it's a fairy tale, a fantasy, a new MG classic!

The Girl who Drank the Moon

Kelly Barnhill

Teeny tiny dragon Frythian, swamp monster Glerk, good witch Xan and 13-year-old Luna are in terrible danger. Not from each other, but from the people in nearby City of Sorrows. Every year, the elders leave a newborn baby in the forest for witch Xan. They claim it’s the only way to keep the village safe from witch Xan. No one knows that the elders have created the lie to keep the people cowed and subdued. Actually, Xan finds the babies a better life. She retrieves them and, for good fortune, feeds them starlight before finding a home in a faraway village. The ritual goes on for years until, one night, Xan accidently feeds a baby moon light, enmagicking the little girl. Xan’s afraid moon magic will be too strong, so she locks it up inside baby Luna.  Xan decides she has to be the one to raise and teach her, for Luna’s magic will blossom on her 13th birthday. She has the help of incredibly tiny Frythian, a slightly annoying dragon and Glerk, a wise and caring swamp creature. 13 happy years pass until Xan leaves to retrieve the next baby. Little does she know that a young man is determined to save his own baby and kill the witch.
Strong female characters
Upper Elementary and MG

Safeguard your Family from Fake News

Fake News. It warps minds, promotes wrong views, and even hurts innocent people. In our world

of social media, blogs and online news, it’s impossible to avoid. Can we keep our kids away from it?

No.

However, we can do something about it. We can educate our children so when they do read fake news, they’ll be able decide for themselves if it’s fact or fiction.

Why not start with something ridiculous? Show them the headline “Michael Phelps returns to His Tank at Sea World.” It’s a false headline from the newspaper The Onion, which is dedicated to making us laugh. Sometimes people read just part of a headline and take it seriously.

Point out that the author of a fake news story is in it for the money. All he has to do is build a website, make up a story and sell ad space. A sensational story will get lots of hits, and sellers will want to advertise on the site. They also trick people into visiting the site by naming specific cities. Everyone’s interested in what’s happening in their own town. One post claimed Johnny Depp was moving to the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The post got 150 Facebook interactions. Another trick hoaxers use is to design their website to look like an authentic news source, and mix in fake photos with real images. Fishermen tricked ABC in airing a hoax video of the Lake Champlain lake monster. A clever trickster can lure you to his web site, and he’ll make a profit, no matter if the story is true or not.

Armed with that knowledge, your kids are ready to use this checklist.

• When they read a post on social media or an internet source, they can ask themselves, who made this?
• Who is the target audience?    
• Who paid for the post?
• Or, who gets paid if you click on this? 
• Who might benefit or be hurt by this message?
• What is left out of this message that might be important?
• And to double check on the facts, use Snopes.com, FactCheck.org or Hoax-Slayer.
• The most important thing to remember is: STOP before you forward (or use the story). Check its authenticity.  While it’s fun to share silly stories, let the next person know it’s fiction, not fact.