384 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (2008)
ISBN: 9780439023481
Reading Level/Lexile: 7th grade and up/810L
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian
Annotation/Teaser: Katniss Everdeen has been forced to compete in the annual Hunger Games. This is a fight for survival and only one person can win. Will Katniss survive or will she die at the hands of the people who have become her closest friends and worst enemies?
Plot Summary: Katniss Everdeen lives with her sister, Prim and her mother in the nation of Panem. Panem is split into 12 districts and once a year one boy and one girl from each district are chosen to compete in a fight to the death. There can only be one survivor. To the horror of her mother and herself, Prim is chosen. Katniss speaks up and volunteers to take her place. So Katniss and Peeta, the boy chosen, are taken to the Capitol to spend their last days before the games getting ready. With over half of the tributes dead after the first day, Katniss realizes she must rely on her survival and hunting skills to keep her alive. But what happens when Peeta and Katniss form an alliance and defy the leaders of the Panem nation?
About the Author: Suzanne Collins In 1991, Suzanne Collins began her professional career writing for children’s television. She worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! with her friend, Peter Bakalian, which was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days,and a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author and illustrator James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.
Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part fantasy/war series, The Underland Chronicles,which became a New York Times bestseller. It has been translated into 19 languages.
Her next series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, is an international bestseller. The Hunger Games has spent more than 260 consecutive weeks/more than five consecutive years to date on The New York Times bestseller list since publication in September 2008, and has also appeared consistently on USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It has been sold into 56 territories in 51 languages. In 2010 Collins was named to the TIME 100 list as well as the Entertainment Weekly Entertainers of the Year list.
Lionsgate released a film adaptation of THE HUNGER GAMES on March 23, 2012, directed by Gary Ross who also shared screenplay credit with Suzanne and Billy Ray. It broke multiple box office records and went on to become the 14th highest-grossing North American release of all time on its way to generating nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office. Lionsgate will release the second installment THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE worldwide on November 22, 2013 bringing back stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci and Lenny Kravitz along with new cast members Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone and Jeffrey Wright. The film is directed by Francis Lawrence, from a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Michael DeBruyn. Lionsgate will release THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 on November 21, 2014 and THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2 on November 20, 2015, also directed by Lawrence. All four films are being produced by Nina Jacobson of Color Force and Jon Kilik.
In September 2013, Suzanne released a critically acclaimed autobiographical picture book, YEAR OF THE JUNGLE, illustrated by James Proimos. It deals with the year she was six and her father was deployed to Viet Nam. It has been sold into 12 territories in 11 languages. Her first picture book, WHEN CHARLIE MCBUTTON LOST POWER, about a boy obsessed with computer games, was illustrated by Mike Lester and came out in 2005.
Suzanne currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.
Suzanne Collins (n.d.) Retrieved from www.suzannecollinsbooks.com
Critical Evaluation: The plot development make The Hunger Games an awesome story. The corrupt society where children are chosen to fight to the death is an astonishing element of this story. The plot is exciting and hooks the reader almost instantly. There are several plot twist that keeps this book interesting. One of those is the relationship that Katniss develops with Peeta. There is also a flashback moment when Katniss remembers Peeta giving her the bread in their hometown to help her and her family survive. The biggest plot twist is the one at the end when Peeta and Katniss threaten to eat the poison berries and kill themselves so there will be no winner in the end. This twist is so unexpected and keeps the reader hanging on to see what will happen next.
Another great element in this book is the use of symbolism. One of my favorite elements of symbolism is when Katniss places the flowers over Rue's body when she is killed in the arena. This act is one of direct rebellion against the Capitol. She is inspired to prove to the Capitol that these tributes are still human and deserve respect and admiration. The last element of symbolism is probably the most obvious and is carried throughout the whole series. It is the mockingjay. The mockingjay is a hybrid bird that was created from another bird called a jabberjay. Jabberjays were birds that were genetically engineered to be spies during the rebellion of District 13. They were meant to listen to conversations and then bring the information back to the Capitol. This backfired when District 13 figured it out and started giving them false information. They were then deemed useless and left alone to fend for themselves in the wild where they mated with mockingbirds. The result was the mockingjay, which then learned to repeat songs and tunes. The mockingjay appears in several places in the story. Katniss's father loved mockingjays and loved to sing and whistle with them. Rue also used mockingjays to send messages to other agricultural workers in her district and teaches Katniss one of the mockingjay's signals to alert her that she is still alive. And lastly, the mockingjay pin is given to Katniss by the mayor's daughter before she leaves to go the games. The mockingjay in this story is the symbol of a free spirit. One who has broken away from the Capitol and all its rules and regulations. Katniss even says that the mockingjay is a "slap in the face to the Capitol." I love the imagery and symbolism of the mockingjay and the story of how and why it came to be.
Curriculum Ties: English, Social Studies, American Government
Book Talk Ideas: North America is now called Panem, where the government has complete control and kids can be chosen to fight to the death.
What other nation was set up with 13 districts to report back to a mother country? Talk about the link between colonial times America and dystopian Panem.
Controversial Issues: Violence, death
Defense:
*I will keep the library's selection policy on hand and memorized with a good understanding of the standards and policies to show that the selection meets the standards.
*I will keep
good and bad reviews (both electronic and print) and make sure they are from
reliable and respected sources such as School of Library Journal, Booklist, and
YALSA. I will have copies of these reviews to give away.
*I will confirm
the library's position to provide intellectual freedom as stated in the Library
Bill of Rights and keep a copy of this.
*I will keep
a written rationale to justify the reasons this material is included in the
collection, such as educational significance and curriculum ties.
*I will be
respectful and calm and practice "active listening".
*I will make
sure I read the material and are very familiar with it.
* I will keep a reconsideration form on file
in the event that my other strategies don't work.
Why I Chose This Book? I chose this book because it is a great example of a dystopian world. But I also chose it because I think it will appeal to young adults because of the excitement and popularity of the movies.
No comments:
Post a Comment