What is Fantasy?
Science Fiction
A type of fantasy characterized by conflict between good and evil, closely patterned after folklore such as mythologies and quest tales.
A story about a possible future world that relies on invention or extension of nature's laws, not on the magical; includes mind-control and future-world themes.
High Fantasy
Fantasy stories are about the nonexistent or unreal in which action may depend on magic or the supernatural.
 Sorcerer's Stone | .jpg) Chamber of Secrets | .jpg) Prisoner of Azkaban |
|---|---|---|
.jpg) Goblet of Fire |  Order of the Phoenix |  Half-Blood Prince |
 Deathly Hallows |
Titles:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (#1), Chamber of Secrets (#2), Prisoner of Azkaban (#3), Goblet of Fire (#4), Order of the Phoenix (#5), Half- Blood Prince (#6), Deathly Hallows (#7)
Author:
J.K. Rowling
Sub-Genre:
High Fantasy
A little bit about the books:
Imagine a school in a castle filled with moving staircases, a sport played on flying broomsticks, an evil wizard intent on domination, an ordinary boy who’s the hero of a whole world he doesn’t know. This is the story that comes to life in the marvelous Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.
The Dark Lord, Voldemort, tried to murder Harry when he was just a baby—but he failed, killing Harry’s parents but leaving him with a lightning-bolt scar. After Voldemort’s disappearance, Harry is sent to live with his nasty aunt and uncle, far away from any hint of magic. But at the age of eleven, he is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and a magical world opens before him. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review (#1)- In a rousing first novel, already an award-winner in England, Harry is just a baby when his magical parents are done in by Voldemort, a wizard so dastardly other wizards are scared to mention his name. So Harry is brought up by his mean Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia Dursley, and picked on by his horrid cousin Dudley. He knows nothing about his magical birthright until ten years later, when he learns he’s to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts is a lot like English boarding school, except that instead of classes in math and grammar, the curriculum features courses in Transfiguration, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry becomes the star player of Quidditch, a sort of mid-air ball game. With the help of his new friends Ron and Hermione, Harry solves a mystery involving a sorcerer’s stone that ultimately takes him to the evil Voldemort. This hugely enjoyable fantasy is filled with imaginative details, from oddly flavored jelly beans to dragons’ eggs hatched on the hearth. It’s slanted toward action-oriented readers, who will find that Briticisms meld with all the other wonders of magic school. (May 10,2010)
A Kirkus Review (#2)- This sequel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1998) brings back the doughty young wizard-in-training to face suspicious adults, hostile classmates, fretful ghosts, rambunctious spells, giant spiders, and even an avatar of Lord Voldemort, the evil sorcerer who killed his parents, while saving the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from a deadly, mysterious menace. Ignoring a most peculiar warning, Harry kicks off his second year at Hogwarts after a dreadful summer with his hateful guardians, the Dursleys, and is instantly cast into a whirlwind of magical pranks and misadventures, culminating in a visit to the hidden cavern where his friend Ron's little sister Ginny lies, barely alive, in a trap set by his worst enemy. Surrounded by a grand mix of wise and inept faculty, sneering or loyal peers--plus an array of supernatural creatures including Nearly Headless Nick and a huge, serpentine basilisk--Harry steadily rises to every challenge, and though he plays but one match of the gloriously chaotic field game Quidditch, he does get in plenty of magic and a bit of swordplay on his way to becoming a hero again. Readers will be irresistibly drawn into Harry's world by GrandPr‚'s comic illustrations and Rowling's expert combination of broad boarding school farce and high fantasy.
Publishers Weekly (#3)- Rowling proves that she has plenty of tricks left up her sleeve in this third Harry Potter adventure, set once again at the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Right before the start of term, a supremely dangerous criminal breaks out of a supposedly impregnable wizards' prison; it will come as no surprise to Potter fans that the villain, a henchman of Harry's old enemy Lord Voldemort, appears to have targeted Harry. In many ways this installment seems to serve a transitional role in the seven-volume series: while many of the adventures are breathlessly relayed, they appear to be laying groundwork for even more exciting adventures to come. The beauty here lies in the genius of Rowling's plotting. Seemingly minor details established in books one and two unfold to take on unforeseen significance, and the finale, while not airtight in its internal logic, is utterly thrilling. Rowling's wit never flags, whether constructing the workings of the wizard world (Just how would a magician be made to stay behind bars?) or tossing off quick jokes (a grandmother wears a hat decorated with a stuffed vulture; the divination classroom looks like a tawdry tea shop). The Potter spell is holding strong. All ages. (Sept.)
A Kirkus Review (#4)- As the bells and whistles of the greatest prepublication hoopla in children’s book history fade, what’s left in the clearing smoke is—unsurprisingly, considering Rowling’s track record—another grand tale of magic and mystery, of wheels within wheels oiled in equal measure by terror and comedy, featuring an engaging young hero-in-training who’s not above the occasional snit, and clicking along so smoothly that it seems shorter than it is. Good thing, too, with this page count. That’s not to say that the pace doesn’t lag occasionally—particularly near the end when not one but two bad guys halt the action for extended accounts of their misdeeds and motives—or that the story lacks troubling aspects. As Harry wends his way through a fourth year of pranks, schemes, intrigue, danger and triumph at Hogwarts, the racial and class prejudice of many wizards moves to the forefront, with hooded wizards gathering to terrorize an isolated Muggle family in one scene while authorities do little more than wring their hands. There’s also the later introduction of Hogwarts’ house elves as a clan of happy slaves speaking nonstandard English. These issues may be resolved in sequels, but in the meantime, they are likely to leave many readers, particularly American ones, uncomfortable. Still, opening with a thrilling quidditch match, and closing with another wizardly competition that is also exciting, for very different reasons, this sits at the center of Rowling’s projected seven volume saga and makes a sturdy, heartstopping (doorstopping) fulcrum for it. (May 10, 2010)
Publishers Weekly (#5)- See here...
