In this book, the sequel to The City of Ember, DuPrau continues the adventures of Doon and Lina, who have led the people from the underground city of Ember to the Earth's surface and the city of Sparks. The refugees are welcomed by the people of Sparks who live near a wasteland left by the disaster a long time ago that nearly destroyed most of civilization. Due to the differences between the sheltered, electric-powered life in Ember and the low-tech, farm-based existence in Sparks, conflict arises between the two groups. As conflict and violence escalate, Doon and Lina must find a solution that provides hope for the future of both groups.

This is the third book in the trilogy that began with the Newbery Award winner, The Giver and later, Gathering Blue. Matt, who found Kira's father in Gathering Blue, now lives in the utopian community called the Village. Kira's father is the Seer and Matt has grown under his care. Matt, a responsible member of the community, acts as a messenger for Leader, the blue-eyed Jonas from The Giver. Matt, once a scruffy thief, discovers that he has healing powers. Matt's skills become crucial in saving his formerly tolerant village from the greed and the suspicion that is eating it away.
Messenger could be used alone as a novel or as part of the trilogy in an author study.

This is an interesting recounting of the survival story of Ernest Shackleton's adventure. Ernest Shackleton and his crew were attempting to cross Antarctica. When the Endurance became icebound in Antarctica in 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 27 were 166 kilometres from land. Although their mission was unsuccessful, their survival story is remarkable. The men played on the ice to pass the time after the Endurance sank. They took to their lifeboats and spent a year travelling over ice, water and mountains to safety. In 1916, Shackleton led a rescue party to retrieve his men and, remarkably, the entire crew survived. The photos provide an opportunity to witness what the crew experienced during the journey.

The protagonist in this novel is chosen by powerful adults to carry out an important task. Set in a futuristic society that emerges after great destruction on planet Earth, Kira is left homeless after her mother dies mysteriously. Kira is threatened with death because she has a deformed leg and her society sees no purpose for those who cannot do hard labour. Kira is saved because, like her mother, she is able to dye threads.
The Council of Guardians gives her the job of repairing and restoring the robe of the Singer, the oral historian who presides at the annual harvest time Gathering celebration. Through her work, Kira discovers that she has real talent for creating new and beautiful patterns. She also discovers, however, that her temporary privileged status will eventually bring her doom. The novel is an examination of a future society that will challenge readers to think about community, creativity and the values they have learned to accept.
Gathering Blue would be a good choice for literature circles and for discussions around the theme of the future.

Marjane Satrapi writes about her own experiences as a child in Iran. A graphic novel about Iranian culture and history, the story is told with a sense of humour and it offers insight into the culture of Iran and the impact of the Islamic revolution on the Iranian people. As the only child of revolutionaries, Satrapi's life changes dramatically. Marjane found it very difficult to live under such strict rules and her disobedient behaviour put her family in danger. Her parents were forced to send her to live in Europe for her own safety until she was 14. We learn from Marjane's story of a childhood based on terrorism and war that the actions of a few extremists do not reflect the attitude of a nation.

The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest is the story of the rescue on May 10, 1996. The book tells how the climbers became disoriented in a vicious storm and when the group runs out of oxygen, it complicates the situation. A Russian mountaineer, Anatoli Boukreev, climbs without oxygen and saves six of his climbers during the height of the storm.
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest provides the transcripts and debriefing after the tragedy as well as another viewpoint to Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and Jamling Norgay's Touching My Father's Soul.

Kit Watson and his family return to the coal-mining town of Stoneygate to look after Kit's aging, recently widowed grandfather. Kit is lured into playing a game called Death by a boy named John Askew. When Kit must stay alone in a mine, he is haunted by the ghosts of people who died working in the mines. John disappears and Kit, an aspiring writer, creates a story about a prehistoric boy who becomes separated from his family.
The story parallel's John's life and the stories that Kit's grandfather has told him about the mines.
This book won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2001 for literary excellence.

Into Thin Air is a firsthand account of the tragic commercial expedition to Mount Everest in 1996 in which eight climbers died. Krakauer, a mountain climber and journalist from the United States, balances the views of the ego-driven mountain climbers, the underappreciated Sherpa guides and the inexperienced amateurs' desires to reach beyond one's limitations. Krakauer investigates the catastrophe and what went wrong on the summit the day of the storm.
It would be interesting for students to compare Into Thin Air with The Climb and Touching My Father's Soul.

Written in diary format by Vera, readers learn about the evacuation of the Aleut people from the Aleutian Islands during World War II. By focusing on a handful of fictional characters, Hesse tells of the hardships that the Aleuts endured when the Japanese occupied these islands near Alaska. The short prose poems reveal how the Aleutians suffered and readers also learn about their history and culture. Included are examples of poetic devices such as imagery, simile and alliteration.
The format of prose poetry could be used for the study of contextual cueing systems.