95 pages • 3 hours read
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Chapters 1-5
Reading Check
1. What is the shape of the birthmark that both the baby and her mother have on their foreheads?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What do the villagers believe they must sacrifice each year, and what do they think will happen if they do not make this sacrifice?
2. What does Xan tell Fyrian about magic when he suggests that she use magic to keep baby Luna quiet?
Paired Resource
“Fear: A Powerful Motivator in Elections”
- This American Psychological Association article explores how fear is used to manipulate and control populations and suggests possible solutions. Teacher-appropriate (not student facing)
- This resource relates to the theme of Knowledge and the Repression of Ideas: The Power of Stories.
- Why do the citizens of the Protectorate believe that there is a dangerous witch in the forest? How is this belief passed on and maintained from generation to generation, and why? What are some ways we can try to prevent being manipulated by people who use lies or exaggerations to try to control others through their emotions?
Chapters 6-10
Reading Check
1. What natural object does a witch pull fire from in the story the parent tells their child?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Xan try to avoid thinking about her own childhood?
2. In Chapter 10, what does the reader find out about the truth of the story the parent tells in Chapter 8?
Paired Resource
“Ask a Therapist: How Do I Deal With Bad Memories That Pop Into My Head?”
- This Verywell Mind column explores productive ways to cope with negative memories. Its simple language and positive tone make it appropriate for middle-grade readers.
- This resource relates to the theme of The Consequences of Repressed Memory.
- What are some strategies for coping with unpleasant memories? Do you think that Xan’s desire to hide from upsetting memories will cause problems? If so, what advice would you give her?
“The Debate on Repressed Memories”
- This balanced article reviews both sides of the current debate among psychologists regarding repressed memory. Teacher-appropriate (not student facing)
- This resource relates to the theme of The Consequences of Repressed Memory.
Chapters 11-15
Reading Check
1. Where do the people of the Protectorate believe that all good comes from?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What does Xan say will happen when Luna turns 13?
2. What happens whenever anyone mentions magic to Luna after her magic is partitioned?
Paired Resource
“Keeping Secrets from Your Kids”
- This article from DFWChild offers insight into why it is important to be honest with children. Note: This article contains a passing reference to thoughts of self-harm.
- This resource relates to the themes of Knowledge and the Repression of Ideas: The Power of Stories, Transformation: Growing Up and Changing, and The Strength of Hope and Family Bonds.
- What advice does this article give about being honest with children? Why is this important to family relationships? How does this help children with the task of growing up and living in the real world?
Chapters 16-20
Reading Check
1. What words does Antain find written on the paper falcon he discovers after he sees Xan change into a hawk and take away the abandoned baby?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is happening to Luna on the day she has a terrible headache and sees the colors blue and silver inside her mind?
2. What story does Luna tell in Chapter 20?
Paired Resource
- This accessible Maggie Smith poem evokes the love between a parent and a child and explores the pleasure and pain of introducing a child to the world’s realities.
- This resource relates to the themes of The Relationship Between Sorrow and Hope, Knowledge and the Repression of Ideas: The Power of Stories, Transformation: Growing Up and Changing, The Strength of Hope and Family Bonds, and The Cycle of Creation and Death.
- What is happening in this poem? Who is the speaker, and what are they worried about? What does nature symbolize here? In what ways is this speaker similar to and different from both Xan and Adara?
Chapters 21-25
Reading Check
1. What magical item does Fyrian bring back to Luna from the tower in the woods?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How do Luna’s drawings demonstrate her connection to her mother?
2. What terrible fear leads Antain to lie to his uncle so that he can address the Council?
Paired Resource
- This easy-to-understand article from WebMD explains the basics of confirmation bias.
- This resource relates to the theme of Knowledge and the Repression of Ideas: The Power of Stories.
- What is confirmation bias? How does the encounter between Antain and Xan demonstrate confirmation bias on both sides? What does this have to do with their pre-existing beliefs? Can you think of any examples of folktales that might create biases in the way we see the real world?
Chapters 26-30
Reading Check
1. What does Xan transform herself into before she heads for the Protectorate?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What do Sister Ignatia and Gherland plan to do to Antain?
2. What does the adult tell the child about the creation of the volcano from the story in Chapter 29?
Paired Resource
- This 4-minute video is the official Disney animated video for the song “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King.
- This resource relates to the themes of The Relationship Between Sorrow and Hope, Transformation: Growing Up and Changing, and The Cycle of Creation and Death.
- What message does this song send about the cycle of life and death? Is it meant to be sad or hopeful? Why? How is this related to Xan’s life story or Glerk’s answer about what happens to people after they die?
Chapters 31-35
Reading Check
1. Whose pocket does Xan end up in after she is injured?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How did the Sisters try to impact Adara’s mental health while she was imprisoned in the tower?
2. What does Luna experience that causes her to suddenly fully understand the idea of magic?
Chapters 36-40
Reading Check
1. Who frees the tower prisoners and persuades many of the Sisters to leave while Ignatia is gone?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. When Xan uses her magic to see into Antain’s heart, what does she realize is the cause of his deep pain?
