There is a Witch in the woods. At least that is what the people of the Protectorate believe. Stories about the Witch have been passed on from parents to their children for 500 years. Terrified children grow to become terrified adults who are helpless to stand against the Day of Sacrifice, a yearly event in which the youngest child born in the Protectorate is taken to the woods and left as a sacrifice to the Witch in the woods. Each year, the parents willingly hand over their baby to the Protectorate. They see the sacrifice as a bribe that keeps the Witch from destroying the Protectorate. In truth, there really IS a Witch in the Forest, but unbeknownst to the people, this Witch is a GOOD, KIND, aging Witch who has always rescued the abandoned infants. The Witch's name is Xan.

Living with Xan are a wise, thousand-year-old Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon who, like Xan is 500 years old. Xan faithfully rescues the infants, feeds them starlight during the trek, and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side fo the forest. Nourished by the starlight, these children become the Star Children who grow to be amazing, talented, beautiful citizens in their new homes.

Then, one year, Xan becomes careless and accidentally feeds an infant she names Luna moonlight rather than starlight, causing the child to become enmagicked. Knowing that this infusion of magic can produce dangerous consequences to a toddler who has no power to control it, Xan decides to adopt and teach Luna herself. The task becomes more than even Xan can handle, so she must use a spell to contain Luna's magic until she is 13 years old.

Can the young man from the Protectorate find a way to free his people by killing the witch? Can he survive attacks by deadly magical birds? Will the erupting volcano stop him? Can he find a way to outwit the woman with a voice like shattered glass and the heart of a Tiger? Will he be able to find a way to stop the sacrifices and lift the fog of sorrow over the Protectorate?

The Girl Who Drank the Moon won the well-deserved 2017 Newbery Medal. It is filled with exciting adventure, high-level vocabulary, deep enchanting characterization, and beautiful literary quality that brings the fairy-tale motif to a new level of enjoyment for children, ages 11-100! The Kids Wings 67-page literature guide and 53-slide Jeopardy-type game will provide problem-solving, enthusiastic collaboration, character-building, and social and academic growth in groups. It is one of Kids' Wings favorite young adult fairytale and is forecast to become our favorite adult fairytale when we grow up.

Would C. S. Lewis have approved? YES! In his words: "And I think it possible that by confining your child to blameless stories of child life in which nothing alarming ever happens, you would fail to banish the terrors, and would succeed in banishing all that can ennoble them or make them endurable. For, in the fairy tales, side by side with the terrible figures, we find the immemorial comforters and protectors, the radiant ones; and the terrible figures are not merely terrible, but sublime."

69 Pages of Activities in this literature guide include:

Background Building
Get Ready, Get Set, Discuss! Prereading Activity
Developing Independence in a Dialectical Journal
Creating a Map of Luna's World
A 3-Page Readers Theater Introduction
Character Studies
Rhyming Poems Summarize Chapters
8 Groups of 6 Chapters: Vocabulary, Title Building, Chapter Questions for Predict-Read-Confirm
Visualizing the Text, Chapters 1-6
Luna's Ballad, Summarizing Chapters in Song
Multiple Choice and Short Answer Comprehension for Chapters 1-48
Figures of Speech! Get the Picture!
Figurative Language: Sensational Similes!
The Creation, A 4-page choral Reading of the James Weldon Johnson Poem
Visualizing the Text: Chapters 16-18
Crossing the Events: A Crossword Puzzle for Chapters 19-24
Multiple Choice and Short Answer Comprehension for Chapters 25-30
The Madwoman's Skill, A Writing Project
Visualizing the Text: Chapters 32-36
Readers Theater: Metamorphosis Rap
Summarizing Chapters 43-48
The Homecoming, Chapter 45
And in the End ... A Chart Summarizing the Fate of the Characters
Discussion and Writing Prompts
VOCABULARY EXTENSIONS
Vocabulary by Chapters
Vocabulary Tic-Tac-Toe
Five in a Row Game for Vocabulary on Pages 1-146
Five in a Row Game for Vocabulary on Pages 153-289
Five in a Row Game: A Blank for creating your own
ANSWER PAGES
APPENDIX

Plus, a 53-page Interactive Jeopardy-type Game!