- The Book, Title and the Author:
The Cahill family is the most powerful family the world has ever known. Grace Cahill, the grandmother of the family, left a contest in her will for her families. They can either take 1 million dollars or the first in a series of 39 Clues that will reveal the source of the family’s power. The books in The 39 Clues series are unique, in that each installment is written by a different author. The list of authors who wrote The 39 Clues books include New York Times bestselling writers and winners of the National Book Award, the Edgar Award, and many others. Book five-The Black Circle is written by Patrick Carman. Patrick Carman is the New York Times bestselling author of The Land of Elyon and Atherton series.
A Northwest native, Patrick Carman grew up in Salem, Oregon, and graduated from Willamette University with a degree in economics. Carman then spent a decade living in Portland, where he founded and ran his own advertising agency. After selling it in 1998, he created a series of popular board games, and founded and built MyWebPal.com into the third-largest provider of online newspaper publishing in the U.S. He also launched a fourth new business, Amped Radio, during the same time period that he was writing The Dark Hills Divide.
Long devoted to counseling troubled youth, Carman created his "Lifetime Mentoring Program" four years ago. He and his wife have also been deeply involved with the Agros Foundation. Founded in 1982, the non-profit organization assists 17 developing communities in Central America and has helped over 3,000 people break free from poverty through land ownership and technical assistance. Patrick Carman lives in Washington with his wife, Karen, and daughters, Reese and Sierra.
b. Author’s craft and Theme
The author creates the story in such a way as a "game of cat and mouse”. A strange telegram lures fourteen-year old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, deep into Russia and away from the only trustworthy adult they know. Signed with initials NRR, the telegram launches a race to uncover a treasure stolen by the Nazis and the truth behind the murder of the last Russian royal family. All too soon, the treasure hunt starts to smell like a Lucian trap. But the bait might just be irresistible…many are after Amy and Dan, but they survive. The theme of the text can be Action & Adventure.
c. Publisher Informations:
•Published. Date: August 2009
•Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
•Age Range: 8 to 12
. Subject: Juvenile Fiction,
d. Brief summary of the book:
d. Brief summary of the book:
Amy and her brother Dan are told by the bellboy at the Egyptian hotel that they have a mysterious telegram signed NRR. As Amy and Dan race through the hints left by the secretive NRR, they understand more about the tragic story behind the royal Russian family, the Romanovs, including Anastasia and Alexei, and the monk named Rasputin who worked with them. Hamilton Holt is following them close behind, and he gives them a lot of trouble. The siblings are soon off to Russia, channeling Rasputin for some much needed direction. Then, Amy and Dan are finding Lucian secrets, and Irina Spasky is madly after them. Before long, they are finding clues from Tsar Nicholas and his brother, Constantine; these clues will prove to be helpful and logical. This is their most dangerous journey yet, as it brings the understanding that the Madrigals are more influential and powerful than the Lucians. The book ends with the Holts ending their alliance with Amy and Dan.
e. Discussion questions
1. What does power mean to you? What would probably make you the most powerful person in the world?
2. If you could be related to one of the famous persons in the world, who would that be?
3. One million dollars or a clue - what would you choose?
4. What predictions can you make? Do you think that they will find the answer to the clue in Russia?
5. What do you think will happen to Dan and Amy? Will they find clue or will the Luciens or any other group eliminate them?
