The City Of Ember: The Graphic Novel Read Free Books and Download eBooks
In the spring 2003, kids, parents, teachers, librarians—whole communities—discovered and fell in love with Jeanne DuPrau's story about a doomed city, and the two children who found a way out. Nearly 10 years later, that story, The City of Ember, is a bona fide classic, with over 1.7 million copies sold. Now experience Jeanne DuPrau's vision anew as artist Niklas Asker faithfully brings to life the glare of the lamps, the dinginess of the streets, and the brilliance of the first sunrise.
Lexile Measure: 0260 (What's this?)
Series: The City of Ember
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (September 25, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780375867934
ISBN-13: 978-0375867934
ASIN: 0375867937
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,308 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #20,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #13 in Books > Children's Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga #44 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga > Science Fiction #63 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga > Fantasy
Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 - 7
Plot descriptions have already been done, so I'll offer my commentary.The (barely) three page prologue sets a splendid dramatic tension for the story. We know that something is afoot, that there is more to Ember than Ember, and that empowers us, to a certain extent - like when you're watching a movie and you know something that the characters don't.We see the development of this through the eyes of two twelve year olds, both very different children. Doon has a temper and is rather sullen, and Lina is a bundle of hope and joy. But their depth goes beyond that. These are three-dimensional characters, a rarity in children's books.Also rare is the sturdy, clear writing. It never felt rushed, always felt poised. The only thing that wasn't handled with perfection was humor. I should have laughed when Doon threw a shoe heel and it hit his father in the ear, but I didn't. But that's OK. Eoin Colfer can be funny, and Ms. DuPrau can simply be a better writer.I found a few plot points strained: 1) Lina being the great-great-great whatever of one of the mayor's mentioned in the prologue; 2) Her own grandmother's mad search for something that now, in her dotage, she remembers is of the utmost importance; and 3) Poppy getting her hands on the thing that is important and rendering it nearly indecipherable.But those are minor points. They exist to move the story from one point to another, and the story isn't really about the discovery of the Instructions for Egress, it's about the city of Ember itself, how its inhabitants have adjusted to living in a city where there is no light after nine (because the only light the city has is electricity and it knows nothing of the Sun), deciphering the Instructions for Egress, and the action of egress itself.
The city of Ember is in trouble, but the complacent citizens seem to ignore the food shortages and frequent blackouts. The Builders, when they created the city some 241 years ago, made provisions for its citizens in the form of a note called "The Instructions." Unfortunately, The Instructions were not handed down through the generations as they were supposed to be, and suddenly 12-year old Lina, a city Messenger, has discovered them. After trying to tell her friends and even the Mayor about the discovery of the partially destroyed Instructions, Lina turns to a one-time school friend, Doon, a worker in the underground Pipeworks, whom she believes will understand their importance. But what can two children do with such important information, and who would even believe them?The City of Ember is a clever novel which tells the unique story of two unintentional heroes who fight the status quo in order to bring hope to their city. The descriptions of the world of Ember are fascinating, leaving the reader to appreciate the incredible imagination of first-time novelist Jeanne DuPrau. The narrator thoughtfully informs us of the setting-the unusual and self-contained world of Ember-slowly throughout the novel, and not all at once in the first chapter. It's only in chapter 8 that we even realize that there are no animals in Ember and the words "heaven" and "boat" have no known meaning. The characters are outstandingly original yet touchingly familiar in their pre-pubescent views of the adult world. The deaths of Lina's parents and then custodial grandmother create a sympathy for her that causes us to, all the more, wish for her triumph.
I read The City of Ember when it first came out, when a 12-year-old neighbor girl told me about it. I read it again aloud to my wife and her son. Then we saw the movie in the theater. Then we saw the DVD. Now I've just finished the graphic novel. I love this story!(spoiler alert) At first I was sad that in the graphic novel there are so many details missing. However, I got hooked into the story. I was only going to read for a little bit but I read the whole book in one evening. And something happened to me. It happened every time I read the book and saw the movie: when Lina and Dune come out of the cave and smell the fresh air for the first time in their lives, I got chills. Then as the light begins, and the sun comes up, the first time they have ever seen the sun, I get tears in my eyes. Even though this is the fifth time I have read or seen the story, it still is magic to me.And now that I think about it, this is simply a retelling of the Allegory of the Cave, from Plato's Republic. In that story, men are trapped in a cave, never having seen natural light. They are chained in a way so that they can only see the back wall of the cave, where projections are shown to them by way of a lamp and puppets behind their backs. They believe the puppet shadows are real, that they are all that is real. But a many may break free of his shackles and go outside the cave, and see real things, with real light. It is a metaphor for a kind of perception or enlightenment. I think Jeanne DuPrau has done a wonderful service to Plato by putting the story in this form, with children being the discoverers. It deepens the metphor, because they have not yet grown to believe all the things that adults are supposed to believe.
The City of Ember (The First Book of Ember) Ember Falls (The Green Ember Series: Book 2) The Green Ember (The Green Ember Series: Book 1) The City of Ember: The Graphic Novel Hollow City: The Graphic Novel: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel) Back to War: Graphic Novel: Episode One (Corps Justice Graphic Novel Series Book 1) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Graphic Novel Book 1) Graphic Classics Volume 4: H. P. Lovecraft - 2nd Edition (Graphic Classics (Graphic Novels)) The Wright Brothers: A Graphic Novel (Campfire Graphic Novels) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: The Graphic Novel (Campfire Graphic Novels) Harry Houdini: A Graphic Novel (Campfire Graphic Novels) The Call of the Wild: The Graphic Novel (Campfire Graphic Novels) A Bag of Marbles: The Graphic Novel (Graphic Universe) (Junior Library Guild Selection) A Torch Against the Night: An Ember in the Ashes, Book 2 An Ember in the Ashes The Green Ember Ember.js cookbook Daybreak: The Dawning Ember (No-Eyes Series) The Gardens of Nibiru: The Ember War, Book 5 The Ember War: Publisher's Pack, Books 1-2
