The Secrets of Magnolia Moon

Magnolia Moon makes me wish I was 9 again simply because I’d love to call her my best friend. She is a delightful, quirky character with a unique outlook on life. Curiosity, wonder and a blissful imagination inform her world view, and she is a loyal and caring friend.
Edwina Wyatt has written some beautiful picture books (Together Always is a particular treasure), and this is her first foray into junior fiction. Hopefully it won’t be her last. The secrets of Magnolia Moon evokes a nostalgic, whimsical mood, achieved by Wyatt’s lyrical and playful writing style. The language itself is beautiful – imagery and metaphors abound, but it is the structure which gives it an ‘old-world’ feel. The overall narrative arc is the simple 12 month snapshot of Magnolia’s life, rather than a typical arc of rising tension throughout. Instead, Magnolia’s story is told in a series of vignettes, each focusing on a key event in her life, and each involving a secret of some kind. In this regard, it resembles a short story collection, with the 12 month thread neatly tying them all together.
The secrets of Magnolia Moon is a perfect choice for a class read-aloud – perfect in terms of length, humour, ethical dilemmas, whimsy, particular interests… there’s something for everyone.
However, for classes wishing to explore it in more detail, there is still plenty to unpack.
Social and emotional learning:

• What is the difference between a goal and a dream? What are some short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals you have?
• What has changed for you in the last year? What changes might happen in the future? What makes a change good or bad? How can we prepare for change?
• What is a secret? Why do people have secrets? What should you do with a secret?
• If you were a fruit, what would you be? What characteristics would you use to describe yourself? Think of other analogies to describe yourself… eg if you were a _____ what would you be?

English:

• Find examples of alliteration, metaphors, similies, imagery, personification and other literary devices. Discuss the impact of these devices.
• Magnolia Moon enjoys combinations of creatures. Create your own ‘animal-combo’ and write a story about his/her adventures. Try and include at least one example of each of the literary devices.
• What are myths? Explore some famous gods and goddesses from Greek mythology, and their strengths and weaknesses.

History/Science

• Magnolia Moon approaches life with a big imagination. Some of our greatest inventions have been developed as a result of curiosity and imagination. In addition to mythology, the Ancient Greeks developed inventions that are still in use today. Research some of these inventions.

Art

• Before reading the book, analyse some of the features of the front cover. What is the illustrator expressing in terms of mood, colour choice, themes? After the story, examine the front cover again. How have the choices of the illustrator captured the essence of the story?
• Choose a passage filled with imagery, and Katherine Quinn’s illustration style to bring it to life.
• Create a sculpture of a combination of animals.