Children of Jubilee the Final Chapter in Margaret Peterson Haddix's Trilogy of The Children of Exile

Fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix and her Children of Exile Trilogy will be excited about the final book in the trilogy. Haddix writes her final work in her trilogy with an interesting plot and fast-paced text that young readers will definitely find to be a page-turner. Kiandra has finally succeeded in discovering the strange truth about the Freds and the fact that she and her friends were actually kidnapped from Refuge City. She must now find a way to rescue her brothers and all of her friends from the place that they have been taken and now must work as slaves. Kiandra does not think that she is smart enough to use all of the technology that is available to her for rescuing her brothers and friends, but she gets a pleasant surprise in the form of a friendly alien who can actually help her in her task. Kiandra aspires to be a heroine and the plot unfolds as she works to make the rescue a success. All of her friends expect her to come through as the heroine who rescues them from the slave camp. Kiandra is amazed to discover that a friendly alien appears to help with the rescue. She is not especially crazy about the slimy feel of this creature, but there is the possibility of friendship and the alien will help with the rescue. The alien has a reason for helping that readers will appreciate. The reason for the alien's friendship has a built-in lesson that young readers will relate to. Everyone has endured some form of discrimination in life and school, and Haddix includes this theme in her final book in her popular sci-fi trilogy. The short chapters will keep young readers engaged in the story.

Children of Jubliee was published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. It is recommended for ages 10-14. It has an ISBN of 978-1-4424-5009-7.

Haddix's Children of Jubilee is a good choice for use as a book to inspire young readers to experiment with creative writing. Students will want to read this final book in the trilogy of the Children of Exile. Chapter books are popular with "tweens" and they will enjoy reading together each day.

*Read Children of Jubilee as a group reading project with a few chapters read each day. Call attention to details remembered from the first two books in the trilogy.

*How does Haddix capture interest in the first few opening pages?

*Kiandra is a techy who is expected to rescue her brothers and friends from the slave camp. Assign a creative writing project for students to imagine how they would use some tech tools to rescue the brothers and friends.

*The surprise little alien who steps up to help Kiandra comes from a foreign planet. Assign a creative writing project for students to write their ideas about the planet that Aleibiades comes from. They might like to illustrate their writing project with their ideas of what the planet looks like. What is the secret that this little alien is hiding?

*Assign a creative writing project for students to write about the Enforcers and their evil activities. How do their evil activities promote the themes of social injustice and discrimination that Haddix permeates her story with?

*What is the conclusion that all come to at the end of the story? Assign a creative writing activity in which students recall a situation that they might have found themselves in at school in which they were discriminated against and later were accepted because everyone involved realized that everyone was the same.

*Brainstorm with students about the elements of sci-fi in the story. How do these elements create an interesting plot?

*Assign a creative writing project in which students invent their own sci-fi elements for a story.

*Review or read together the first two books in the trilogy. How does Haddix incorporate the themes of prejudice and discrimination and continue these themes in the final book, Children of Jubilee?