The City of Ember

DuPrau, Jeanne (2003). The City of Ember. New York: Random House.

This story takes place in an underground city called Ember. Days and nights are dark. The only light the city sees comes from floodlamps run by a generator that is failing after 241 years running. Lina and Doon, two twelve year olds from Ember, have just finished school and started their "jobs" as a messenger and pipeworker respectively. Both curious to find out if there is life and light outside of the city of Ember, they search for ways to make the city better. One day, Lina's baby sister Poppy, finds a piece of paper in a box in their home. After her baby sister nearly ruins it, Lina and Doon try to decipher the message and realize that it is instructions to escape from the city. They go into the underground river and find boats to use that eventually lead them OUT of the city to above ground (they never knew they lived underground!)

The author uses a lot of unexpected insights in the story. I read the book as a read-aloud to my 5th graders this first six weeks and we were all in shock as we discovered that they were living underground. DuPrau also uses precise vocabulary that made for great discussions in my class.