The League of Seven

by Alan Gratz

  “Honk-honk-honk!” the thing cried as it got closer.

  Honk-honk-honk?

  Something flapping and feathery smacked Archie in the face and he fell over, glancing up in time to see a big white bird launch itself off the side of the balloon and disappear into the dark night sky.

  “It’s birds,” he said. “Geese!”

  Fergus lit his oil lamp and shined it forward to have a look. The top of the balloon was covered with bird nests! There had to be hundreds of them, scattered here and there among the grid lines of the rope net that covered the giant balloon.

  “You know what this means?” Hachi said.

  “Aye,” Fergus said. “If this thing is covered with birds, it’s also covered with bird poop.”

  “No,” Hachi said. “I mean, yes, probably, but that’s not what I meant. Look at where they have their nests.”

  Archie scanned the nests, trying to see what Hachi saw. All he noticed was that the birds were packed into just a few of the grid squares, when they had lots more empty ones they could have been using. No—wait. He understood!

  “Oh, brass! They’re nesting in the grid squares that aren’t booby trapped!”

  “Exactly,” Hachi said.

  Sure enough, Archie was able to trace a path from where they stood all the way to the top, where something small and red glowed in the night sky.

  The Dragon Lantern.

  Copyright © 2014 by Alan Gratz

  Starscape Books

  Reading & Activity Guide

  THE LEAGUE OF SEVEN

  by Alan Gratz

  Grades 4–8, ages 9–13

  About This Guide

  The questions and activities that follow are intended to enhance your reading of The League of Seven. Please feel free to adapt this content to suit the needs and interests of your students or reading group participants.

  BEFORE READING THE BOOK:

  Writing & Discussion Activities

  The pre-reading activities below correlate to the following Common Core State Standards: (W.4-8.3) (SL.4-8.1, 3)

  1. Ask each student to write about a time when s/he felt that a parent or other adult was treating them too much like “a little kid.” What was the situation? In what way did they feel they were being treated childishly? What was the result? Describe the way in which they would have preferred to be treated. How do they imagine the outcome of the situation would have been different had they been treated in this way?

  2. Invite students to discuss their experiences belonging to clubs or teams. What are the purposes and goals of these groups? How did they gain entry to these groups (e.g., sign-up, try-out)? How do group members work together? Are their groups successful in reaching their objectives? What groups do they see in the adult world (e.g., political parties, community organizations, book clubs)? In what ways do they see these groups as similar to, or different from, the groups to which school-age people belong?

  Discussion Questions

  The discussion questions below correlate to the following Common Core State Standards: (SL.4-8.1, 3, 4) (SL.6-8.2, 3) (RL.4-8.1, 2, 3) (RH.4-8.6)

  1. The first chapter of The League of Seven introduces the “Tik Tok servant” Mr. Rivets. Describe the relationship between Archie and Mr. Rivets. Consider the high-tech devices you own or use. How might they be similar to and/or different from Mr. Rivets?

  2. What do you think the author means when he writes “People didn’t want to know there really were monsters in the world” (p. 19)? What kind of monsters does he mean? Do you think this statement holds true in our own world, too?

  3. Explain the difference between “Mangleborn” and “Manglespawn.” What types of creatures are the black bugs that attach themselves to Mr. and Mrs. Dent and other Septemberists?

  4. Why do Archie and Mr. Rivets set the Hesperus on a course to Florida? What situation does Archie discover when he arrives? With what important people is he imprisoned?

  5. En route to New Rome with Hachi and Fergus, the group stops to see the newly widowed Mrs. Henhawk. What promises are made and/or revealed in the course of this visit?

  6. What animals are represented in Hachi’s set of “clockwork gizmos”? Compare Hachi’s five animals and their abilities to the seven abilities required of various League members as they have formed through history. In what other ways are the mechanical animals important to the story, both technically and symbolically?

  7. New Rome seems to be an alternate history version of New York City. What features of the real city are recognizable in Archie’s descriptions? What are the most significant differences between “New Rome” and the real New York?

