Our family just finished reading Gregor the Overlander, the first book in the Underland Chronicles.  "Chronicles of Anything" are returning in popularity since The Chronicles of Narnia have been resurrected to the mainstream.  We enjoyed the Narnia series years ago and recommended it to many of our friends.  But it took a movie to motivate most young, contemporary readers to explore these old classics.  Whatever it takes, I'm happy another generation is appreciating these well written books.  Thus, authors are writing chronicles again.  But will they ever measure up to Narnia?

Although we have only finished the first book in the Underland Chronicles, I think this series shares a few positive aspects with the classic Narnia series.  First, the opening premise is a child's fantastic escape from the problems of their own private world.  In the Chronicles of Narnia series, the children are escaping the horrors of WW II, evacuated to London to live with their uncle.  The Underland Chronicles parallels a child's escape from a more contemporary situation.  Young Gregor's dad has abandoned them, his mom has had to return to work for their survival, they teeter on the edge of poverty and Gregor has been charged with caring for a younger sibling. 

In both stories, the children have been forced to grow up too quickly, assuming adult responsibilites and independence beyond their years.  Through adventures in their fantastic world, both books brilliantly paint interesting characters and conflicts, forcing the children to acquire confidence, courage and leadership roles.  Both series also portray groups of people or personality types through various animal species.   The authors often speak of the plight of certain groups of people, giving persecuted people or misunderstood groups of people a voice through the animal characters.  Dilemmas which require our "heroes" to choose between right and wrong, individual needs vs. the greater good, and obedience to a higher moral calling, force the reader to think about their own choices in challenging situations.

Having only read the first book, I hesitate to form any hard conclusions about the Underland Chronicles as a series.  But after reading the first book, we've already reserved Gregor and the Prophesy of Bane from our library and look forward to further life lessons through Underland adventures.  What is an Overlander?  You'll have to read this book to find the answer!  (this series is recommended for grades 5th-8th) 

Gregor the Overlander is a 2007 nominee for the Rebecca Caudill   Award.

Related Tags: children's literature, literature awards, recommended reading

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Posted by trinaleah

Hmmmm I am definitely interested! Thanks for sharing these books. I am always looking for something to peak my eleven year old sons interest.

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Posted by SandBetweenMyToes

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I apologize it has taken me so long to get back to you. It has been hectic around here with 2 of my girls' birthdays and parties all in one week. My oldest just turned 20!
We found the house we stayed in at North Captiva on the internet. We had looked at going to Sanibel since it was popular for shelling, and in our searching ran across N. Captiva. Typically at the beach, mid Aug. starts an off season, since schools have started back, but it's not time for the snow birds yet. I know further south like N.Cap., the summer is slower than the winter. When we were there the last of Aug. it was deserted. Just do a google search for North Captiva Florida accomodations, and you should come up with quite a bit. Most of the houses sit further off the water, but there are a few right on the beach. There are also some on the sound. Be careful renting something on the end of the island, because you get a very strong current through the passes. We were not too far from one end, and some days you could barely stand up. Quite a few of the houses that are not waterfront have private pools.
You look like you do quite a bit of traveling. We like to go, but not as much as I would want! Unlike you, though, we like to camp, and wish we could trade in our pop-up for something a little bigger and hardsided. : )
Stop by again soon.
Letitia

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Posted by APlaceToRead

Hi fellow coffee-drinker! I am really impressed with your blog site! We are fans also of classical learning, and I always enjoy seeing what books others are reading and studying. I will check in on your bog again!

Chris

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Posted by Anonymous

I love this series. Our library has all of them and I find them very engaging and thoughtful. I like how the smaller, younger and weaker characters have important roles in solving the problems, and even the ugly, grouchy ones have hero roles sometimes. The levels of the story are more and more complex the more you talk about it. - cloudscome
http://awrungsponge.blogspot.com

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