The City of Ember

The City of Ember. ISBN 0-375-82274-7. Jeanne DuPrau. 2003. IRA Childrens Choice. Ages 9-13. Multi-Cultural.

The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau, is a city of constant darkness that exists underground. The people that live in this artifically-lit city, have no idea that there is an outside world full of life. The story is told from the point of view of a twelve-year old girl citizen of Ember, Lina, and her male friend, Doon. One day, with the help of her absent-minded grandmother, Lina stumbles across a mysterious box that holds an even more mysterious letter, which gets partially destroyed by her baby sister. With the help of Doon, who works under the underground city, and has a feeling that there is something else out there, she unveils the secret to escaping the City of Ember that this letter contains. The City of Ember is running short on supplies, so the inabitants are suffering, though the Mayor is secretly gorging himself with food. Lina, Doon, and Lina's baby-sister, Poppy, follow the directions left on the note, to find a more desirable place to live, above ground.

As a teacher, it may be fun to have the class draw comparisons between the main characters of this book, Lina and Doon, and people that decide to leave their homes in search of a better life, or emmigrants. The pioneers of the U.S. must have felt similar to these children, leaving their homelands, not knowing exactly what was waiting for them, but having faith that whatever it was would be better. We could also discuss the possibility of power leading to corruption, which is seen in the character of the Mayor of Ember. Questioning what is deemed as normal when injustice is occuring would be another good topic to discuss in relation to this book.