Fahrenheit 451 meets The Giver in an award winning dystopian story
about the dangers of censorship and how far we will go in the pursuit of
freedom.
What if you were only allowed to speak 500 words?
The city of Ark is the last safe place on Earth: the polar ice caps have
melted and flooded everything, leaving few survivors. To make sure
humans do not make the same mistakes, Ark's leader John Noa decrees
everyone in Ark must speak List, a language of only 500 words. Language
is to blame for mankind's destruction, John Noa says, as politicians and
governments hid the disastrous effects of global warming and
environmental damage until it was too late.
Everyone must speak List ... except Letta.
As apprentice to the Wordsmith, Letta can read all the words that have
ever existed. Forbidden words like freedom, music, and even pineapple
tell her about a world she's never known.
One day her master disappears. John Noa tells Letta she is the new
Wordsmith, and must shorten List to fewer and fewer words. Then Letta
meets a teenage boy who somehow knows all the words that have been
banned. Letta's faced with a dangerous choice: sit idly by and watch
language slowly slip away or follow a stranger on a path to freedom . .
. or banishment.
Letta chooses to fight for the very thing that keeps us human: language
itself.
The List:
- The perfect tool to discuss censorship and freedom of speech with
young readers
- A gripping, fast-moving story that will appeal to 5th grade readers
and above, especially 10 year old girls that will love the strong
character of Letta
- A discussion starter on the importance of language and the power of
expression, and what it means for society
A 2018 Notable Children's Books Selection
A 2018-19 Maine Student Book Award Winner
A 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
(Ages 12-14)
A Junior Library Guild Selection
