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The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez
Last updated Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Author: Adrianna Cuevas
Date of Publication: 2020
ISBN: 0374313601
Grade Level: 5th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Oct. 2025
Synopsis:
All Nestor Lopez wants is to live in one place for more than a few months and have dinner with his dad.
When he and his mother move to a new town to live with his grandmother after his dad's latest deployment, Nestor plans to lay low. He definitely doesn't want anyone to find out his deepest secret: that he can talk to animals.
But when the animals in his new town start disappearing, Nestor's grandmother becomes the prime suspect after she is spotted in the woods where they were last seen. As Nestor investigates the source of the disappearances, he learns that they are being seized by a tule vieja - a witch who can absorb an animal's powers by biting it during a solar eclipse. And the next eclipse is just around the corner…
Now it's up to Nestor's extraordinary ability and his new friends to catch the tule vieja - and save a place he might just call home.
| Note to readers: |
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Nestor, age 12, has moved to his sixth school in six years. This is because his father is an active-duty sergeant in the army and has been deployed to various places overseas during Nestor's childhood. His dad is currently in Afghanistan.
Below is a list of the various army bases his has lived at while his father was deployed. If there is a map or globe in the classroom, try to locate these bases on it. If locating is too difficult just indicate the various states they are in. The point is to show how much moving around he has done in this very big country.
Fort Banning, Georgia: Near Columbus, GA, on the Georgia/Alabama border, about halfway between Tennessee and Florida.
Fort Carson, Colorado: Southwest of Colorado Springs.
Fort Lewis, Washington: Southwest of Tacoma (south of Seattle) going south toward Olympia.
Fort Campbell: Near Clarksville, TN on the Tennessee/Kentucky border.
Fort Hood, Texas: Near Kileen, TX, between Waco and Austin.
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| Discussion topics for before reading: |
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Nestor, the main character is 12 years old and is starting at his sixth school in six years. He has moved a lot because his father is in the army and gets deployed, sent overseas.
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Have you or someone you know moved often during your school years? How do you/they feel about it?
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If you have been able to stay in one place, how do you think that is different from moving around often?
Vocabulary:
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deployed: to move, spread out or place someone or something in position for a purpose.
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sergeant: a non-commissioned officer in the army or marine corps.
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armadillo: a family of mammals found from the southern United States to Argentina whose body is incased in bony plates.
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sketchbook: a book of blank pages to draw or paint on.
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| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
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Nestor has the ability to talk to animals. He seems to enjoy talking to some and not others. Is it not like talking to humans?
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Some animals you like to talk to and others may be annoying. Is this something you might like to be able to do? Why or why not?
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The last major eclipse that was seen by most of the United States was in 2017, eight years ago. Two years ago at our Oct. 14, 2023 reading clubs we had a partial eclipse. Do you remember either of those?
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The students will want to finish this book. Nestor and his new human and animal friends will work together to solve the mystery of the disappearing animals and save the day.
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| Craft ideas: |
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Make a mask for Halloween. Using a paper plate, cut it so it will cover your face from your forehead to just below your nose. Cut out space for your eyes. Decorate it. Use pieces of the remaining part of the plate to make ears, noses, etc. When completed, use a popsicle stick has a holder to hold the mask up to your face.
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Draw a picture of yourself in a Halloween costume.
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| Special activities: |
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Complete the provided word search
Please bring the kids back by 11:10 for the magic show that starts at 11:15!
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*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
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