Moon Over Manifest Introduction

Moon Over Manifest Introduction

Okay, Shmoopers, prepare yourselves. Your minds are about to be blown. You know how, when you hold a mirror up to another mirror, you see… yourself holding a mirror in the mirror? And also yourself holding a mirror in the mirror that you're holding? And also yourself holding a mirror in the mirror that you're holding in the mirror? And back and forth, and on and on, till you get a little dizzy, and decide to go back to doing your math homework?

Well, that's kind of the way that Clare Vanderpool set up her very first novel, Moon Over Manifest (2010). Except without the math homework.

So how is this work of historical fiction—centered around a 12-year-old girl growing up in the 1930s—like a mirror in a mirror (in a mirror in a mirror)? Brace yourselves: Moon Over Manifest tells a story about someone telling a story within that story to someone in the story who has to write a story… confused yet? Us too.

And there's more.

Remember those primary sources your teachers like to encourage you to read? You know, the real, historical documents from a time period, like letters and newspaper articles? Well, on top of all those stories within stories, Moon Over Manifest is chock full of primary sources. Oh, but they're all made up. Yep. Fictional primary sources. Fake authentic documents.

And what are we reading about in all those primary documents? More stories. Within the story that's within the story. We don't know about you, but we just felt a little bit of brain leak out of our ears.

It's no wonder that Moon Over Manifest is a Newbery Award winner and a Junior Library Guild Selection. It might take a lot of concentration, but the payoff is worth it. After all, aren't stories what literature is all about?

What is Moon Over Manifest About and Why Should I Care?

Crafty Cathy's Clique Cordial

Gee willikers, gang. Are you having problems fitting in at school? Need a group of chums to belong to? Getting doggone sick of playing solitaire? Then gosh darn it, you need Crafty Cathy's Clique Cordial. Take two delicious spoonfuls each morning before school, and soon you'll have more friends than you'll know what to do with—we guarantee it. The potent vitamins and healthful ingredients will give your self-confidence a boost, and before you can say golly gee, you'll feel that warm sense of belonging that you've been craving. So what on earth are you waiting for, guys and gals? Get your bottle of amazing, miraculous, fantastic Crafty Cathy's Clique Cordial today. 

Hmmm. Doesn't quite sound like something the FDA would approve, but you can bet Jinx would be in on it from the start. And gee willikers, gang—poor Abilene Tucker sure could've used a potion like that when she first came to town, don't you think? No place to call home, not much family to speak of, no real sense of where she came from or where she belongs… dagnabbit, it kind of stinks.

But think about it, carn sarn it! Isn't that sort of what all of us have to go through, as we get older? Figuring out who we are and where we belong? And how many times we can fit "gee willikers" into a paragraph without sounding weird? (It's once, by the way.)

We wish it were as easy as drinking a potion, but as you'll see, Abilene has quite a bit of work to do before she discovers the truth about her heritage and identity. Just like all the rest of us.

Gee willikers.

Moon Over Manifest Resources

Websites

Wanna Know How Vanderpool Was Inspired To Write The Book?
Check out her official book website. It's almost like another layer in the story of Manifest.

Author Page Galore
You got your blog, your bio, your interview—what more could you want?

Fun With History
Click on 1935 and 1917 to go through the Time Machine and learn more about the Great Depression and World War I.

Articles and Interviews

Based on a True Story
Tons of the stuff in Moon Over Manifest comes from Vanderpool's real life experiences. Read this interview to find out what's what.

Video

Interview with the Author—in 5th Grade?
The school in Moon Over Manifest was totally based on Clare Vanderpool's actual elementary school.

Vanderpool on the Red Carpet
Chatting 'bout her ALA award.

Honorary Degree
Just giving a speech at graduation. NBD.

Book Festival
Here's our author, totally in her element.

Audio

The Lowdown
You'll never believe what Vanderpool was inspired by in order to write this book.

Images

Lady in Red
Just hanging out.

Moon Over Abilene
There's our leading lady.