The Prophet of Yonwood

DuPrau, J. (2006). The Prophet of Yonwood  . New York: Random House.

Interest Level: 6 - 8

Grade Level Equivalent: 4.3

Lexile® measure: 760L

DRA: 40

Guided Reading: R

This book is set 50 years before the City of Ember. Nickie travels with her aunt Crystal to the city of Yonwood in North Carolina where they plan to sell a house that they inherited by Nickie's great-grandfather. Nickie's parents are both working, her father works on the secret City of Ember project. At this time the world is in crisis. They are on the verge of a major world war. In Yonwood Nickie meets Althea Tower, an old woman who has been in a trance and uttering things about the world going up in flames. It is up to Nickie to figure out how to bring Althea back to normal because all of the adults are too busy with politics to worry about it.

This book could be used for any students from 4-8th grade. Younger readers who are at an advanced reading level would also enjoy this book, as well as older struggling readers. The series could be used as a great read aloud, and should probably be discussed with students for them to be able to receive the full benefits of the story.

So far this was my least favorite book in the Ember series. It was hard to read about completely different characters in a completely different time. But it answered many questions that I had from reading the City of Ember and The People of Sparks. Again, the hero in this story is a girl who is only ten. For this reason, I think that young people would really love this series. The themes in the book, as in the other two are very apparent and very worthwhile. This book talks a lot about a community(world) in crisis, and also the loss of civil rights. These themes should be talked about in the classroom and this book allows a gateway into that.

Literary Elements highlighted in the story:

Allegory: Just as the City of Ember, and the People of Sparks, this book can be seen as an allegory to our society. It reminded me a lot of how the country was soon after 9/11.

Foreshadowing: As a prequel, it obviously foreshadows what happens in the books to come.

 Mini-Lesson

 Each student could be given a character and they could debate the decisions being made in the book about civil rights.

The People of Sparks

DuPrau, J. (2004). The People of Sparks  . New York: Random House.

  Interest Level: 6 - 8

Grade Level Equivalent: 5.1

Lexile® measure: 760L

DRA: 44

Guided Reading: U

Genre/Theme:Fantasy

The People of Sparks is the second story in the Ember series. In this story Doon and Lina have lead their people out of the underground city of Ember just in time for the lights to go out for good. They reach the surface and find a beautiful world full of sunshine and green grass. The people of Ember walk and walk until they finally come to the town called Sparks. The people of Sparks decide to take in all 400+ refugees. When the cities resources start to become scarce they ration the food given to the Emberites. People of Sparks start treating the Emberites terribly. Before a war breaks out Doon and Lina need to figure out who in Sparks is perpetuating this violence before it is too late for everyone.

The characters in this book, just as in the City of Ember, are completely believable.  They fit the setting of the story, and even though they are only 12 years old, they seem like the perfect people to save the City of Ember. We get to witness Doon and Lina grow as individuals and in their friendship as they both do what they think is right for the people of their city. The details provided in the story make it feel as though you are there with these people. It is set on Earth far in the future after the "Disaster". We have not yet found out what this "Disaster" was yet.

Literary Elements highlighted in this story:

Allegory: This book can be seen as an allegory for how we currently treat immigrants and refugees. The people of Ember were refugees in this story, and instead of helping them and treating them with respect, the people of Sparks vandalize their homes and starve them. I think things like this happen far too often in society today.

Foreshadowing: From the very beginning of the story the attitudes of the people of Sparks are portrayed in a way that the reader knows something bad is going to happen between the two populations of people. Also, Tick(the leader of the Emberites who wants war) can be seen from a negative light from the very beginning; it is apparent to the reader that he is going to start something.

Allusion: The book alludes to the "Disaster" the entire time, and in the the third book we finally find out what it is, and it is exactly as the reader assumed it would be.

Mini-lesson: This book is a great way to get students thinking about what they would do in situations like Doon and Lina are in. Is it better to live in peace or to start a war? How would you go about asking the people of Sparks for more food or shelter? Do you think that the people of Sparks are right or wrong in the way that they treat the people of Ember? These would all be great writing assignments or questions to pose for a Socratic Seminar.