LS 5623 Mod 3

 

ala.org



harpercollinschildrens.com





 Nation by Terry Pratchett



Module 3 Adventure, Sports and Mystery



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pratchett, Terry. Nation. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN 9780061433016

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

While Mau has gone to leave his boy soul and gain his man soul, a wave comes and wipes out his entire Nation. When he returns, he begins to bury the bodies and wonder what will become of him since he has no soul now at all. Ermintrude, washes up on the beach of Mau’s island and joins him as they reinvent themselves and the Nation. They learn each other’s languages and customs as they piece together a new community from the refugees that continue to land on the shores of the island. As Mau continues to look for spiritual answers concerning the beliefs of his people, Ermintrude or Daphne as she renames herself, explores the island and uses her extensive European education to try to solve the mysteries she discovers. Daphne proves that she is a wise and strong leader while she confidently awaits the arrival of her father and his search party. Although Mau never views himself as his nation’s new leader, he is the one they depend on to solve all their problems and guide them into a future. Pratchett combines clever humor with serious introspection, adventure and harsh survival situations in this unique coming of age story.



BOOK HOOK/EXPLEMPLARY OR FAVORITE LINES

What if you woke up one morning and you were the only one left alive? What if you were washed up on an island and you had to learn a strange language, eat foreign things and use a weapon just to survive? In Nation, a young boy without a soul and a princess learn what they are willing to do to rebuild a nation.

Interview with Terry Pratchett:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m1S8OILL1C4YWF/ref=ent_fb_link



EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTS

Booklist

*Starred Review* “Somewhere in the South Pelagic Ocean,” a tidal wave wipes out the population of a small island—except for Mau, who was paddling his dugout canoe home after a month spent alone, preparing to become a man. The wave also sweeps a sailing ship carrying Daphne, an English girl, up onto the island and deposits it in the rain forest, where Mau finds her. Over the months that follow, they learn to communicate while welcoming more people to their shores and building a community of survivors. Mau searches for the meaning behind his people’s gods, while Daphne applies her nineteenth-century knowledge of science and history to the many puzzles she discovers in this unfamiliar place. Broad in its scope and concrete in its details, this unusual novel strips away the trappings of two very different nations to consider what it is people value and why. Certain scenes are indelible: Mau’s nonverbal communication to Daphne that a pregnant woman has landed, and she must help with the birth; or the terrifying yet awesome descent into a cave. Quirky wit and broad vision make this a fascinating survival story on many levels. -Carolyn Phelan



School Library Journal

Starred Review. In this first novel for young people set outside of Discworld, Pratchett again shows his humor and humanity. Worlds are destroyed and cultures collide when a tsunami hits islands in a vast ocean much like the Pacific. Mau, a boy on his way back home from his initiation period and ready for the ritual that will make him a man, is the only one of his people, the Nation, to survive. Emintrude, a girl from somewhere like Britain in a time like the 19th century, is on her way to meet her father, the governor of the Mothering Sunday islands. She is the sole survivor of her ship (or so she thinks), which is wrecked on Mau's island. She reinvents herself as Daphne, and uses her wits and practical sense to help the straggling refugees from nearby islands who start arriving. When raiders land on the island, they are led by a mutineer from the wrecked ship, and Mau must use all of his ingenuity to outsmart him. Then, just as readers are settling in to thinking that all will be well in the new world that Daphne and Mau are helping to build, Pratchett turns the story on its head. The main characters are engaging and interesting, and are the perfect medium for the author's sly humor. Daphne is a close literary cousin of Tiffany Aching in her common sense and keen intelligence wedded to courage. A rich and thought-provoking read.—Sue Giffard