Have you ever read a book that makes you feel happy, sad, or scared? The author does this by choosing certain WORDS to set a mood.

Listen for words in the following examples the author has used to set the mood of the story – words that make you feel a certain way –

It was a fearsome night, dark and stormy with mighty gusts of wind scouring the fields.

Happy/pleased Mad/angry Scared/fearful Excited/thrilled Mean/cruel Bored/uninterested Annoyed Sad Calm

“Good!” hollered that Jim. “I’m glad! ‘Cause my birthday is this coming Saturday! And tomorrow I’m bringing invitations to every single person in Room Nine! Only not to you! You’re the only one in the whole class I’m not bringing an invitation to! So there!” Then he did a big HAH! Right in my face. And he sat back down in his seat. Meanwhile, I just kept on standing and standing there. ‘Cause something had gone a little bit wrong here, I think.

Happy/pleased Mad/angry Scared/fearful Excited/thrilled Mean/cruel Bored/uninterested Annoyed Sad Calm

He touched each quill carefully. The pain made it seem as if dozens of them had been slammed into his leg, but there were only eight, pinning the cloth against his skin. He leaned back against the wall for a minute. He couldn’t just leave them in, they had to come out, but just touching them made the pain more intense. From Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Happy/pleased Mad/angry Scared/fearful Excited/thrilled Mean/cruel Bored/uninterested Annoyed Sad Calm

This is the wall, my grandfather’s wall. On it are the names of those killed in a war long ago. “Where is Grandpa’s name?” I ask. “We have to find it,” Dad says. He and I have come a long way for this and we walk slowly, searching. From The Wall by Eve Bunting

Other than words, what other things have you seen in books that set the “mood” of the book?