I’m very interested in the good and bad ways science is depicted in children’s media. This is important stuff for parents and educators to be aware of if we hope to draw more kids into exploring the STEM subjects! With that in mind I plan to write occasional reviews, with a focus on attitudes toward science.
This month I’m helping fourth graders at Sangre Ridge here in Stillwater write songs based on the sci-fi book City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. Since I’ve read, outlined, and thoroughly discussed the book with the kids, I thought I’d take the opportunity to post my first book review. Don’t worry, I won’t include any spoilers.
Synopsis
The City of Ember is a “city in a bottle” story. In the prologue we learn that “The Builders” stock Ember as a shelter to last for two hundred years. They leave instructions in a sealed box with a timed lock, to let the people know how to find their way out when the time comes. But before it clicks open, the box is lost.
Fast forward to the present. Ember is well over two hundred years old, supplies are running out, and the generator that provides the city’s only source of light and energy has begun to fail. Our two twelve-year-old protagonists, Lina and Doon recognize the seriousness of their situation and seek solutions.
The Role of Nature
The citizens of Ember have very little contact with nature. They survive on a dwindling stockpile of canned food, supplemented with vegetables from the greenhouse, grown under special lights. They are uncertain whether anything exists beyond their own city, which is surrounded by eternal darkness. They have no means of exploring the “Unknown Regions,” since nobody has been able to devise a moveable light.
So when the reader experiences nature through the eyes of Lina and Dune, the mundane becomes miraculous. A worker in the greenhouse shows Lina how life mysteriously sprouts from a seemingly inert bean. Doon observes a worm forming a cocoon and emerging later as a moth. Can you imagine what you would make of such wonders had you lived your entire life in an artificial setting? For Lina and Doon these observations seem to hint at a world beyond Ember where things can magically transform themselves.
Contrast this with the movie, where giant moths flutter around the light fixtures, and a giant mole pops out to provide a chase scene. Where the book shows us nature from a new perspective, with profound meaning for the characters, the movie shows us unexplained monsters whose ramifications are not explored. Where the book succeeds at expressing a deep sense of wonder about the natural world, the movie fails to do so.
Critical Thinking
In the book the closest thing to a giant mole is hearsay about a house-sized rat. This monster is reported to the citizens by a man who comes back from a brief foray into the Unknown Regions, defeated by the darkness. Is he a reliable witness, or has his imagination gotten the better of him? The author does a great job of presenting the facts and letting the readers draw their own conclusions. There are examples throughout the book of characters making claims, both in the factual realm and the ethical realm, that readers must process for themselves.
Lina and Doon also employ a detailed critical thinking process of their own in an effort to find and decipher clues that may lead them out of Ember. Just like scientists, they rely on observation, exploration, logic, guesswork, persistence, teamwork and luck to make headway solving an intractable puzzle. They form hypotheses based on available information and adjust their thinking when it turns out to be wrong or when new information comes to light.
Recommended!
The fourth graders I’m working with seem to be genuinely drawn in by the City of Ember. They haven’t all finished the book yet, but they show real concern for the characters and curiosity about the nature of the situation. They are fascinated by the themes of survival, cooperation, and light verses dark.
The book is an easy read, and at the same time deals deftly with many sophisticated human issues. The story moves along quickly, with enough suspense throughout to make it a page turner. All this adds up to a great recommendation for any young reader. But it’s an especially great find for reluctant readers in the middle grades. This one is likely to suck them in!
And author’s portrayal of characters trying to figure out the nature of their universe with a sense of awe and wonder and urgency is spot-on!
If you haven’t checked it out yet, add this one to your family’s reading list. If you have seen the movie, don’t let that deter you. The book is much better. I’m looking forward to reading the sequels!
Have you read City of Ember? Post your thoughts below!
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