Publishers Weekly (#6)- See here...
Publishers Weekly (#7)- See here... A Kirkus Review (#7)- See here...
Teaching Activities:
Create a Hogwarts Floorplan- Students will learn about the concept of scale and other mapping skills as they create a floor plan of Hogwarts School. See more details here...
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Book and Movie Trailer
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Book and Movie Trailer
 The Lightning Thef |  The Sea of Monsters |  The Titan's Curse |
|---|---|---|
 The Battle of the Labyrinth |  The Last Olympian |
Titles:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Theif (#1), The Sea of Monsters (#2), The Titan's Curse (#3), The Battle of the Labyrinth (#4), The Last Olympian (#5)
Author:
Rick Riordan
Sub-Genre:
High Fantasy, Mythology
A little bit about the books:
Book 1 Summary- When troubled student Percy Jackson vaporizes his math teacher on a class field trip, he begins to suspect that his life is not what it seems. He discovers that his lifelong reading and attention troubles are all signs that he is a half-blood-a child of the Greek gods. After a summer training session with other demigods and Chiron the centaur, he sets off on a cross-country quest to Los Angeles (the entrance to Hades) with his friend Grover the faun and Annabeth, a child of Athena, to recover Zeus' lost thunderbolt and stop a war between the gods. Read more...
Book 2 Summary- When Thalia's tree is mysteriously poisoned, the magical borders of Camp Half-Blood begin to fail. Now Percy and his friends have just days to find the only magical item powerful enough to save the camp before monsters overrun it. The catch: they must sail into the Sea of Monsters to find it. Along the way, Percy must stage a daring rescue operation to save his old friend Grover. Read more...
Book 3 Summary- When Percy Jackson receives an urgent distress call from his friend Grover, he immediately prepares for battle. He knows he'll need his powerful demigod allies, Annabeth and Thalia, at his side; his trusty bronze sword, Riptide; and … a ride from his mom. Read more...
Book 4 Summary- See here...
Book 5 Summary- See here...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review (#4)- The fourth and penultimate volume of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the best one yet. Here, 14-year-old demigod Percy must find a way to thwart Kronos’s plan to reassemble his body and rally the evil forces of the underworld. Percy, quest-partner Annabeth and mortal Rachel Elizabeth Dare enter the Labyrinth and encounter all manner of wondrous beings: the vampiric empousai, snaky dracaenae, Laistrygonian giants, Calypso, the Sphinx, a Hundred-Handed One, Hephaestus, Daedalus and Kronos himself, newly transformed. Riordan keeps Percy busy falling in love with Calypso, battling evil Antaeus, causing Mount St. Helens to erupt and finding the long-lost god Pan in a crystal cave in this romp that rivals Rowling for inventive, magical storytelling. The often-philosophical tale zips along with snappy dialogue, humor and thrilling action, culminating in a climactic battle between gods and Titans. This volume can stand alone, but no reader will be able to read just one. Look no further for the next Harry Potter; meet Percy Jackson, as legions of fans already have. (May 20, 2010)
Publishers Weekly (#5)- Percy Jackson’s fifth and final adventure begins with a blast and gets increasingly more explosive. It reads less like a novel than a 400-page battle scene set in Manhattan, pitting Percy, Annabeth, Grover & Co. against a pantheon of monsters intent on reaching the portal to Mount Olympus (located on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building). In other words: fans will not be disappointed. All the action takes place in the days before Percy’s 16th birthday, on which a prophecy has foretold "a single choice shall end his days." Readers who have watched their dyslexic hero grow into his considerable powers since age 12 will not be surprised by his brave leadership. Or as Percy, facing the Minotaur’s army, puts it in typically wry fashion: "It was now roughly one hundred and ninety-nine to one. I did the natural thing. I charged them." Details about Luke’s childhood explain his traitorous allegiance to Kronos; Annabeth and Rachel Dare vie for Percy’s attention; and the final clash would keep a Hollywood special effects team busy for years. As the capstone to this beloved series, this story satisfies. And a surprise character takes on the mantle of Oracle, instantly issuing a new prophecy that suggests, happily, there’s more fun with the demi-gods to come. (May.)
Publishers Weekly (#1)- See here...
Publishers Weekly (#2)- See here...
A Kirkus Review (#3)- See here...
Teaching Activities:
Pick an Immortal Parent- Remind students that the gods frequently had children with mortals. Ask them to research which god or goddess they would most like to be related to. For ideas, visit the web site http://www.theoi.com. Students should write down their top three choices and explain each. For more activities, visit here...
