Missing May
Cynthia Rylant
© 1992 Cynthia Rylant
Orchard Books/Scholastic Inc.

When Summer's mom died, her elderly Aunt May and Uncle Ob brought her to live with them in a trailer on a mountainside in Deep River, West Virginia. They didn't have much money, but they did have love for Summer. The yard was filled with whirligigs Ob created. But then May, the glue that held them together as a family, died in her garden. For the six months since then, Ob and Summer have been struggling to get by. Summer's afraid that Ob is giving up on life, especially when he tells her he knows May is visiting them from the other side. To make matters worse, at least in Summer's eyes, Cletus Underwood, a boy in her class, starts hanging around.

Missing May was read by Lili Gamache 
Lili Gamache is a professional actress, director and writer who has worked in television, radio, stage and film. She lives in Vermont with her teenage daughter and three cats. Her favorite book as a young reader was The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.

What do you think?

What did you like about the story?

Think about May, Ob and Cletus. What do you like about each character? What strength does each give to the others? What role does each one play? Did that role change over the course of the story?

Host Bill Harley calls May "the glue that kept the family together." What does he mean by that? What impact can one person have on people?

Ob is missing May, and in some ways he's not really functioning. Summer is scared of losing him, but she's also sad that she's not enough to keep Ob going. Which do you think is more upsetting to Summer? Why?

Cynthia Rylant wrote a beautiful story. In her Newbery Medal acceptance speech she said: "It is our spirits which understand love, not our minds. When you see that quiet owl swoop across your path, or those beautiful geese fly v-shaped over a dark lake in early morning, or your own little child lie soft and moist in innocent slumber, it is your spirit which leaves you mute at the sight of these things and which moves you to understand them only with your heart." Can you relate her comment back to the story?

Fun & Adventure Beyond the Book

Author Cynthia Rylant was herself raised for several years in West Virginia by her grandparents, until she was eight. She said she spoke to angels when she was a child. Learn more about why Rylant thinks just playing is good training for a writer. This site provides information about some of Rylant's influences and her other books.

The Glenco Literature Library has an extensive study guide to Mising May, including more about Rylant. Did you know that as a child she wasn't an avid reader? You'll also learn about how Rylant uses dialogue, humorous characters and a light style to present a story about living after a loved one is gone. Here's the study guide (PDF download).

Cletus tells Summer and Ob about his near-death experience. Have you or someone you've known ever had one? Here are three activities on dealing with death.

Ob created lawn ornaments called whirligigs. They combine art and science, using friction from wind to create movable art. The Science Museum of Minnesota did an entire exhibit on whirligigs, visiting with farmer Vollis Simpson, whose farm is filled with amazing windmills and whirligigs. The site has instructions on how to make some simple whirligigs yourself.

Vollis Simpson lives in Lucama, N.C, about 50 miles east of Raleigh. He's received national attention for his hobby, and some of his work was displayed at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Here's a newspaper article about Simpson.

The Lakeview Museum has a quick history of whirligigs and their status in folk art.

Want to make your own whirligig? Here are instructions to make one from a 2-liter plastic bottle.

Summer lives in West Virginia, in the heart of Appalachia. The Appalachian culture strongly values family. It's also known for music and folk art such as baskets, quilts, toys and, of course, whirligigs. National Geographic has a website devoted to exploring Appalachia.

Ob believed May was returning to Earth from the afterlife to visit him. Ob was hoping Cletus could help him find an interpreter, or someone who could talk to May's spirit. The belief in an afterlife and in being able to talk to spirits is the basis of Spiritualism. Spiritualism remains controversial; believers and skeptics abound. If you'd like to learn more about Spiritualism, here's a site with a skeptical attitude and another site that embraces it. For a completely academic look, consider this site from the University of Virgina.

Ob and Summer are struggling with their grief over May's death. Grief affects a person both mentally and physically, particularly if they keep their grief bottled up inside. There's no right way to grieve — everyone does it differently. This web page gives a nice overview of what you can expect when grieving.

Elisabeth Kubler Ross is the psychiatrist who wrote the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying. The book was the first to explore what is now known as the "five stages of death" - denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Do you think Ob and Summer go through these stages during the book? You can learn more about the grieving process at Dr. Kubler-Ross' website.

If You Like This Book, Check Out...

Grace Greene, from the Vermont Department of Libraries, says if you liked Missing May, you’ll probably enjoy these books as well:

Other books by Cynthia Rylant:

But I’ll Be Back Again (Orchard, 1989)
The author relates her experiences growing up in a small West Virginia town.

A Fine White Dust (Bradbury, 1986)
The visit of the traveling Preacher Man to his small North Carolina town gives new impetus to thirteen-year-old Peter's struggle to reconcile his own deeply felt religious belief with the beliefs and non-beliefs of his family and friends.

Waiting to Waltz (Bradbury, 1984)
A cycle of thirty poems chronicles a young girl's growing up in a small Appalachian town.

Every Living Thing: Stories (Bradbury, 1985)
Twelve stories in which animals change people's lives for the better.

Companion Titles:

Getting Near to Baby, by Audrey Couloumbis (Putnam, 1999)
Although thirteen-year-old Willa Jo and her Aunt Patty seem to be constantly at odds, staying with her and Uncle Hob helps Willa Jo and her younger sister come to terms with the death of their family's baby.

Unbroken, by Jessie Haas (Greenwillow, 1999)
Following her mother's death in the early 1900s, thirteen-year-old Harry lives on Aunt Sarah's farm where an accident with her spirited colt leaves her a changed young woman.

Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum, 2004)
A chronicle of the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.

Love, Ruby Lavender, by Debbie Wiles (Harcourt, 2001)
When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town, and finally coping with her grandfather's death.

Blue Eyes Better, by Ruth Wallace-Brodeur (Dutton, 2002)
When her older brother is killed in an accident, ten-year-old Tessa and her parents find it difficult to overcome their grief and return to living normally.

Sun and Spoon, by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 1997)
After the death of his grandmother, ten-year-old Spoon observes the changes in his grandfather and tries to find the perfect artifact to preserve his memories of her.