Module 8 - Gregor the Overlander

 Courtesy of suzannecollinsbooks.com

Book Summary:   
This story is about a young man who has had to take on unexpected responsibilities.  When his dad up and disappears, he takes on the responsibility of helping tend to his younger sisters while giving up his own enjoyments.  While doing laundry with his baby sister, they are pulled into a whole that takes them a long way down.  The meet giant cockroaches, rats and spiders along with another race of humans.  He helps these humans battle agains the rats and in the process finds his dad. 
APA Reference:

Collins, S. (2003). Gregor the overlander. New York, NY: Scholastic.

My Impressions: 

This isn't really my type of story, but I can see how students would enjoy it.  Being taken to a fantasy land and having a grand adventure keeps students motivated to read.  Gregory's adventure is a good story of good triumphing over evil.  It also shows how important it is to never give up.  He kept believing his dad would come home, and he eventually found him. 
Professional Reviews:

Gr 4-8-It's the beginning of summer and everyone is going off to camp except Gregor, an 11-year-old boy from New York City. Since his father's disappearance from their New York City home, he has been helping out with taking care of his little sisters, especially two-year-old Boots. Gregor sacrifices his chance to go to camp, letting his other sister go instead. While doing laundry in the basement of his apartment building, Boots disappears down an air chute and Gregor goes after her. At the bottom of this innercity "rabbit hole," the two find themselves in the "Underland" surrounded immediately by giant cockroaches, or crawlers. The story moves quickly as the two "Overlanders" are taken to the Queen of the Underlander humans, where Gregor learns of a prophecy which focuses on him and a quest to find his missing father. He travels with bats, crawlers, spinners (giant spiders), a rat, and two of the royal Underlanders. Gregor spends his time between protecting Boots, who doesn't know she needs to be protected, and becoming the leader of the questors who must not only save his father, but also save the Underlanders' kingdom. This fantasy by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, 2003) is skillfully written with well-developed characters and enough action to keep listeners' attention. Narrator Paul Boehmer does an excellent job of providing different voices for the myriad of characters. With the hint of a sequel, this would be an excellent selection for libraries to add to their fantasy collections.-Lisa D. Williams, Chocowinity Middle School, NC

Professional Review Reference:
Williams, L. (2005). Gregor the overlander. School Library Journal, 51(8), 64.

Library Uses:
One use for this book would be to help older students with creative writing.  A lesson could be done in the library on creative writing and opportunities available.  After reading it, they would write their own creative writing.  Another use would be to have an art contest with this book as the focus.  Students would complete a group reading of the book and then be required to draw what they think one of the areas of the underland look like.  It could be a group contest with each student taking a different scene, or individual with each doing a scene of their choice.