Customer Reviews

Half-A-Moon Inn

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Twelve-year-old Aaron is mute and lives with his widowed mother near a coastal village. Lost or delayed in a snowstorm she fails to return home, so the brave son decides to seek her in the frosty, robber-infested forests. His wandering takes him to a decrepit, inn where the vicious landlady takes him prisoner (by hiding his boots) and then makes him her slave. Nor can he say a word in his defense, even when falsely accused of being a Fingersmith (what a quaint expression)!

The cruel proprietress proves to be even worse than a thief and a kidnapper, for she dabbles in evil magic to ferret out the secrets of her sleeping guests. And now she forces young Aaron to help her by reading their dreams for her personal gain.

The hero never speaks, though his hearing is fine, so his handicap decreases his likelihood of escaping and finding his mother. This is a fast read; kids will enjoy the obstacles to Aaron's happiness and rescue. They are sure to be intrigued by the element of magic in this tale. I like the clever way that the author dispenses Justice to the crooks without overt violence. Just be sure that YOU don't spend the night at the Half-a-Moon Inn!

This is, at its heart, a tale of adventure and danger undertaken by a mute boy named Aaron. When his mother doesn't return from her journey, Aaron sets off in search of her, braving the dangerous woods and uncertain terrain of winter. When he stays a night at the Half-A-Moon Inn, he becomes a prisoner of the unscrupulous proprieteress, Mrs. Grackle. Aaron is a virtual slave--unable to tell anyone his plight and forced to help Mrs. Grackle as she spies into her guests dreams. It's up to Aaron to use his wits and courage to figure out a way out of this situation.

This is one of those, "what happens next?" stories that keep you reading and [pull] you in until the last page. And perhaps the best part of this story is the proactive young hero. Aaron's adventure comes about because of his own choices and his own abilities. Young readers will readily identify with the young man and feel his frustrations and triumphs. While the story is certainly one of the "coming of age" variety, it is also a hearty adventure tale. This is a fabulous read-aloud to share with younger children.

Although published in 1980, this book is timeless in its appeal. Like any good fairy tale, or adventure, the hero wins out and the villains get their come-uppance. This is a valuable addition to my library!

^_^ Happy reading!
shanshad

The Half-A-Moon Inn book is about a boy named Aaron who's mute. Aaron has just turned 12 and his mother decides he is old enough to stay home alone. One night a blizzard holds her up and she doesn't return. Aaron gets worried and goes looking for her. While out looking, he gets lost and finds refuge in an inn. When he's there the innkeeper turns out to be mean and decides to keep him there for good and makes him stay pick pocketing and peeking into people's dreams will he have to stay there forever or will he escape?

What I liked about the book was that it had you in suspense at the end of every chapter. The Half-a-Moon Inn,

I personally think, is a "page-turner!"

12 year old Aaron Patrick has a disability. His mother decides to go to the market. A blizzard wipes the road clean and Aaron goes looking for her. He finds a strange man, who takes him to the Half-A-Moon-Inn. The evil director, an old lady them keeps him there for a reason unknown to Aaron. Her name is Miss Grackle. Will he escape her and her willow switch? Will he run away from poking around in people's dreams? Buy and find out!

...
I think this book is very interesting and good, because of its adventure. I liked it when Aaron first walked into the Half-A-Moon Inn, because that's when some of the adventure started. I also liked when he went searching for his mother. I thought that was very brave of him, since it was his first time alone. The last reason I liked the book is, because of the exciting end of the book. I think Miss Grackle is a mean old stupid robber that should be in jail. I would recommend this book to a person that likes adventure books, or any young reader. Almost the whole book is about adventure, and I've never read a book like that. This book is a wonderful fiction story of adventure.

