A giant monster is destroying Cleo’s village. Can she save the day?
Based on a short story by Wendy Shearer
Learning Objective: Students will identify the theme in a dramatic adaptation of a Guyanese folktale about a dangerous but misunderstood monster.
Slater King/Courtesy Wendy Shearer
Wendy Shearer
“The inspiration for this story came from my grandmother, Cleo. She was from Guyana and told me about the Moongazer. I named the main character of this story after her!”
N1: Across Caribbean countries, tales are told about a terrifying monster.
N2: A giant ghostly figure that appears when the moon is full and
bright . . .
N3: . . . and smashes everything in its path.
N1: This is the story of what happened when one girl didn’t run away.
Scene 1
The village of Parika, Guyana
Jim McMahon/Mapman ®
Guyana is the country in yellow
Cleo: Try to catch me!
N2: Cleo races down the porch steps, chased by her brothers.
N3: Their home is surrounded by a thick rainforest.
N1: Their grandmother steps onto the porch, wiping her damp forehead.
Nanna: Cleo! Boys! It’s so hot—where are you going?
Cleo (shouting): To the waterfall!
Nanna: Be home by sunset. The jungle’s not safe after dark.
N2: The children dart through the trees, Cleo leading the way.
Joseph: Wait up, Cleo!
Mark: You’d better not jump in.
Troy: The waterfall’s too high.
N3: They reach the top of a cliff where a wide stream rushes over the edge.
N1: Cold water sprays their faces.
Cleo (yelling): Come on!
N2: As her brothers hesitate, Cleo dives into the roaring water.
N3: Joseph, Mark, and Troy run to the cliff’s edge, scanning the frothy water below.
Joseph: Cleo!
Mark: Are you OK?
N1: Suddenly, Cleo’s dark head appears, bobbing in the white waves.
Cleo: Woooooo!
N2: Far above, her brothers shake their heads.
Troy: Cleo’s not scared of anything.
N3: The brothers take the trail to the bottom and join Cleo in the swirling water.
N1: Under the blazing sun, they splash and swim all day.
N2: Cleo scrambles up a tall coconut tree and tosses down coconuts.
N3: The boys use a sharp rock to pierce them and drink the cool water inside.
Joseph: Look, the sun’s setting.
Mark: It’ll be dark soon.
Cleo: Uh-oh, time to go!
N1: The kids start back through the woods, when . . .
Leopard: ROAR!
N2: A leopard leaps from the bushes, flashing sharp teeth.
Leopard: GRRRR!
Troy (shouting): Run, everybody, run!
N3: The boys scatter, but Cleo stands firm.
N1: She grabs a branch and waves it at the leopard.
Cleo: Go away!
N2: The leopard crouches.
N3: Cleo runs toward it, banging the branch on the ground.
Cleo: AYEEEEEEEE!
N1: The leopard draws back in fright and then streaks into the trees.
N2: Only then does Cleo notice two small cubs, hiding in the bushes.
Cleo (softly): Oh, Leopard, you were only protecting your babies.
Scene 2
Cleo’s house, that night
N3: As the kids emerge from the dark forest, they see their house bathed in moonlight.
N1: Their parents and grandmother are pacing on the porch.
Nanna: Children! What did I tell you?
Joseph: Sorry we’re late.
Pa: We’ve been out searching for you.
Ma: We were so worried.
Cleo: I can keep my brothers safe.
Nanna: Not when the moon is full.
Cleo: Why?
Nanna: Because that’s when—
Ma: Don’t scare them.
Nanna: They’re old enough to know. The Moongazer will come.
Cleo: The Moongazer?
Mark: What’s that?
Nanna: A giant monster, taller than the tallest tree.
Pa: When the moon is brightest, it appears and destroys everything it sees.
Troy: But why?
Nanna: It’s a lost spirit, trying to go home to the moon.
Cleo: Well, I’m not scared of it! And I won’t let it hurt my family.
N2: Nanna pats Cleo’s cheek.
Nanna: The Moongazer is more powerful than anyone, including you, my child.
N3: Cleo starts to protest, but Nanna herds the children into the house for supper.
N1: The spicy smell of chicken curry fills the air.
Scene 3
The village of Parika, the next evening
N2: It’s a cloudy night. Cleo and her family have just finished dinner at a restaurant.
Pa: Let’s walk home along the river.