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Book and Movie Trailer
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters Book and Movie Trailer
 The Lost Hero | The Son of Neptune |  The Mark of Athena |
|---|---|---|
 The House of Hades |  The Blood of Olympus |
Titles:
The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero (#1), The Son of Neptune (#2), The Mark of Athena (#3), The House of Hades (#4), The Blood of Olympus (#5)
Author:
Rick Riordan
Sub-Genre:
High Fantasy, Mythology
A little bit about the books:
Book 1 Summary-Jason has a problem. He doesn't remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she's his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they're all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for "bad kids." What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong. Read more...
Book 2 Summary- See here...
Book 3 Summary- Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace. Read more...
Book 4 Summary- See here...
Book 5 Summary- Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them, and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake. The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review (#2)- After spinning his wheels in series opener The Lost Hero (2010), Riordan regains his traction with book two of The Heroes of Olympus. Gaea is raising an army of giants to defeat the gods, and Juno has switched heroes Percy Jackson (son of Poseidon) and Jason Grace (son of Jupiter) in order to unite Greek and Roman gods and demigods in battle against her. His memory wiped, Percy knows only that he has another life and a girlfriend, Annabeth; he needs to focus now on winning the trust of the Roman demigods. As per usual, he has two appealing companions with intriguing back stories, Hazel Levesque (daughter of Pluto) and Frank Zhang (son of…?). The three undertake a quest to Alaska to defeat the giant Alcyoneus and free Thanatos, "the border patrol" of the Underworld, assisted and opposed along the way by a pleasing variety of magical beings. Riordan achieves freshness within his formula by giving characters and readers a new environment—Camp Jupiter, similar only in broad concept to Camp Half-Blood—to discover, and his pell-mell pacing has returned. As with all of Riordan's mythological tales, the details that bring the legends into the 21st century delight: The camp's augur reads the entrails of Beanie Babies; tiny, malignant grain spirits dissolve into Chex Mix; the Amazons' headquarters are in Seattle at, well, you guessed it. Should pacing and wit continue unabated into the third volume, whose foretold European setting promises further freshness, fans will eagerly await numbers four and five. (October 4, 2011)
A Kirkus Review (#4)- Having plunged into Tartarus at the end of the last book, The Mark of Athena (2013), Percy and Annabeth struggle toward the Doors of Death, while their friends hurry to meet them on the other side at the titular House of Hades. Riordan is most successful in his evocation of Tartarus and its hellish, monster-infested landscape. Without lightening his heroes’ miseries in any way, the author provides a helper and necessary mood-lifter in the person of Iapetus/Bob, the Titan whose memory Percy had obliterated with the waters of Lethe in a previous adventure. Now Hades’ janitor, Bob, along with a skeletal saber-tooth kitten he names Small Bob, joins Percy and Annabeth on their trek, causing them both to plumb unexpected moral depths. Meanwhile, on board (and off) the Argo II, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel and Frank similarly must come to understand themselves better in order to accomplish the tasks set before them (though not to equal extents). Though Riordan doesn’t stint on action or laughs (fart jokes abound, and a tart-tongued Calypso is a special treat), readers may find themselves appreciating these moments of contemplation all the more for the depth of characterization they reveal. The denouement finds the demigods poised for the final battle with Gaea and her minions; they have exactly 14 days to save the world. In this adventure, victories are hard-won and the essence of bravery nuanced, making the journey as satisfying as it is entertaining. (October 11, 2013)
Publishers Weekly (#1)- See here...
A Kirkus Review (#3)- See here...
A Kirkus Review (#5)- See here...
Teaching Activities:
Comparing Mythological Characters—Create a Digital Diagram: Because of the rich tradition of sharing myths from around the world, some of the characters referenced in e Son of Neptune may be familiar to students from prior reading or study. Have students create a Character Comparative Analysis by using the library and Internet as resources to research a mythological character featured in e Son of Neptune who also appears in other stories. Have students find at least two different stories where the character is found, and have them create a Venn diagram to detail the similarities and differences between the way the character is portrayed in these di erent versions. Next, have students summarize their findings by creating a Glogster digital poster (www.glogster.com) to share with classmates. See more...
The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero & The Son of Neptune Book Trailers by the author, Rick Riordan
 The Red Pyramid |  The Throne of Fire |
|---|---|
The Serpent's Shadow |
Titles:
The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid (#1), The Throne of Fire (#2), The Serpent's Shadow (#3)
Author:
Rick Riordan
Sub-Genre:
High Fantasy, Mythology
A little bit about the books:
Book 1 Summary- The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is a fascinating fantasy novel about a pair of siblings who must work together to save the world. After witnessing their father disappear after performing a feat of magic, Sadie and Carter Kane struggle to accept the truth of Egyptian mythology, battling gods and demons in their effort to save their family and the world. The Red Pyramid is an engaging and entertaining novel that demonstrates the loyalty and tenacity of this brother and sister duo. Read more...
Book 2 Summary- Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians. Read more...
Book 3 Summary- When young magicians Carter and Sadie Kane learned how to follow the path of the ancient Egyptian gods, they knew they would have to play an important role in restoring Ma'at—order—to the world. What they didn't know is how chaotic the world would become. The Chaos snake Apophis is loose and threatening to destroy the earth in three days' time. The magicians are divided. Read more...
