Dear Educator,

Greetings from Ember! Many readers have asked me how I got the idea for this dark city. Ideas are mysterious; they have many sources. But at least one reason I invented the city of Ember was that I grew up in the 1950s, when many people were worried about nuclear war, and some of them were building bomb shelters in their backyards. This made a deep impression on me. What if the entire human race needed a bomb shelter?

I was also interested in the idea of a city that had no natural light but depended entirely on electricity. What would it be like to live in such darkness? To know that light and food and supplies were all running out? And not to know about weather or trees or animals (except for a few rats and insects) or oceans or mountains? The world that Lina and Doon discover at the end of the story is our world, with all its beauty and complexity. I hope that City of Ember will remind readers and moviegoers how very precious that world is.

–Jeanne DuPrau

A LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR, JEANNE DUPRAU

I have things in common with both Lina and Doon. Like Lina, I loved to run when I was younger. Doon and I are both interested in how things work.

I'm a big fan of Bill Murray (Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies). I can't wait to see him as Mayor of Ember!

}}Activities in this guide target grades 5–8. They are interdisciplinary and comply with national content and education standards.