2. During Adara’s conversation with Sister Ignatia, what does the reader learn about the folk stories that people have been telling throughout the book?
Chaptrs 41-48
Reading Check
1. By the time Adara and Luna meet in the woods, what is the only name that Adara knows for herself?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is inside Sister Ignatia where her heart should be, and what does Luna do once she sees this?
2. What does Luna do with the poem from Glerk after he leaves to take Xan back to the Bog?
Recommended Next Reads
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- Twelve-year-old Gauge has been accused of being a witch. Shunned by his village, he sets out to track the Great White Wolf that has taken his grandfather, hoping to clear his name in the process. However, unbeknownst to Gauge, the Great White Wolf is following close behind him, watching his every move.
- Shared themes include The Relationship Between Sorrow and Hope, Knowledge and the Repression of Ideas: The Power of Stories, Transformation: Growing Up and Changing, The Strength of Hope and Family Bonds, and The Cycle of Creation and Death.
- Shared topics include middle-grade fantasy, magic, adventure, questioning traditions, grief, compassion, and friendship.
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- Seventh-grader Tristan is mourning the death of his best friend by reading the journal of stories his friend left behind—but when a mythological creature steals the notebook, Tristan’s struggle with the creature accidentally opens a portal to MidPass, a world full of fantastical creatures and Black folk heroes that Tristan must save.
- Shared themes include The Relationship Between Sorrow and Hope, The Consequences of Repressed Memory, Knowledge and the Repression of Ideas: The Power of Stories, Transformation: Growing Up and Changing, and The Strength of Hope and Family Bonds.
- Shared topics include middle-grade fantasy, magic, adventure, grief, compassion, and friendship.
- Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
Chapters 1-5
Reading Check
1. A crescent moon (Chapter 2)
Short Answer
1. They believe that someone must abandon a baby in the forest as a sacrifice to the Witch who lives there. If they fail to do so, they are sure that the Witch will destroy them all. (Chapter 1)
2. She says that it is not right to use magic to control another person. (Chapter 5)
Chapters 6-10
Reading Check
1. A volcano (Chapter 8)
Short Answer
1. She has some sad and frightening memories that she is trying to repress because she thinks that “sorrow is dangerous.” (Chapter 7)
2. Zosimos, a wizard, and Fyrian’s mother, a dragon, really did fly into the volcano to plug it, but their sacrifice was deliberate—the wizard did not throw the dragon into the volcano against its will. (Chapters 8 and 10)
Chaptrs 11-15
Reading Check
1. The Bog (Chapter 12)
Short Answer
1. When Luna turns 13, her magic will emerge. This will drain Xan of the rest of her own magic, and Xan will die. (Chapter 11)
2. She completely blanks out, and they have no way of knowing whether she is retaining anything they are trying to teach her. (Chapter 14)
Chapters 16-20
Reading Check
1. “Don’t forget” and “I mean it” (Chapter 18)
Short Answer
1. Her memories of her mother are starting to break through, and she can sense her own walled off magic, though she does not know what it is yet. (Chapter 17)
2. Luna tries to tell Fyrian the story of her life, but she admits that she has very few memories and does not know much about her own story. (Chapter 20)
Chapter 21-25
Reading Check
1. Seven League Boots (Chapter 21)
Short Answer
1. She draws a map that shows how to get to the tower where Adara is being kept, and she labels the tower “she is here.” This is similar to the maps Adara is constantly drawing that show where her lost child is currently living. (Chapter 23)
2. Ethyne is pregnant, and because he knows that their baby will be the youngest in the Protectorate at the time of the next Sacrifice, Antain is sure it will be chosen by the Council. (Chapter 24)
Chapters 26-30
Reading Check
1. A sparrow (Chapter 28)
Short Answer
1. Sister Ignatia will kill Antain and make it look like he was killed by the Witch. (Chapter 26)
2. A different witch—older than the one they believe takes the babies in the woods—made the volcano from the fire of her dragons because she hated happiness and wanted to make more sadness in the world. (Chapter 29)
Chapters 31-35
Reading Check
1. Antain’s (Chapter 33)
Short Answer
1. They told her cruel lies, saying that she never had a baby in the first place and that no one from her old life cared about her or missed her. (Chapter 31)
2. She hears a rustling sound and then sees a giant flock of paper birds. When the flock descends and stares at her, she suddenly understands the idea of magic. (Chapter 32)
Chapters 36-40
Reading Check
1. Ethyne and Antain’s youngest brother, Wyn (Chapter 38)
Short Answer
1. She realizes that he was there on the day Luna was stolen from her mother and that it broke something inside him. (Chapter 37)
2. Sister Ignatia is the one who started most of these false stories because they help her keep the population sad and compliant. (Chapter 40)
Chapters 41-48
Reading Check
1. “Prisoner” (Chapter 43)
Short Answer
1. Luna sees a pearl instead of a heart, and she realizes that something has been partitioned off inside of Sister Ignatia. She cracks the pearl with her magic, releasing Sister Ignatia’s memories and feelings. (Chapter 45)
2. She folds it into a paper bird, which becomes a living swallow. She releases the swallow and tells it to go and experience how wonderful the world is. (Chapter 47)
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