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly (#1)- This fun, if formulaic, start to the Kane Chronicles series opens with a signature Riordan move: an explosion. Siblings Carter and Sadie have been living apart since their mother’s mysterious death. On Christmas Eve, archeologist Julius Kane and son Carter, 14, show up in England for one of their two days a year with Sadie. Julius ushers his children to the British Museum, where he blows up the Rosetta Stone, unleashing five Egyptian gods and causing his own disappearance. The kids’ Uncle Amos whisks them to a Brooklyn mansion, where he reveals that the Kanes descend from powerful Egyptian magicians. Swap Egyptian mythology for Percy Jackson’s Greek gods and you’ve got the best part of this—an ancient history lesson seamlessly unfurled in a rip-roaring adventure. Told in alternating chapters by Carter and Sadie, the novel begins with a warning that the book is a “transcript of a digital recording,” a distracting gimmick, and the attempts to make Sadie sound English by dropping in British slang are intermittent. Despite those flaws, Riordan delivers another funny yarn with kids in the lead and animal sidekicks that nearly steal the show. (May)
A Kirkus Review (#2)- In Carter and Sadie Kane's last adventure (The Red Pyramid, 2010), they fought Set, god of evil; now the stakes are even higher. Apophis, god of Chaos, is rising, and he’s in a whole different league. Related as a transcript of an audio recording made by Carter and Sadie, the tale begins with a bang in the Brooklyn Museum. They manage to smash up the museum, set Brooklyn on fire and ride off in an Egyptian reed boat pulled by a screeching griffin, and that’s just in the first 30 pages. The dynamic duo survives their first adventure with a scroll in hand or, more precisely, a third of a scroll. They must now find the other two thirds to piece together the Book of Ra. The plan: to awaken Ra, the powerful Egyptian sun god, to counter Apophis. From Brooklyn, it’s on to London, Russia, Egypt and the River of Night. This volume begins so thunderously that the narrators seem more like frenetic tour guides than friendly companions, pulling readers along at a breakneck pace. Riordan supplies them with his trademark wisecracking voice and explores themes of power, responsibility, family, love and loyalty as the tale hurtles along. What a week for the Kanes. If they don’t quite vanquish evil for all time, they at least avert disaster long enough for Riordan to write Book Three, coming the spring of 2012. (May 3, 2011)
A Kirkus Review (#3)- Riordan’s Kane Chronicles trilogy concludes with a smash, as Carter and Sadie Kane once again try to save the world from the forces of Chaos. The giant Chaos snake Apophis and his rebel magician allies are on the rise. Luckily, Carter and Sadie Kane are back, ready to fight Apophis and restore Ma’at, the order of the universe. The ghost of an ancient psychotic magician offers help: Find the shadow of Apophis, capture it and use it for an execration spell that will pop the evil god so far into the Duat—the magical realm that coexists with our world—that he will never return. As in the previous volumes—The Red Pyramid (2010) and The Throne of Fire (2011)—the tale is told in the alternating and still-fresh voices of Sadie and Carter. Beyond the explosive action and fireworks, Riordan deftly develops the theme of the duality of the universe—order versus chaos, living a normal life versus risking the extraordinary, being protected by parents versus growing up and stepping out of their shadows. A rousing adventure with plenty of magic and food for thought. Other gods and future stories are hinted at in the conclusion; in the meantime, Riordan’s The Kane Chronicles Survival Guide is available to maintain the spell. (glossary, list of gods and goddesses) (May 16, 2012)
Teaching Activities:
MAKE A “GALLERY” OF GODS- Have each student nd an image of one of the Egyptian gods portrayed in the book. (Isis, Osiris, Horus, Nephthys, Bast, Set, Serqet, Sekhmet, Sobek, Anubis, etc.) Ask students to compare and contrast the images they’ve found with Rick Riordan’s portrayals of the gods in The Red Pyramid. What features does each artist emphasize? What features does Riordan emphasize? Is anything missing in either depiction? Create a classroom “gallery” of the images students have collected. See more...
The Red Pyramid Book Trailer by Rick Riordan
NEW!!!
2015
Titles:
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer
Author:
Rick Riordan
Sub-Genre:
High Fantasy, Mythology
A little bit about the book:
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is a fascinating fantasy novel about a pair of siblings who must work together to save the world. After witnessing their father disappear after performing a feat of magic, Sadie and Carter Kane struggle to accept the truth of Egyptian mythology, battling gods and demons in their effort to save their family and the world. The Red Pyramid is an engaging and entertaining novel that demonstrates the loyalty and tenacity of this brother and sister duo. Read more...