Nanna: I need bread from Mrs. Daley’s bakery. Don’t wait for me.
N3: As the family starts for home, the clouds begin to clear . . .
N1: . . . revealing the round, glowing moon in the night sky.
N2: Suddenly, the ground begins to shake.
N3: Loud screams shatter the air.
N1: Crowds of people stream through the streets, tripping over each other in a panic.
Villager 1: Run for your lives!
Cleo: What’s happening?
Villager 2: The Moongazer!
Mrs. Daley: It’s destroying the village!
Cleo: Mrs. Daley, where is Nanna?
Mrs. Daley: We both ran when we saw the monster. I’m sure she escaped.
Cleo: I must find her.
Ma: It’s too dangerous.
Villager 1: The Moongazer knocked over the clock tower! It’s smashing houses and boats.
Villager 2: If you don’t run, it’ll smash YOU.
Cleo: I’m not afraid of the Moongazer.
Pa: Cleo—
Cleo: I’ll protect our family.
Ma (grabbing her arm): No, Cleo—
N2: But Cleo shakes free, running past the terrified crowd.
Scene 4
Outside Mrs. Daley’s bakery in Parika
N3: Cleo rushes through the streets, frantically looking left and right.
Cleo (shouting): Nanna! Where are you?
N1: The long shadow of the Moongazer ripples over the rooftops.
N2: Its limbs dangle like vines.
N3: Villagers hurl stones and branches at it.
N1: But the Moongazer ignores them, its face turned upward, toward the moon.
N2: Just then, Cleo sees Nanna huddled in a doorway, clutching her purse.
Nanna: Cleo! You came back for me.
Cleo: See that tree? We’ll be safe up there.
N3: Cleo helps Nanna climb the branches.
N1: High up, hidden by leaves, they survey the wrecked village.
N2: Suddenly, the Moongazer crashes toward them.
N3: Cleo grabs a stick, ready to fight.
N1: But then its face looms in front of her, misery written all over it. Tears stream down its cheeks.
Cleo: Nanna . . . the Moongazer’s so sad.
Nanna: It longs to return to the moon.
N2: Cleo stares at the monster.
N3: She thinks about the leopard ready to attack, just to protect her cubs.
Cleo: We should help.
Nanna: Help the Moongazer?
Cleo: Yes! But how?
Nanna: Well . . . the highest point is Cloud Mountain. That’s as close to the moon as anyone can get.
Cleo: I have an idea.
N1: Cleo finds a little mirror inside Nanna’s purse.
N2: She angles the mirror beneath the night sky so it reflects the gleaming circle of the moon.
Cleo (shouting): AYEEEEEEE!
N3: The Moongazer glances down.
N1: There, in Cleo’s palm, it spies the moon.
N2: It reaches giant fingers toward her, and . . .
N3: Cleo steps onto its hand, pulling her grandmother with her.
Nanna (gasping): Cleo, what are you doing?
Cleo: We’ll guide the Moongazer to Cloud Mountain.
Scene 5
Cloud Mountain
N1: The Moongazer stamps through the forest, following the reflection of the moon.
N2: Mockingbirds and toucans squawk and flap into the air as the monster comes close.
N3: Cleo calls out warnings so the sloths and armadillos have time to move out of the way.
Cleo: Ayeeeee! Watch out!
N1: Suddenly, she sees the leopard from the waterfall, two cubs hiding behind her, right in the path of the Moongazer.
Leopard: ROAR!
Cleo: Run, Leopard!
N2: With seconds to spare, Cleo throws the mirror to the ground, far from the leopard and her babies.
N3: The Moongazer stops, following the flash of light.
N1: Then it bends down, down, down, stretching its long fingers toward the mirror-moon.
N2: Cleo and Nanna scramble off the Moongazer’s hand onto the ground.
Cleo (shouting): Moongazer! I’ll take you to the moon, I promise!
N3: The monster’s eyes find Cleo. She sees a glimmer of trust.
N1: Waving and calling, she leads the creature away from the cubs.
Nanna (pointing): There’s the trail to the peak.
N2: They rush up the steep path, the Moongazer’s giant feet shaking the ground behind them.
N3: Finally, they step onto a bare, rocky cliff.
N1: Above them shines the full moon, its white light piercing the night.
N2: The Moongazer lifts its head in wonder.
