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The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
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The City of Ember

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The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Paperback $13.99
Sep 25, 2012 | ISBN 9780375867934

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  • $13.99

    Sep 25, 2012 | ISBN 9780375867934 | Middle Grade (8-12)

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  • Sep 25, 2012 | ISBN 9780307979100 | 9-12 years

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Product Details

Praise

Starred Review, School Library Journal, November 2012:
“­Lina and Doon have spent their entire lives surrounded by darkness. Lina is an optimist and a dreamer who just knows there is something beyond the city of her birth. Doon is much more practical. He knows that if he can just get a good look underground, he can fix the city’s constant blackout problem. A chance encounter on Assignment Day allows the two children to meet and exchange jobs, essentially giving the other what they’ve always wanted. They start to unearth an evil plot by the city’s obese and greedy mayor to steal away precious resources from the people who live there. Using clues left behind by Lina’s late grandmother, they travel beneath Ember’s tunnels in a desperate attempt to find a way out. Based on DuPrau’s novel (Random, 2003), the story brings the city of Ember to life using many muted yellows and earth tones. While the interior vantage points from Lina’s and Doon’s perspectives make Ember’s public buildings and homes seem large, advanced exterior shots surrounded entirely in black give readers a sense of just how isolated Ember is. Lina’s wonder and Doon’s frustration are easily visible through Asker’s skill in detailing facial expressions, helping to visually elevate a story literally besieged by shadows. Dystopian stories can be dark, and this one is literally so, but its ultimately hopeful message will resonate.”

Booklist, October 15, 2012:
“The city of Ember, the only light in a vast world of darkness, is dying and two young teens might be the only ones who can find the way out of their darkening town–if they can escape the machinations of a corrupt mayor. DuPrau’s well-received dystopian and postapocalyptic middle-grade novel is ably adapted into graphic-novel form by Middaugh and Asker. The result is a streamlined work that moves quickly while retaining the heart of the original story. Readers new and old will appreciate the muted colors of Asker’s artwork, which clearly shows the dinginess of Ember and the generic quality of people who have bred past specific races.”

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2012:
“Effective use of light and shadow in the art give this graphic adaptation of the 2003 novel a properly spooky look. The tale is told in a visual, cinematic way with an admixture of quick reaction shots and wordless action sequences that allow readers to race along almost as fast as they can turn the pages. Asker’s penumbral scenes underground and broad, grassy Eden above are strongly atmospheric and depict both settings and the clearly delineated cast (particularly the grossly corpulent Mayor) in tellingly crisp detail.”

Awards

ALA Notable Children’s Book WINNER 2004

Arkansas Charlie May Simon Award WINNER 2005

California Young Reader Medal WINNER

Connecticut Nutmeg Children’s Book Award WINNER

Florida Sunshine State Book Award WINNER 2004

Kansas William White Award WINNER 2006

Kentucky Bluegrass Master List WINNER 2006

New Hampshire Great Stone Face Children’s Book Award WINNER

New Jersey Garden State Children’s Book Award WINNER

Texas Lone Star Reading List WINNER 2004

Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award NOMINEE 2005

Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award NOMINEE 2006

Iowa Teen Book Award NOMINEE 2006

West Virginia Children’s Book Master List NOMINEE 2005

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