Moon of the Alligators

The 13 Moons

by Jean Craighead George, Michael Rothman (Illustrator)

This is the story of one alligator and her desperate search for food during the dry season in the Florida Everglades. It is also the story of a threatened species, the American alligator, and its beautiful, endangered homeland.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Picture Books, Childrens, Science

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Jean Craighead George wrote over eighty popular books for young adults, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves and the Newbery Honor book My Side of the Mountain. Most of her books deal with topics related to the environment and the natural world. While she mostly wrote children's fiction, she also wrote at least two guides to cooking with wild foods, and an autobiography, Journey Inward.

The mother of three children, (Twig C. George, Craig, and T. Luke George) Jean George was a grandmother who joyfully read to her grandchildren since the time they were born. Over the years Jean George kept one hundred and seventy-three pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn when the sun changes their behaviour and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."

Reviews

[Heather Landskro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great audiobook about alligators!! I recommend this book!!

[Havalah Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fantastic, short book about alligators.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an old book I use often for non-fiction writing lessons. Even the younger writers can enjoy Jean Craighead George’s beautiful images in her books about nature. If you wish to share a book about how nature takes care of things, without human help, and sometimes in spite of it, read this. It shows a cycle through the year, the challenges in the Everglades that alligators face, and how they manage. The language, like all George’s book, is gorgeous. Here is part of the opening paragraph: “Two eyes poked above the still water. Each iris was silver-yellow and each pupil black and narrow. They were the eyes of the alligator of Sawgrass Hole, who was floating like a log on the surface of the water as she watched for food.” It is a useful book, for learning about alligators and about writing.

[Ex Libris Animus · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are such awesome audiobooks