What 11 year old boy wouldn't want to stay home alone. I thought. Aaron has a difficult life because he is mute, and wouldn't want to be home alone.
Aaron is scared to be left alone because he is mute, and it could be dangerous for him.
I felt like if I was inside Aarons shoes because I felt sad for him when his mom didn't come back. When we read this book I thought it was a wonderful and sad novel because at the end Aaron found his mom.
I recommend this novel to everyone that will like to enjoy Paul Fleischman's stories/novels.I think that people who likes sad novels would like Paul Fleischman's stories because of his feelings.

The Half-A-Moon Inn Book Review
By: Stephanie Hill

This book is a wonderful fiction story about a boy named Aaron and his first adventure alone. Aaron was born unable to speak, and his father got lost at sea. The day before Aaron's birthday, his mom left him alone for the first time. The next day a bad snowstorm arrived. The day Aaron's mom was suppose to come home, she didn't, so Aaron went out looking for her. He got lost in the woods alone. He met a ragman and got a ride to a city called Williford. Then he went to the Half-A-Moon Inn and met a lady named Miss Grackle. Miss Grackle forced Aaron to make to the fires and tend to the visitors. She took his shoes and put them in soup for the visitors. He also got all his belongings taken away. The visitors were telling the story of King Tom. He was a robber that killed people and then took all their money and belongings. Miss Grackle was a pickpocket, just like King Tom. Aaron tried to get away, but he got caught, and she whipped his feet until they were swelled and red. His mom stopped by looking for him, and Miss Grackle said she had not seen him. Aaron got really mad, and he wondered if his mom would ever come back there looking for him. Miss Grackle made soup for the visitors that allowed her to look at their dreams. The ragman stopped by and stayed a night. In the morning Aaron and Miss Grackle caught King Tom in the inn's cellar. While Miss Grackle was making fun of King Tom, Aaron slipped outside, jumped into the ragman's wagon, and off he went. The ragman never did realize that Aaron couldn't speak. After a while the ragman noticed he didn't have his money, so him and Aaron drove back to the inn. When they got to the inn his mom was there and Miss Grackle gave him all of his belongings back. His mom gave him new boots for his birthday, and Aaron and his mom hugged and hugged.
I think this book is very interesting and good, because of its adventure. I liked it when Aaron first walked into the Half-A-Moon Inn, because that's when some of the adventure started. I also liked when he went searching for his mother. I thought that was very brave of him, since it was his first time alone. The last reason I liked the book is, because of the exciting end of the book. I think Miss Grackle is a mean old stupid robber that should be in jail. I would recommend this book to a person that likes adventure books, or any young reader. Almost the whole book is about adventure, and I've never read a book like that. This book is a wonderful fiction story of adventure.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense, reason being is that the book leaves you wondering whats going to happen in the next chapter. Let me give you a little bit of background information. This book the Half a Moon Inn fits its name but not till like the fifth chapter. The characters are Aaron, Aarons mother Mrs.Grackel and the ragman. Mrs. Grackel is the manager and owner of the Half A Moon Inn. Aaron is a average 11 year old boy except for one thing, he is mute. The ragman, well you will just hear about him later. Anyway Aaron is eleven and his mother is going to Craftsbury to get him a new pair of boots for his birthday. Then a bad snow storm kicked up, so Aarons mother got stuck in the snow. So Aaron gets worried and goes and looks for his mom. On the lookout Aaron ran into a ragman. The ragman then takes him to The Half A Moon Inn. Where Mrs. Grackel lives. She asked Aaron if he could start a fire because she can not because she says only truthful people could start a fire. So then Mrs. Grackel makes him stay there and start all of the fires. What will happen when Aaron can not start a fire. Read The Half A Moon Inn to find out. I think this book deserves all five stars, because it is a really great book.

This book is about a boy who was born mute. He has just turned 12 and his mother decided that she should go to the market without him, and she left him at home overnight. When she doesn't come back, he gets worried. He decides to go out looking for her. He gets into lots of trouble and can't seem to find her anywhere.He finds an Inn, and thinks it might help, but it only leads him into much more trouble.

My students year after year beg to hear this story. A few become frightened, but don't want to stop the book-ever! This book introduces mystery genre quite effectively with many suspenseful moments.