A beautiful story (two stories actually) with several surprises in the last few chapters. The tears were so thick in my eyes the last couple of chapters I had trouble reading them.
    • 5/5
      Salamanca and her grandparents are on a road trip retracing the steps of her mother. While they drive, Sal tells them the story of her friend Phoebe, and in telling her story we learn her and her mother's, and why her mother left.I had forgotten just about everything about this story other than the fact that I enjoyed this and other works by the author some years ago. This one was a well-deserved Newbery award winner that unfolds its mysteries deliberately and explores the idea that you can't make snap judgments about others but should try to see and understand their points of view.
    • 5/5
      I first read this book in 4th grade, and the only thing I remember about it (besides really liking it), was that the main character - Salamanca Tree Hiddle - went on a road trip with her grandparents to bring her mom back home. I completely forgot about the underlying story of Sal's friend Phoebe Winterbottom and her family. It was so much fun reading this book again some 16 years later; I got so much more out of it this time around. Sal, Phoebe, their families, and other supporting characters are so well written, and speak with such distinctive voices. I found myself underlining several sentences and phrases as I read. It's funny that I didn't realize/remember what happened to Sal's mom back in 4th grade, and re-reading it now it was pretty clear. But I guess I was like Sal back then, "fishing in the air' and trying to push away the bad. I finished this book feeling elated, a sure sign of a lovely and special book. It is a great story not only for middle grade readers, but adults as well.
    • 5/5
      Great book to help students who may be facing similar situations.
    • 5/5
      LOVED this one!!! By the title, I thought it was going to be an Indian story, but it was not. It was about a 13-year-old girl finding her way through difficulties in her life, with many interesting characters along the way (her grandparents being two of the main ones -- they are a hoot!). It is light, funny, sad, sweet, and overall a very nice read. Recommended for Grades 6-9 -- I would recommend it for all ages!
    • 5/5
      This book was highly emotional and, by the end, tears were streaming down my face. I loved the complexity of Salamanca. Anyone that has dealt with grief could empathizer with Sal and Pheobe's reluctance to accept their respective situations, and I think this is a powerful topic that could be addressed with students. This book is jammed packed with important lessons.
    • 4/5
      A bit melodramatic, but wise and sensitive. Enough leavening of humor to make it palatable. Still, I wish the Newbery committee would stop this absent mother business. Lately it seems that most children in these award-winning titles are orphans or nearly so.

      Btw, Absolutely Normal Chaos is actually not a sequel - it's just set in the same created world.
    • 5/5
      Walk Two Moons tells the story of thirteen year old Salamanca Tree Hiddle as she travels across the country with her grandparents. Along the way, she tells her grandparents the story of her friend Phoebe Winterbottom, and the disappearance of Phoebe’s mother. Salamanca also reflects on the departure of her own mother from their home in Kentucky. The characters are all incredibly endearing and the story is funny and touching. My five star rating of this book is likely heavily influenced by the fact that I listened to the audiobook, and the woman reading it was absolutely amazing. Just thinking about the voices of Gram and Gramps brings a smile to my face and a tear to my eye.

      This book won the Newbery award in 1995, and I am curious what young readers think of the book. Many of the adult characters in this book are complicated and dynamic, and the book seems to be as much about their struggles as the struggles of the young narrator and her friend.

      (On the note of whether young readers like the book, I just read a review on Barnes and Noble’s website by a fifth grader. It starts, “Omg, okso, this book has to be the best book OF ALL TIME,” and ends with, “so, if ur lookingat buying this book…..BUY IT its worth the money. Promise. ;kk. BYE.”)

      Huzza, huzza.
    • 5/5
      Change the cover! This book has been shuffled from one pile or bookshelf to another for the past 8 years. I knew I "should" read it, but really wasn't that interested. WOW. One of the most amazing young adult novels that I've EVER read. I'm wanting to discuss it at length and feel unready to really review it; the experience is still too raw.

      I'll get back to this.

      I recommend this to Ami. Audiobook rocked.
    • 5/5
      This is such a great book! It's funny, happy, and sad all at once. It's about a girl named Salamanca. She's 13 proud of her country roots, but she lives in Ohio now. Sal is on a trip with her wacky grandparents to "see" her mom. Along the way, she tells them a story of Pheobe Winterbottom, who have been receiving mysterious messages, meets a potential lunatic, and whose mother disappeared. Her own story unravels as the adventure continues!
    • 4/5
      In my opinion this is a good book for students who are in the fifth grade to read wither on their own or as a class. The beginning of the book was very difficult to get into but once you get in about to page seventy the fluency increases as well as the flow of the story. The language seemed informative for the most part as well as somber towards the end of the story. The characters were described in great detail which allowed the reader to get closer to the story and the understanding of all the events that happened throughout the story. I would recommend this book to my older students.
    • 5/5
      In my opinion, this is a great book. First, the characters were very well developed and each of them had distinctive personalities. Sal is a young girl who is struggling with the absence of her mother, she is stubborn, vulnerable, and slightly pessimistic. For example, Sal says, “Even when everything seems fine and good, I worry that something will go wrong and change everything.” Sal has gone through a lot in her short years of living and you can feel her struggle within herself throughout the novel. I also really enjoyed the plot of the story. Although some parts of the novel were slow, the suspense and plot twists throughout kept me engaged as a reader. The entire story you are living within the main character's embellished story. Rereading this story ten years or so after I originally read it was an eye-opening experience. It forced me to appreciate the overall message of, "never judge a man, until you walk two moons in his moccasins." As a young reader, I would not have made all of these connections the book had to offer, but now I realize that everyone has a different viewpoint and should never be judged until you've been in his or her position.