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly- Ten years after The Lightning Thief, which chronicled modern-day Greek god shenanigans on Earth, Riordan enters a new pantheon with a similar setup: on his 16th birthday, Magnus Chase learns that he is a demigod, human son of a Norse god. Talk about an upgrade—Chase had been homeless in Boston since his mother’s death (by wolf attack) two years earlier. Chase’s story opens with his death on the day he comes of age, when he finds his father’s powerful sword and defends Boston against a fire giant. For dying a hero, he earns afterlife at the Hotel Valhalla (so large it has its own Ikea), but Chase has scores to settle and must prevent Ragnarok itself, a mission that involves perilous encounters, loads of gore, and snarky one-liners. Riordan plays much of the material for laughs (one battle weapon is a stolen sign that reads “Make Way for Ducklings”) and brings the Norse gods into the 21st century (Thor streams TV shows on his hammer). The sensibility is right in line with the Percy Jackson novels, and the audience will be just as large. (October, 15)
A Kirkus Review- First there were the Greek gods, then the Egyptian gods, then the Roman gods—now Riordan takes on the Norse gods. On his 16th birthday, homeless Boston orphan Magnus Chase (daughter-of-Athena Annabeth’s cousin) magically summon an ancient Norse sword, uses it against a fireball-throwing monster, drops the sword, and dies—but a girl in hijab on a flying horse grabs him and deposits him at the Hotel Valhalla for a new afterlife of perpetual preparation for Ragnarok. Turns out Ragnarok will come pretty soon unless he can retrieve the sword and somehow use it to rebind Fenris Wolf, who is about to slip the magical rope that’s kept him bound for millennia. This will take some doing. Per established formula, narrator Magnus explores his fabulous new home, makes quirky new friends, acquires a bristly female companion, engages in a chain of adventures, and meets the Norse pantheon. Riordan consciously crafts a diverse cast, including a dark-skinned dwarf and a deaf elf. Muslim Valkyrie Samirah is a particularly interesting character. Though she does not come across as devout—she doesn’t seem to take time out to pray, for example—Riordan’s choice to make her happy with her future arranged marriage both honors her culture and allows her friendship with Magnus to develop blessedly free of romantic tension. A fast-paced, eventful, and largely successful pivot. (August 31, 2015)
Teaching Activities:
Armed for Battle- In The Sword of Summer, preparing for battle is an ongoing pastime of those residing in Valhalla and a driving force to the characters in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The Norse people were famous in history for being erce warriors who terri ed those who might fall to one of their raids. Using library and Internet resources, discover more about Norse warriors, being sure to investigate... See more...
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer Book Trailer
Book 2: The Hammer of Thor Coming 10-4-16!
 The Hobbit |  Fellowship of the Rings |
|---|---|
 The Two Towers |  The Return of the King |
Titles:
The Hobbit (Prequel), The Lord of the Rings: The fellowship of the Ring (#1), The Two Towers (#2), The Return of the King (#3)
Author:
J.R.R. Tolkien
Sub-Genre:
High Fantasy
A little bit about the books:
Prequel Summary- Bilbo, a simple hobbit, is smoking his pipe one day when the wizard Gandalf appears and asks him to go on an adventure. He is confused and tells the wizard to come back the next day. The wizard does show up the next day, but only after thirteen dwarves have knocked at his door first. Bilbo is very frustrated by this, but he acts the part of the gracious host. The dwarves eat, speaking of their imminent journey to an old home beneath Lonely Mountain. Long ago, a dragon named Smaug chased their forefathers from the mountain and stole their treasure. The group now wants Bilbo to come along as their thief. Read more...
Book 1 Summary- Bilbo Baggins has a splendid birthday party for his nephew, Frodo, and himself. He disappears without warning, using a magic ring he found many years ago. His friend, the wizard Gandalf, convinces him to leave the ring behind with his nephew before he leaves. Years later, Bilbo has not returned and Gandalf calls on Frodo to tell him what he has learned about the ring: the wielder is given ultimate power and Sauron, the harbinger of destruction, is searching for it endlessly. The ring is ancient and was ripped from Sauron many generations before, only to be lost by the victors. It was found by a wretched being named Gollum, from whom Bilbo acquired it. Frodo accepts the task of bearing the ring to a council in the east. His friend Sam, and his nephews, Merry and Pippin, elect to accompany him. Read more...
Book 2 Summary- Frodo and Sam depart for Mordor with the Ring of Power. Boromir dies trying to stop a band of orcs from kidnapping Merry and Pippin. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the orcs. They travel into the land of Rohan and see that the band of orcs is traveling very quickly toward Isengard, the fortress of the once good wizard, Saruman. They meet Eomer, a marshal of Rohan who hears their tale and offers them horses to look for the hobbits even though his men just killed the orcs. Read more...
Book 3 Summary- Gandalf and Pippin ride away from Merry and Aragorn and go to Minas Tirith. Here they share their tale with the Steward of the city, Denethor, and they speak of his two sons Boromir and Faramir. Pippin pledges himself to the Steward and offers his services. Aragorn's kin join him and tell him that he should follow the paths of the dead. Aragorn leaves with Legolas and Gimli and refuses to take Merry or Eowyn with him. Theoden rallies the men of Rohan to go to war. He tells Merry that he cannot come with him. Merry is very upset, but a quiet rider tells him that he will secretly bear him to war. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review (Prequel)- Dwarfs and goblins and a new small creature named a ""hobbit"" in a book that has a place of its own. Unlike Alice or The Adventures of a Brownie or The Phoenix and the Carpet (all fairly obvious comparisons), The Hobbit deals solely with these little creatures, and their adventures with enemies of fact and fiction, and not at all with humans. Frankly, I think it a book to be shared with children, rather than read by them. And the children must be imaginative children with a certain sort of child philosophy and a sense of humor. It's a book to be taken in small bits, for though it is in the main an adventure in treasure hunting, it is episodic in character -- and is not wholly easy reading at a gulp. It's a book to be sold carefully, to the right parents -- and with a good start, it might become a perennial.
