The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember

     Even though it is the fourth and most recent of its series, The Diamond of Darkhold written by Jeanne DuPrau in 2008, is still a great book.  It is a science fiction chapter book for older elementary students or early middle school aged children, around 10-14 age range. 27 chapters entrance readers as they follow Lina and Doon yet again on their journey after an attack on the town of Ember. They find a book with instructions that soon unravel a tale of adventure that only the mind can create. 
      Even though The Diamond of Darkhold is not a multicultural book, it does invent a world in which almost anything is possible. "'Because I want perfect vision, of course,' said Trogg. 'Not that there's anything wrong with my vision. But with the right pair of glasses, you can see for miles. Sometimes you can see in the dark'" (DuPreau, 2008). My husband is a science fiction fanatic. Our entire attic is filled with boxes that are loaded with different books, all of them science fiction.The boxes seem like they just go on forever. We estimate there are over 500 books in our attic. We haven't put them on shelves yet because our house would be mostly bookshelf and only a little bit of wall from which to hang pictures of our family, so we decided to store them until we can find a place for them. I tell this little story because this Book of Ember series never made it to the attic. My husband, even though they are children's books, picked up the first one and insisted they be kept where he can read them again and again. I understand where he is coming from, because before each new book comes out I like to reread the entire series so I'm completely caught up-to-date before the new addition. The Diamond of Darkhold is very engaging and keeps readers on the edge of their seat as they travel journey along with Doon, Lina, and other characters they meet along the way.
    Figure 6.1 on page 209 in our text lists a few criteria in which science fiction is expected to meet.

• The Diamond of Darkhold meets the criteria for excellence in narrative fiction
• "The fantasy world is detailed and believable within the context of the story
•  The story events are imaginative, yet logically consistent and logical behavior
• The writing is rich, and the structures are clear
• The themes are meaningful, causing readers to think about life" (Galda, Cullinan & Sipe, 2011).

             Page 24 also has some insight as to what science fiction books should do: The text should be "speculative extrapolation of scientific possibility vivid and logical" and have "strong characterization" (Galda, Cullinan & Sipe, 2011). All of the above requirements have been met within The Diamond of Darkhold.
       Since this is a chapter book, I would ask my students to do small assignments as we read the book throughout the semester. For example, I would ask them to do a book report every 6 chapters, which I would expect to be read within three weeks. I could also ask the older students to create a blog about their personal responses to the book as they read along. The blog would have to include the answers to questions like:

1.  Which character do you most relate to and why? Who do you relate to the least and why?
2.  In chapter 21, why does Doon and Lina collapse?
3. Did you read the books written before The Diamond of Darkhold in the Book of Ember series? If so, how has the setting changed? If you didn't read them, how do you think the land was before the attack?

References

      DuPreau, J. (2008). The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember. (1st ed.). New York, NY: Yearling.
     Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2011). Literature and the Child. (7th ed., pp. 24 - 257). Belmont: Wadsworth Pub Co.