Cleo: What will it do?
Nanna: Let’s watch and see.
N3: The Moongazer looks down at Cleo and Nanna.
N1: Its eyes are shining . . .
N2: . . . not with tears now, but with joy.
N3: Then it thunders across the cliff and leaps into the air.
N1: Cleo and Nanna stare as the Moongazer streaks across the night sky like a comet . . .
N2: . . . heading straight for the moon.
Nanna: You did it, Cleo!
Cleo: I couldn’t have done it without you.
N3: Cleo pauses, her eyes fixed on the sparkling moon.
Cleo: I hope the Moongazer is home now.
Scene 6
A few minutes later
N1: Cleo and Nanna start down the mountain.
N2: It’s too dark to see the path.
N3: But then . . .
Cleo: Look, the animals we helped are showing us the way!
N1: Toucans, armadillos, and sloths guide them through the dense trees.
N2: Finally, the leopard herself appears, leading them out of the rainforest.
Cleo: Thanks, Leopard!
Leopard (softly): Roarrrrrrr.
N3: When they reach home, the door swings open.
Joseph: You’re alive!
Ma: Thank heavens!
N1: Pa squeezes Cleo and Nanna in a tight hug.
Mark: Cleo, you fought the Moongazer!
Troy: You really are the bravest of all.
Cleo: No, I didn’t fight. I helped the Moongazer.
Nanna: And that took even more courage.
Epilogue
N2: So that is the story of the Moongazer.
N3: When the moon is full and bright, watch out for it.
Nanna: But remember, even a monster might have its own story . . .
Cleo: . . . and need your help.
Scholastic Classics
Write to Win
Imagine you are Cleo. Write a paragraph-length speech for your village explaining what you learned from helping the Moongazer. Entries must be submitted to “Moongazer Contest” by a teacher, parent, or legal guardian.* Three winners will each receive a copy of African & Caribbean Folktales, Myths & Legends by Wendy Shearer.
*Entries must be written by a student in grades 2-8 and submitted by their teacher, parent, or legal guardian, who will be the entrant and must be a legal resident of the U.S. age 18 or older. See the Digital Resource Guide or visit storyworks.scholastic.com/contests for details
This play was originally published in the October/November 2024 issue.
Click here for great ideas for using Storyworks as a whole class, in small groups, or independently!
Click here for great ideas for using Storyworks as a whole class, in small groups, or independently!
1. Preparing to Read
Build Background, Preview Vocabulary, and Set a Purpose for Reading
Build background knowledge about folktales and the country of Guyana by showing the Background Builder Slideshow.
Preview challenging vocabulary from the play with our Vocabulary Slideshow, then let students play our new online vocabulary game, Know the Words, located in the Resources tab. Follow up before or after reading with our Vocabulary Skill Builder. Highlighted words: Caribbean, firm, glimmer, hesitate, limbs, looms, protest, spirit, survey.
Call on a volunteer to read the Up Close box on page 22.
2. Reading the Play
Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class.
Click here for great ideas for reading as a whole class, in small groups, or independently! Students can also listen to our Read-Aloud to hear author Wendy Shearer read her play.
Close-Reading Questions
1. Describe how the Prologue and the illustration on pages 22-23 work together to help us get interested in reading the play. (text features) The Prologue and illustration work together to create questions that we hope will be answered as we read the play. The Prologue uses exciting language to describe the monster that appears in the play. This creature is “terrifying,” “giant,” and “ghostly,” and it “smashes everything in its path.” The illustration shows this huge monster walking through a village with buildings it has smashed, but it also looks at the moon with a sad expression on its face. This makes us want to learn more about the monster. In the Prologue, we also learn that there is a girl who didn’t run away. In the illustration, we see her with a woman up in a tree. This makes us wonder about who the girl is and why she didn’t run away.
2. What do Cleo’s actions in Scene 1 show us about her character? (character traits) As Cleo and her brothers run to the waterfall, Cleo is first. This shows she likes to be a leader. She jumps from the cliff into the water, showing that she is fearless. We know that Cleo takes care of her brothers when she climbs up a tree to get coconuts for them and when she scares the leopard away. Facing the leopard also demonstrates Cleo’s bravery. When Cleo notices the leopard’s cubs, we learn that she is kindhearted.