Teaching Activities:
Your Enchanted Neighborhood- This is a mapmaking activity. The student picks a familiar place (house, building, street, neighborhood), reimagines it as an enchanted realm, and prepares a map reminiscent of Thror's chart from Chapter I. What happens when we recast a cemetery as the Land of the Dead or a messy bedroom as the Vortex of Unwashed Garments? Are such transformations necessarily silly, or do they help us to see meaning in the mundane? What sort of quest might bring a hero to a post office, a municipal park, or a sewage treatment plant? See more...
The Hobbit Book Trailer
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Movie Trailer
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Book Trailer
 Hunger Games |  Catching Fire |
|---|---|
 Mockingjay |
Titles:
The Hunger Games (#1), Catching Fire (#2), Mockingjay (#3)
Author:
Suzanne Collins
Sub-Genre:
Science Fiction, Dystopian
A little bit about the books:
Book 1 Summary- The Hunger Games is the story of post-apocalyptic North America, now renamed Panem and divided into twelve Districts. These Districts have specific tasks that contribute to the overall well-being of the empire. Panem is controlled by the Capitol, a city with abundant resources that keeps the other Districts under its boot. Katniss Everdeen, her sister Prim, and her mother live in District Twelve, the coal mining district. Katniss has been responsible for feeding her family ever since her father died when she was eleven. Read more...
Book 2 Summary- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second in the Hunger Games series. Catching Fire begins several months after the end of the Hunger Games, where Katniss pulled out a handful of poison berries, threatening suicide along with Peeta, the other tribute from District 12, and forced the Capitol to hold to their original deal of allowing two tributes to win the annual games—a fight to the death. Katniss now finds herself in a difficult situation, forced to choose between the two boys she loves in order to protect her family and friends from the wrath of the Capitol. Read more...
Book 3 Summary- Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay begins in the midst of a war, a revolution led against President Snow and the Capitol by rebels who have taken refuge in the previously believed destroyed District 13. Katniss agrees to be the Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion, to rally those fighting for the cause, but fulfilling this role becomes increasingly difficult as the Capitol uses Peeta against her. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review (#1)- Katniss Everdeen is a survivor. She has to be; she's representing her District, number 12, in the 74th Hunger Games in the Capitol, the heart of Panem, a new land that rose from the ruins of a post-apocalyptic North America. To punish citizens for an early rebellion, the rulers require each district to provide one girl and one boy, 24 in all, to fight like gladiators in a futuristic arena. The event is broadcast like reality TV, and the winner returns with wealth for his or her district. With clear inspiration from Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and the Greek tale of Theseus, Collins has created a brilliantly imagined dystopia, where the Capitol is rich and the rest of the country is kept in abject poverty, where the poor battle to the death for the amusement of the rich. Impressive world-building, breathtaking action and clear philosophical concerns make this volume, the beginning of a planned trilogy, as good as The Giver and more exciting. However, poor copyediting in the first printing will distract careful readers a crying shame. (September 1, 2008)
A Kirkus Review (#2)- In the sequel to the hugely popular The Hunger Games (2008), Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, having won the annual Games, are now rich and famous and trapped in the fiction that they are lovers. They are seen as a threat to the Capitol, their unusual manner of winning an act of rebellion that could inspire uprisings throughout Panem. Knowing her life is in danger, Katniss considers escaping with her family and friends but instead reluctantly assumes the role of a rebel, almost forced into it by threats from the insidious President Snow. Beyond the expert world building, the acute social commentary and the large cast of fully realized characters, there's action, intrigue, romance and some amount of hope in a story readers will find completely engrossing. Collins weaves in enough background for this novel to stand alone, but it will be a far richer experience for those who have read the first installment and come to love Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and the rest of the desperate residents of this dystopia. A humdinger of a cliffhanger will leave readers clamoring for volume three. (July 1, 2009)
Publishers Weekly (#3)- This concluding volume in Collins's Hunger Games trilogy accomplishes a rare feat, the last installment being the best yet, a beautifully orchestrated and intelligent novel that succeeds on every level. At the end of Catching Fire, Katniss had been dramatically rescued from the Quarter Quell games; her fellow tribute, Peeta, has presumably been taken prisoner by the Capitol. Now the rebels in District 13 want Katniss (who again narrates) to be the face of the revolution, a propaganda role she's reluctant to play. One of Collins's many achievements is skillfully showing how effective such a poster girl can be, with a scene in which Katniss visits the wounded, cameras rolling to capture (and retransmit) her genuine outrage at the way in which war victimizes even the noncombatants. Beyond the sharp social commentary and the nifty world building, there's a plot that doesn't quit: nearly every chapter ends in a reversal-of-fortune cliffhanger. Readers get to know characters better, including Katniss's sister and mother, and Plutarch Heavensbee, former Head Gamemaker, now rebel filmmaker, directing the circus he hopes will bring down the government, a coup possible precisely because the Capitol's residents are too pampered to mount a defense. "In return for full bellies and entertainment," he tells Katniss, explaining the Latin phrase panem et circenses, "people had given up their political responsibilities and therefore their power." Finally, there is the romantic intrigue involving Katniss, Peeta and Gale, which comes to a resolution that, while it will break some hearts, feels right. In short, there's something here for nearly every reader, all of it completely engrossing. (Sept.)
Teaching Activities:
Tribute Posters- Have students play the role of Haymitch and create tribute propaganda posters to gain sponsors. Students need to create a slogan for their tribute and discuss their strengths. See more...
