Waiting for the Evening Star
Publication Information
Author:  Wells, Rosemary	Illustrator:  Jeffers, Susan
Title:  Waiting for the Evening Star	Date:  1993
Publisher:  Dial Books	City:  New York, NY
ISBN, paperback:  0-8037-1398-3	ISBN, hardback:
Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes	ESOL:
Family:   Yes	Young Adult:
Picture:   Yes
General Information:
Book Type(s):    fiction, memoirs/reminiscences
HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies
Summary:
This beautifully illustrated book is about Berty, a small boy who lives a happy life in a Vermont farming community. Berty's life changes when his older brother, Luke, decides to leave the family farm to become a soldier in WWI.
Teaching Ideas:
This book could be added to text sets about war, rural life, reminiscences, or coming-of-age. The language of the text is descriptive and often poetic, so the book could spark discussions about figurative language of effective written descriptions ("showing, not telling"). Luke's decision to leave the family, along with other family members' reactions, could provide focus for comparison/contrast or point-of-view lessons. Writing extensions or discussion topics might include growing up; how one family member's decisions affect others in the family; pros and cons of extended families; helping children adjust to change; the independent, self-contained life of rural 1900s versus the dependent life of today, etc. This would pair nicely with Kinsey-Warnock's The Night the Bells Rang.
Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > individual > coming-of-age Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Vermont History > topic > war > World War I Literature and Language > figurative language Communities > rural > rural life > farms Family > extended family

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