The City of Ember was written by Jeanne DuPrau in 2003. It is intended for children ages 8-12.
This book takes place in the underground city of Ember as a last refuge for the human race. The lights that keep the city lit are beginning to flicker. Everyone is assigned jobs around the city. Lina wants to be a messenger, but ends up as a pipeworks laborer. Her friend Doon gets messenger and wants to trade jobs. Together they find an ancient message that they try to figure out in hopes of saving their city from darkness.
This is a sic-fi book with a few sci-fi themes, such as: life in the future and survival. The story is interesting, detailed and believable. There is even a map of the city in the beginning of the book, which I think is really cool because you can actually see what the city would look like if it were real. The characters are multidimensional and think logically throughout the story. I also think the themes are meaningful, because their life in the future isn't exactly what it is now. Things are harder, people work harder for less, almost like back a few hundred years ago. Everything they do is for their survival. I think it would make someone think a lot about life and how afferent it would be. The City of Ember doesn't have many illustrations, but there is one of what the message they found says. So you get to see what they are trying to decipher, and could eve think about it yourself. There is also the map to show what the city of Ember would look like.
I really enjoyed this book. I think it has interesting concepts and a fun storyline to watch the kids on their adventure.
Motivational Activities:
- Create a fake message that a friend would have to decipher. Give it to a friend and see if the can figure it out.
- Write an alternate ending to the story. What if the kids never figured out the message? Decide on a different way you think the story could end.
Reader Response Questions:
- Would you like to live in Ember? Why or why not?
- What job would you rather have?
- Do you think it was a good idea to create an underground city? Why or why not?
DuPrau, J. (2003). The City of Ember. New York: Random House.
Samantha, I have never read the book, but I have seen the movie based on the book many times on cable and I really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteAn activity I would recommend after each child has read the book is to have them draw a map of what they think Ember looks like, including all the pipe lines under the city, and see if they can find another way out. In class they would combine all their maps together and be amazed at how many different conclusions they would have to help the people of Ember get out and make it outside to the top.
Shirley