3. What new information do we learn about the Moongazer in Scene 2? (key details) In Scene 2, we learn that the Moongazer is lost and trying to get home to the moon. We also learn that the creature is “more powerful than anyone.”
4. What details in Scene 3 support the idea that the Moongazer is a powerful monster that should be feared? (supporting details) The ground shakes; villagers are screaming and running for their lives; the Moongazer has knocked over the clocktower and is smashing houses and boats; people say the Moongazer is “destroying the village” and that it will smash Cleo if she doesn’t run away.
5. In Scenes 1 and 4, Cleo has a realization about a creature she thought of as a threat: the leopard in Scene 1 and the Moongazer in Scene 4. Explain what she realizes in each scene and how that changes her feelings toward the creature. (compare and contrast) In Scene 1, Cleo realizes that the leopard is trying to protect its babies when it growls at her and her brothers. This realization makes Cleo feel bad about scaring the leopard away. She sees that it’s a mother that wants to keep its family safe. In Scene 4, Cleo sees how sad the Moongazer is and realizes that the creature is desperate, not evil. This realization makes Cleo want to help the Moongazer instead of running away or attacking it.
6. In Scene 5, what creatures does Cleo help? Explain how she helps them. (plot) Cleo helps various creatures in the forest, such as sloths and armadillos, by warning them to get out of the path of the Moongazer. She throws the hand mirror to the ground so the Moongazer will follow its light and not step on the leopard and its cubs. And she helps the Moongazer find its way up Cloud Mountain to the moon, first by flashing light from her grandmother’s hand mirror and then by convincing the monster to follow her to the mountain’s peak.
7. How are Cleo’s kind deeds in Scene 5 rewarded in Scene 6? (cause and effect) The animals she saves from the Moongazer lead Cleo and her grandmother safely home.
8. Explain what Nanna means in Scene 6 when she says that helping the Moongazer took more courage than fighting it. (interpreting text) Nanna means that it takes effort and courage to try to understand another’s point of view and make yourself available to help, especially if the one you’re trying to help appears scary or powerful. Sometimes we have to look beyond what scares us to truly understand others, rather than fight them.
Critical-Thinking Questions
9. What important lesson do you think the author wants us to learn from the story? Support your answer with details from the play. (theme) Sample answer: The author wants us to learn to consider what others are thinking and feeling, instead of assuming the worst about them. Cleo does this when she notices that the Moongazer is sad. She also wants us to offer help when we can, as Cleo did with the Moongazer. As the author writes at the end of the play, “even a monster might have its own story . . . and need your help.”
3. Skill Building and Writing
Featured Skill: Theme
Distribute or digitally assign the Theme Skill Builder (available on two levels), which will guide students to respond to the writing prompt on page 27.
After students complete their speeches, you can send their work to our writing contest (see the DRG for details).
Differentiate and Customize
Gather students to read the play in a small group. Assign parts, taking some for yourself, or play the Author Read-Aloud as students follow along. Pause at the end of each scene and have students turn and talk with a partner about what happened in it. Clarify any parts students are confused about by guiding them to reread and locate where comprehension is breaking down.
This play primarily focuses on the perspective of Cleo. Advanced readers may enjoy the challenge of exploring another character’s point of view. Have students rewrite a scene from another character’s perspective (such as Nanna, one of Cleo’s brothers, or the Moongazer) and use details from the play to develop the character’s personality and voice.
This play mentions a number of animals that live in Guyana, such as leopards, mockingbirds, toucans, sloths, and armadillos. Show students a picture of each animal and ask what it is called in their home languages. Then invite them to brainstorm the names of other tropical animals they know in English and share them with the group. They might suggest jaguars, frogs, snakes, monkeys, parrots, sloths, and so on.
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
Find other read-aloud play adaptations of folktales from around the world, such as “The Three Challenges,” “The Emperor’s Contest,” or “Feathers in the Wind.” For another play with the theme of kindness, try “The Elephants and the Mice.”
Cleo’s empathy and curiosity enable her to see the Moongazer differently than others see the monster. This 2-minute video from Rocket Kids explains how accepting and embracing others is the key to a better world. (Note: The video starts after a short ad.)
Kidsguide offers a set of conversation starters about kindness and compassion. It includes questions such as How can you show kindness to someone who is being unkind to others? and What does it mean to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes?” A free download of the questions as printable conversation cards is also available.
Literature Connection
Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg
The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
