A Long Walk to Water
Lexile Level:
720L (ages 10-12)
This novel
by Linda Sue Park is a true story on a man named Salva. This book follows his
journey during a war in Sudan. Salva walked with a group of refuges to Ethopia,
and then Kenya. Along the way he has had to face many dangerous obstacles, and
he has had to experience many losses. His journey is a powerful story that
inspires others. They author also includes another story alongside Salva’s.
This story is about a young girl named Nya, who walks to get water for her
family all day every single day. This story is also placed in Sudan, however
Nya’s story takes place in 2008 whereas Salva’s story takes place in 1989. The
two stories connect together in the end.
Is this a good story?
I think this is a great story to introduce to middle schoolers, or mature 5th graders. This story has some hard concepts to grasp, like people dying, and not having clean water. This story is a true story and it is a powerful story.
Did the main character overcome the problem? Did it seem natural?
The main character Salva overcomes many obstacles that are thrown his way. He reunites with his family, and he helps other families get clean water. He is shown as a leader to many people.
Did I feel like I was in that time and place?
This novel is a coming of age type of the novel where the reader grows with the character and follows the character through every step of life. As I was reading the story I felt like I was a part of Salva’s journey. The author put in so much detail in the text where the reader can feel the pain of the main character.
Are nonwhite characters shown as equals to white characters?
The book does show the characters as equal to white people. For example, when Salva was in the refugee camp and the volunteer was who was white treated Salva like an equal. However, the main focus of the book is not racial, the focus is the journey Salva endured.
This book does a great job of showing the two stories, and connecting the stories. The author chose to do this to highlight Salva’s journey. I think this is a very unique way to write a book. The author does not include many figurative language elements. By doing this I think it makes the book more realistic. The author does foreshadow, for example when Nya talks about who the boss is she says “The boss encourages the workers…If that didn’t work he would talk to them earnestly…and if that didn’t work he would get angry. He didn’t get angry often”. (Park 76). Then in Salva’s story it says “There were times when the boys did not want to do their share of the work. Salva would talk to them, encourage them, coax and persuade them. Once in a while he had to speak sternly, or even shout. But he tried not to do this often”. (Park 81). These quotes help the reader identify how the stories are connected. In essence it foreshadows what Salva is doing to help Nya and her village.
If I were to teach this book I would split the book up and my class up to conduct a literature circle. Depending on the class, I would either come up with questions that they can choose to discuss, or I would have them come up with questions I would include the roles discussion director, summarizer, connector, illustrator, vocabulary enricher, and researcher. I think these roles can help students really understand the text. I would have 3 or 4 literature circles for this book, and I would have them students rotate positions in the literature circles.
Is this a good story?
I think this is a great story to introduce to middle schoolers, or mature 5th graders. This story has some hard concepts to grasp, like people dying, and not having clean water. This story is a true story and it is a powerful story.
Did the main character overcome the problem? Did it seem natural?
The main character Salva overcomes many obstacles that are thrown his way. He reunites with his family, and he helps other families get clean water. He is shown as a leader to many people.
Did I feel like I was in that time and place?
This novel is a coming of age type of the novel where the reader grows with the character and follows the character through every step of life. As I was reading the story I felt like I was a part of Salva’s journey. The author put in so much detail in the text where the reader can feel the pain of the main character.
Are nonwhite characters shown as equals to white characters?
The book does show the characters as equal to white people. For example, when Salva was in the refugee camp and the volunteer was who was white treated Salva like an equal. However, the main focus of the book is not racial, the focus is the journey Salva endured.
This book does a great job of showing the two stories, and connecting the stories. The author chose to do this to highlight Salva’s journey. I think this is a very unique way to write a book. The author does not include many figurative language elements. By doing this I think it makes the book more realistic. The author does foreshadow, for example when Nya talks about who the boss is she says “The boss encourages the workers…If that didn’t work he would talk to them earnestly…and if that didn’t work he would get angry. He didn’t get angry often”. (Park 76). Then in Salva’s story it says “There were times when the boys did not want to do their share of the work. Salva would talk to them, encourage them, coax and persuade them. Once in a while he had to speak sternly, or even shout. But he tried not to do this often”. (Park 81). These quotes help the reader identify how the stories are connected. In essence it foreshadows what Salva is doing to help Nya and her village.
If I were to teach this book I would split the book up and my class up to conduct a literature circle. Depending on the class, I would either come up with questions that they can choose to discuss, or I would have them come up with questions I would include the roles discussion director, summarizer, connector, illustrator, vocabulary enricher, and researcher. I think these roles can help students really understand the text. I would have 3 or 4 literature circles for this book, and I would have them students rotate positions in the literature circles.
Citation:
Park, L. S. 2010. A Long Walk to Water. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Park, L. S. 2010. A Long Walk to Water. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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