Gregor the Overlander

Title: Gregor the Overlander

Author: Suzanne Collins

Target Age: 10-13

Genre: Fantasy, Action/Adventure

Gregor the Overlander introduces the reader to a world called the Underland. Book 1 in The Underland Chronicles, Gregor a quiet 11 year old, follows his sister Boots into an underground world when she falls through the air vent in their apartment in New York City. He finds himself hurling through never ending darkness and finally to the dark world of rodents and insects miles under the city. Although Boots is excited about the new world, Gregor wans to escape and return. The Underlanders reveal information that compels Gregor to continue on his quest: the prophesy that he is the great warrior and his father who had disappeared has been taken prisoner of the rats in the Underland. Bursting with suspense, action, and adventure, this thrilling series begins an epic fantasy with bizarre creatures, dream-like settings, and amazing skills. Follow Gregor on his quest of good versus evil to rescue his father in a strange world of bloodthirsty rats who are at war against the Underlanders.

 

This book series is perfect for pre-teen readers unsure of the future but compelled to continue almost blindfolded into the strange world of young adulthood. Although highly fantastical, readers can relate to the challenges of bravery and courage and recognize themes of war and overcoming evil. Teachers in intermediate levels can use this series as a read aloud to inspire greatness in their classrooms through discovery of the self.

 

 “You see, I tired of constant fear, so I made a decision. Every day when I wake I tell myself that it will be my last. If you are not trying to hold on to time, you are not so afraid of losing it.”  -Gregor

 

“Even if times got bad, he would never again deny himself the possibility that the future might be happy even if the present was painful. He would allow himself dreams.”   -Gregor

 

 



Discussion Questions

1. How would you react to falling into the Underland?
2. Would you try to escape the Underland?
3. What are some examples of familiar creatures and familiar settings found in the Underland?
4. Describe how the author uses fantasy versus realism.
5. What is the main theme in Book 1?
6. Describe the comparisons between the Overland and the Underland.
7. Determine the most monstrous character in the Underland.
8. Do you think that Gregor is a warrior? Why or Why not?

Motivational Activities

• Students will complete a literature circle/book club using Gregor the Overlander. Each student in the group will be responsible for a job or role: Summarizer, Vocabulary Finder, Question Writer, Story Mapper. The roles will rotate daily so that students are able to participate and discuss different aspects of the novel.
• Use a book critic response sheet and have students write a book recommendation for the book that will allow students to reflect upon the readings.
• Develop a powerpoint by assigning small groups to discuss the story elements: characters, settings, events, and theme.

About the Author:

Suzanne Collins was inspired to write her first novel while thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland. What would happen if a modern, urban child fell down a mysterious hole? Where would he or she end up? That was the genesis of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her best-selling, five-part fantasy series for middle-grade readers: The Underland Chronicles.

Finish the Series:

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods

Gregor and the Marks of Secret

Gregor and the Code of Claw

Other fantasy series for children:

Harry Potter

Chronicles of Narnia

Artemis Fowl

 

Collins, S. (2003). Gregor the Overlander. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

 



Cheyenne Again

Title: Cheyenne Again

Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: Irving Toddy

Target Age Range: 5-10

Genre: Multicultural Fiction, Historical Fiction

Cheyenne Again is an intriguing story of a 10 year old Cheyenne Native American boy named Young Bull who is taken from his parents and forced to attend the Carlisle Boarding School in the late 1880s. He leaves behind his family, his language, and his heritage to be imprisoned in the ways of the white man. Stripped from his Native American clothing and tribal hair, the history of his people seems lost and so far away. It is his memories of home that ultimately give him the strength to be Cheyenne on the inside; never letting go of his heritage. Exploring themes of fear, loss, prejudice, and betrayal, this multicultural fiction book told in Young Bull's point of view is primarily for readers ages 5-10. Thoughtful conversation on the hardships of Native American enforcement to live in a white man's society is gently introduced to younger readers from a child's perspective. The illustrations add to the emotion of the story and children are able to visualize the opposition that faces Young Bull throughout his transformation from Native American to "white man" in society.

"The Indian in us must disappear, they say. It must be tamed." (quoted from Cheyenne Again)

About the author:

Eve Bunting's sensitive and poetic text recreates an experience shared by many Native American children in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

 

About the illustrator:

Irving Toddy's dramatic paintings capture the beauty and color of the world Young Bull has left behind- and the vivid memories he preserves in his ledger drawings.

Discussion Questions

• What inference can you make from the cover of the book?
• What gives a person identity?
• Do you have an ethnic identity?
• What makes you different from others?
• Why is Young Bull taken from his family?
• What are the key differences in the reactions of the mother and father when Young Bull was taken?
• Why does Young Bull rebel against the white man's ways?
• How does the character Young Bull change throughout the book?
• What themes are introduced in the story?
• How do these themes help the reader understand the story?

 

Motivational Activity

Students will turn and talk to their partner about what identity means to them. Teachers will fingerprint each student's thumb while listening to ideas. After talking about identity, students will write a descriptive paragraph about who they are on their fingerprinted paper. The focus should be on the memories of their past which would give them strength to endure going to a boarding school away from their parents. Complete the project by having volunteers share the writing activity.

Other books by Eve Bunting with multicultural focus:

A Day's Work
One Green Apple
How Many Days to America

Resources:
Bunting, Eve. (1995). Cheyenne Again. New York: Clarion Books.