The Girl Who Drank the Moon ~ Kelly Barnhill

As the world continues to be crazy and scary, I’m still just over here reading because my life needs all the consistency it can get. Today I want to share an unbelievably sweet and fantastical read that will propel you right out of this crazy world and into a forest filled with swamp creatures, dragons, witches (good and evil), bubbling lava, and magic.

Just outside this forest lies a small, sad town called the Protectorate. A cloud of doom and despair hangs over this town, in large part because of the required annual sacrifice of a newborn to the witch who lives in the forest.

One year, a baby girl who is left in the forest is accidentally fed moonlight by the witch, and she becomes enmagicked. Rather than give the baby away, like the witch does with all the other babies she mysteriously finds each year, Xan the witch decides to raise the baby as her own. She names her Luna, and Luna’s very existence changes the lives of Xan and every member of the Protectorate, forever. 

This beautifully written and heartwarming story will capture the interest of all the fantasy-lovers in your classroom. This book also begs readers to consider some big life questions and timeless themes, making it the perfect choice for a book club or partner read.

Maturity: 1/4

This novel is ideal for students age 10+ and contains no mature content. 

Pages: 400

While this novel does not contain challenging vocabulary, the perspective shifts and timeline leaps may cause some confusion. This is also a novel that purposefully leaves the reader wondering about many components of the plot, so readers will need to become comfortable not understanding everything at certain points in the novel. 

Lexile: 640L

Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.

If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!

Sending you hugs and all the best stories. 

♥ Kara & Riley