Missing May (Realistic Fiction)

Missing May was written by Cynthia Rylant and published by Scholastic Inc. in 1992. It has won many awards including a Newbery Medal, the 1992 Horn Book Award, and the Parent's Choice Award. Recommendations for this chapter book are for grade 5.




Missing May is about how a twelve-year-old girl named Summer and her Uncle Ob, the man that raised her after her mother's death, grieve the death of Summer's Aunt May.




After the death of May, the two of them don't quite know how to move on. Uncle Ob especially has a hard time and that hurts Summer even more. They eventually come to find that there are still reasons to live.




This multi-award winning chapter book is recommended by me because it is a great source of contemporary realistic fiction for children. The theme of Missing May is worth introducing to children because it is something that happens to everyone at some point in time. Children need to learn about death and how to get through it. Reading Summer's story could help a child through a similar situation.




Rylant wrote about a hard subject but kept it age appropriate for young readers. The plot and combination of diverse characters were convincing and easily relatable. I also thought that all of the usual stereotypes were avoided including the surprisingly warm-hearted elderly aunt and uncle that volunteered to take Summer in as a child. This book is one of the most well-written children's books I've read.


In Missing May, Summer and her Uncle Ob befriend a boy named Cletus. It's obvious that Cletus helps Summer and Ob stay distracted from their grief, whether it's aggravating Summer or entertaining Ob. Rylant's characters are very different, yet very similar. After the class reads this book, as a group, write a list of character traits for Summer, Ob, and Cletus showing their similarities and differences; then have each student individually write a biography as one of the characters. They should include what inferences they made about the character from the story and include descriptive details.


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.3Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.