The Hunger Games Book and Movie Trailer
Catching Fire Book and Movie Trailer
Mockingjay Book and Movie Trailers
_by_Veronica_Roth_US_Hardcover_2011.jpg) Divergent | .jpeg) Insurgent |
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 Allegiant |
Titles:
Divergent (#1), Insurgent (#2), Allegiant (#3)
Author:
Veronica Roth
Sub-Genre:
Science Fiction, Dystopian
A little bit about the books:
Book 1 Summary- In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. Read more...
Book 2 Summary- One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Read more...
Book 3 Summary- One choice will define you.What if your whole world was a lie?What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected? Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review (#1)- Cliques writ large take over in the first of a projected dystopian trilogy. The remnant population of post-apocalyptic Chicago intended to cure civilization’s failures by structuring society into five “factions,” each dedicated to inculcating a specific virtue. When Tris, secretly a forbidden “Divergent,” has to choose her official faction in her 16th year, she rejects her selfless Abnegation upbringing for the Dauntless, admiring their reckless bravery. But the vicious initiation process reveals that her new tribe has fallen from its original ideals, and that same rot seems to be spreading… Aside from the preposterous premise, this gritty, paranoid world is built with careful details and intriguing scope. The plot clips along at an addictive pace, with steady jolts of brutal violence and swoony romance. Despite the constant assurance that Tris is courageous, clever and kind, her own first-person narration displays a blank personality. No matter; all the “good” characters adore her and the “bad” are spiteful and jealous. Fans snared by the ratcheting suspense will be unable to resist speculating on their own factional allegiance; a few may go on to ponder the questions of loyalty and identity beneath the façade of thrilling adventure. Guaranteed to fly off the shelves. (April 5, 2011)
A Kirkus Review (#2)- In this addictive sequel to the acclaimed Divergent (2011), a bleak post-apocalyptic Chicago ruled by "factions" exemplifying different personality traits collapses into all-out civil war. With both the Dauntless and Abnegation factions shattered by the Erudite attack, Tris and her companions seek refuge with Amity and Candor, and even among the factionless. But the Erudite search for "Divergents" continues relentlessly. They have a secret to protect—one they fear could prove more catastrophic than open warfare; one they will slaughter to keep hidden... Rather than ease readers back into this convoluted narrative, the book plunges the characters into immediate danger without clues to their current relationships, let alone their elaborate back stories. The focus is firmly on the narrator Tris, who, devastated by guilt and grief, reveals new depth and vitality. While taking actions less Dauntless than recklessly suicidal, she retains her convenient knack for overhearing crucial conversations and infallibly sizing up others. Her romance with Tobias is achingly tender and passionate, and her friends and enemies alike display a realistic spectrum of mixed motivations and conflicted choices. The unrelenting suspense piles pursuit upon betrayal upon torture upon pitched battles; the violence is graphic, grisly and shockingly indiscriminate. The climactic reveal, hinting at the secret origins of their society, is neither surprising nor particularly plausible, but the frenzied response makes for another spectacular cliffhanger. Anyone who read the first book was dying for this one months ago; they'll hardly be able to wait for the concluding volume (March 28, 2012)
A Kirkus Review (#3)- Does identity come from biology, upbringing or our own choices? The question becomes urgently concrete in the bleak final entry of this blockbuster dystopian trilogy. After the explosive climax of Insurgent (2012), Tris, Tobias (or “Four”) and their friends manage to escape a city torn between the tyranny of the factionless and the uprising of the Allegiant, who want to restore virtue-based divisions. Once outside, they run into the Bureau, which secretly controls the city as a generations-long experiment in healing “genetic damage.” Revelations pile upon revolutions, revenge fights with reconciliation, until Tris and Tobias are each led to their ultimate choices—where courage, selflessness, peace, wisdom and truth converge into love. Tris and Tobias alternate narrating brief chapters in unfortunately indistinguishable voices. Their choppy, staccato prose, interspersed with occasional arresting images, is a style well suited to the opening and closing sections of dramatic action but only accentuates the dragging pace of the repetitive, overstuffed middle. While the “science” behind the Bureau’s machinations is impossible gobbledygook, the corrosive effects of bigotry ring painfully true. The tragic conclusion, although shocking, is thematically consistent; the bittersweet epilogue offers a poignant hope. Though flawed, the story provides a thought-provoking metaphor for crucial conflicts of adolescence, as have its predecessors. (October 28, 2013)
Teaching Activities:
Aptitude Test- Have students take a short test to see which of the 5 factions they belong to. Take the test here...
Divergent Book and Movie Trailer
Insurgent Book and Movie Trailer
Allegiant Book Talk by the Author and Movie Trailer
 Maze runner |  Scorch trials |
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 The Death Cure |  The Kill order |
Titles:
The Maze Runner (#1), The Scorch Trials (#2), The Death Cure (#3), The Kill Order (#4/Prequel)
Author:
James Dashner
Sub-Genre:
Science Fiction, Dystopian
A little bit about the books:
Book 1 Summary- “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner is the story of Thomas, a sixteen-year-old boy who finds himself in total blackness. He has no idea of how he got there or what the outcome will be. When the blackness begins to ascend, he realizes that he’s in some kind of eerie elevator. When the elevator stops, he is pulled out by boys around his own age. He does not know any of the boys. Read more...
