The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade realistic
• Originally Published: 2018
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 310L; grades 3-7
• Structure/Length: 74 chapters; approx. 336 pages; approx. 6 hours, 36 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Mason Buttle is a 12-year-old boy with learning disabilities who is mourning the death of his best friend, whose body he found in the family orchard. The townspeople grow suspicious of Mason’s involvement in his friend’s death, and when his new friend Calvin vanishes, Mason must overcome his bad luck and uncover the truth.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Bullying, death of loved ones

Leslie Connor, Author

• Bio: Born in 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio; earned a BFA in Fine Art from University of Connecticut; lifelong dog-lover; enjoys writing, visual arts, and cooking; twice awarded the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Award; received the Connecticut Book Award for Waiting for Normal
• Other Works: Waiting for Normal (2008); The Things You Kiss Goodbye (2014); A Home for Goddesses and Dogs (2020); Anyone Here Seen Frenchie? (2022)
• Awards: National Book Award Finalist; ALA Schneider Family Book Award; Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Book Award

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Writing Your Own Story
• Overcoming Grief
• Overcoming Trauma

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and emotional context regarding self-image that incites Mason’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Writing Your Own Story, Overcoming Grief, and Overcoming Trauma.
• Plan and design visual media of a new shirt for Mason describing his character based on text details.
• Analyze and evaluate the plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding grief, aurochs, and other topics.