Local Nutmeg Author Brings

‘Gregor The Overlander’ To The Reed School

By Susan Coney

More than 60 students at Reed Intermediate School were treated to a book signing and pizza party on March 18 as a reward for meeting their goal by reading the required number of Connecticut Nutmeg books. Fifth graders were required to read five Nutmeg selections and sixth graders eight in order to meet goal.

The Nutmeg Children’s Book Award encourages students in grades 4–6 to read high quality literature and to vote on their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles. This year more than 23,000 students participated in the vote. The competition to be chosen as a Nutmeg author is stiff in that only ten books are selected from hundreds of titles. The Nutmeg Committee, sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association and the Connecticut Educational Media Association, is made up of children’s librarians, school library media specialists, and educators.

All books nominated must meet certain guidelines. The selections must be a work of fiction, geared to readers in grades 4–6, and be well written, with strong characters and a well-constructed plot. The Nutmeg Children’s Book Award offers intermediate readers the opportunity to be exposed to high quality, notable fiction.

The celebration took place in the Reed Media Center, with library media specialist Ginny Snowden introducing the students to new, upcoming author Suzanne Collins. Ms Collins is a first-time author and feels very fortunate to have her new book, Gregor the Overlander, be selected as one of the ten titles chosen as a Nutmeg book for 2005.

Although new to the world of writing books, Ms Collins is not new to the world of writing. She has been a successful children’s television writer for 14 years. Writing for Fox, Nick Jr, and PBS, some of her work includes the television series Little Bear, for Nick Jr, in which she collaborated with well-known Connecticut author Maurice Sendak. Other work includes writing for the Oswald series. Ms Collins currently is head writer for the PBS children’s series Clifford’s Puppy Days, based on books written by Norman Bridwell.

Originally living in the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, Ms Collins and family have relocated to Newtown. She has a son in the fifth grade at Reed Intermediate School and a daughter in kindergarten at Sandy Hook Elementary. Ms Collins gives enormous credit to her husband, who is a stay-at-home dad, which allows her the opportunity to continue to write for television as well as venture into a new career as an award-winning author.

The premise for her book, Gregor the Overlander, was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s, Alice In Wonderland. Ms Collins has written a suspenseful, adventure-fantasy that reminds the reader of an urban version of the Alice In Wonderland tale.

Gregor, the main character, is an 11-year-old boy living in Manhattan. He is stuck in a cramped New York apartment, left to care for his 2-year-old sister, Boots, while his mother is at work.

The adventure begins when Gregor follows his little sister down an air grate in the downstairs laundry room, and tumbles miles beneath the city into the Underland. There he encounters larger-than-life urban creatures in the form of spiders, bats, rats, and cockroaches. The creatures are not what they appear and the reader’s opinion evolves as Gregor learns that he must judge each as an individual rather than an entire species. Living in conjunction with these creepy, giant creatures are Underland humans who speak English. Gregor wants no part of this world, or its problems; he simply wants to safely return to his apartment with his baby sister Boots. The adventure continues in this vividly imagined, alternate Underland that keeps the reader in suspense. At the same time, humor is nicely interjected into the storyline, making for enjoyable reading that parents will also appreciate.

Published by Scholastic Press, Gregor the Overlander has been so well received that it has developed into a five-part series. Suzanne Collins wrote a sequel, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane. She also has a third book, Gregor and the Curse of The Warmbloods, which is due out in July. The fourth book in the series, is in progress and is titled Gregor and the Marks of Secret. The fifth, and final book will be titled Gregor and the Code of Claw.

The majority of the students attending the book signing had read Ms Collins’ book. Students were thrilled that a Newtown resident and parent of a fellow Reed student was chosen as a Nutmeg author.

At one point students were allowed to ask Ms Collins questions, such as, what is it like to be a writer. Ms Collins responded that unlike her previous writing experiences that were collaborative efforts, writing a novel is a solitary experience. She told the children that all her television writing gave her the confidence to write her own, original book based on things she loved. Ms Collins cautioned that writing is a tough, competitive field but emphasized that “you should write about things you love and feel passionately about.” The students learned that Ms Collins typically spends about two months planning and researching and four additional months to actually write the book.

One student inquired where she got some of her ideas and Ms Collins responded that she uses her own children as models for her book. Her son has always taken good care of his little sister, as Gregor does in the book, and that is the heart of the book.

Ms Collins sat at a table, loaded with books, as students waited to exchange a few words with the author and receive a signed copy. On each book she inscribed the child’s name along with the phrase, “Fly you High.”

The library media specialist, Ms Snowden, was delighted to have the award-winning author attend the celebration of the students that had achieved their reading goal. She felt Gregor the Overlander was a book that kids can relate to. Ms Snowden said, “It is fantasy mixed with a reality check in that Gregor has the constant trials of caring for his baby sister.”

Ms Snowden has provided each cluster at Reed Intermediate School with the set of ten Nutmeg Children’s Books. A set will also be made available during the summer months at The Booth Library for all students to enjoy.