Book 2 Summary- Thomas, Teresa, and the other Gladers, having been rescued by the Maze, are put into dormitories for the night. When they awaken, Teresa has been separated and replaced by Aris, from another Maze group, the rescuers are dead, and there are Cranks struggling to get in. A representative from WICKED announces they are about to face the Scorch Trials, and will have two weeks and no rules to reach the safe haven one hundred miles north of their starting location. Read more...
Book 3 Summary- The Death Cure is the third novel in the maze runner trilogy by James Dashner. In this book, Thomas, a teenage boy, is one of the subjects in an experiment conducted by a government agency known as WICKED. When a manmade disease, known as the Flare, is introduced to the human population, WICKED starts running experiments to find a cure. The Flare causes humans to go insane and to become cannibals. Read more...
Book 4 Summary- When the novel begins, the teenaged Mark, his girlfriend Trina, their friends Toad, Misty, and Darnell, together with army veterans Alec and Lana, have formed something of a makeshift family. They are encamped in the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina, living in a village of huts and crude shelters. For the first time in a year, things seem settled. One day, Mark and Trina are shocked to discover that a Berg, an airship, comes to the village, and men in hazardous material suits begin shooting the villagers with darts. Mark and Alec gain entry to the Berg, only to discover the darts are full of a dangerous virus, which comes to be known as the Flare. It drives people insane, ultimately killing them. Read more...
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly (#1)- Dashner (the 13th Reality series) offers up a dark and gripping tale of survival set in a world where teenagers fight for their lives on a daily basis. It starts when Thomas, a teenage amnesiac, wakes up in the Glade, a fragile oasis in the middle of an enormous maze. Here, a group of teenage boys eke out a hazardous existence, exploring the Maze by day and retreating to the Glade at night. No one knows how they got there; no one has ever found a way out (“Old life's over, new life's begun. Learn the rules quick,” the group's leader tells Thomas). Bizarre technological monsters called Grievers patrol the Maze's corridors, almost certain death for any who encounter them. Thomas struggles to regain his memories, but the arrival of a young woman with an ominous message changes the rules of the game. With a fast-paced narrative steadily answering the myriad questions that arise and an ever-increasing air of tension, Dashner's suspenseful adventure will keep readers guessing until the very end, which paves the way for the inevitable continuation. (Oct.)
A Kirkus Review (#2)- Thomas led the Gladers to safety in The Maze Runner (2009). But after just one night’s rest, the survivors are told that a true haven is still a long way off. To reach it, they have to pass another trial: crossing an expanse of scorched earth while being pursued by the Cranks, humans infected by the Flare, a disease that inflicts madness. If they can just make it to the designated meeting point on time (and alive), they will be met by a rescue team from the shadowy organization behind these trials, receive the cure to the pandemic and never have to face danger again. Constantly on the run and threatened, the Gladers struggle to win. Thomas tries to protect his friends while searching for Teresa, the lone girl from the Glade, and grappling with elusive returning memories. Taut and bleak, continually intriguing and surprising, this is a solid sequel that keeps both Thomas and readers wondering what is really going on. Hooked readers will hope they won’t have to wait long for the answers that have been promised in the next installment. (September 15, 2010)
A Kirkus Review (#3)- An explosive ending to The Maze Runner trilogy. Thomas and the rest of the survivors of the Maze and the Scorch Trials are being held at WICKED (World in Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department) headquarters. Subjected to even more tests, they’ve learned enough to know that they’re all part of a massive experiment to find a cure for the pandemic Flare disease. But does any cure justify what they’ve been put through? Or the engineered deaths of their friends? It’s hard to believe that “WICKED is good,” even though that’s the message they’re bombarded with. Discouraged, rebellious and definitely not trusting, Thomas, Newt, Minho, Brenda and Jorge break out and escape to Denver, now a walled city meant to be reserved for the uninfected and the immune. But it’s all too clear that Newt has already been infected and is teetering on the verge of madness. It’s equally clear that WICKED has put a bounty on their heads and won’t rest until they have these survivors back in hand—especially Thomas, who may have been part of all the experiments from the very beginning and is now the Final Candidate. Dashner again displays his mastery of the action sequence, making readers turn pages even as they become further invested in the well-developed characters. Heart pounding to the very last moment. (September 15, 2010)
Publishers Weekly (#4/Prequel)- This prequel to Dashner's dystopian Maze Runner trilogy, set 13 years before those books,focuses on a new character—Mark—who lives through the "sun flares" that decimate Earth. He creates a new family with other survivors, including Alec, a tough old soldier, and Trina, his love interest. But then strangers arrive on an airship and infect villagers with a mysterious virus, which quickly spreads and mutates. Maze Runner fans may be surprised by the new protagonist, but they will be swept up in the breathless, cinematic action. Whether Mark is flashing back to his escape from the sun flares, stealing an airship with Alec, or battling hordes of virus-infected maniacs, Dashner's adventure is filled with near-constant melees and peril (some readers might want to trade some fight scenes for more narrative and character development). Even so, Dashner has crafted a clever prequel that will appeal to fans anxious to see where The Maze Runner came from, while enticing those unfamiliar with the later books. (Aug.)
Teaching Activities:
Compare the series- Compare the Maze Runner trilogy to earlier classic works of this type: George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Nevil Shute’s On the Beach, and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. What world events may have prompted the authors of those earlier books to write about a post- apocalyptic world? Compare those events to recent events in our own times. See more...
Book 1,2, &3 Book Trailers