  8. Before Archie begins to understand his own role in the newly forming League, he is already the keeper of the “true” history of the world and the person who shares legends and stories previously unknown to (or misunderstood by) Hachi and Fergus. Describe one or more of these stories, how it was originally understood by Archie’s companions, and what is important about them learning the truth in the course of the novel.

  9. Who is Mr. Tesla and how do Archie, Hachi, and Fergus find him? What does he reveal to them about the threat posed by Edison? How does the scene in Tesla’s workshop show the dueling positive and negative elements of technological advancement? Can you apply your observations to a recent technological innovation in our own world?

  10. Is the Great Bear’s pelt truly invulnerable? Explain your answer.

  11. What is Hachi’s “mantra” as depicted in chapter 22? How might it relate to the concept behind the League? What does the mantra reveal to readers above Hachi’s character and her motives?

  12. Where is Lady Josephine’s Academy? How is this location the scene of both a great deception and a great revelation?

  13. Here, Ms. Ambrose bids her student farewell, saying, “I pray you find peace, Hachi—but I can at least rest well in the knowledge that you have found good friends.” How might this be a wish you could make for yourself or offer to someone in your own life? Is there “peace” to be found in the League of Seven? Why or why not?

  14. How do nursery rhymes relate to the Septemberists’ mission? Has reading this novel made you reconsider folktales and legends you have been told? Explain your answer.

  15. How do the three friends defeat the Swarm Queen? By what betrayals is Archie tempted?

  16. What does Archie learn about his relationship to his parents at the end of the story? How might this change his understanding of the words “family” and “friends”? What might you say to him to help him cope with his new insights?

  17. If Archie is the strongman/shadow figure, Hachi the warrior/fighter, and Fergus the tinker/maker, what other roles remain to be filled to form a new League of Seven? What do you hope will happen in the next installment of the novel?

  Research & Writing Activities

  The research and writing activities below correlate to the following Common Core State Standards: (L.4-8.4) (RL.5-8.4) (RL.5-6.5) (RL.6-8.6) (RL.4-8.7) (SL.4-8.1, 3) (W.4-8.2, 7) (WHST 6-8.6)

  1. Go to the library or online to learn more about the literary subgenre of steampunk. Find at least three sources for your information. Use your research to create an informative poster that includes a definition of steampunk, a short history of the origin of the genre, and a list of some famous steampunk novels and/or movies.

  2. The setting of a novel can loosely be defined as the time and place in which the story unfolds. In The League of Seven, the setting is an alternate history wherein some major world events took different turns—and yielded different outcomes—than they did in readers’ reality. Alone or in small groups, identify events, geographical names, inventions, and historical figures that are represented differently in the novel than they are in your history books. Create a booklet entitled “A Guide to the Alternate History of The League of Seven,” including maps; alternative biographies of historical figures, nations, and Native American tribal groups; short descriptions of specialized technologies, means of transport
ation, and other elements that are familiar yet different from the reality of the reader’s world.

  3. Go to the library or online to learn about ways the number seven, featured in the novel’s title, has significance in many cultures. Consider researching the legendary Irish warrior Cú Chulainn, the Seven Gods of Good Fortune in Japanese mythology, or the biblical account of seven days of creation. With classmates or friends, create a mural, large mobile, or sculpture depicting the significance of seven across cultures and times.

  4. Go to the library or online to research the sources of one or more past League of Seven members to which Archie refers throughout the novel, such as Heracles, Hippolyta, Theseus, or Wayland [the] Smith. Write a one-page report comparing the history of this character as found in your research with the portrayal of the character in the novel.

  5. “Square cogs” and “clinker” are just two of the many slang expressions specific to the world of The League of Seven. Make a set of at least a dozen flash cards featuring unusual terms from the novel. Test the “League” vocabulary of friends or classmates by quizzing them with the flash cards.

  6. Create a PowerPoint or other multimedia presentation describing the origins of the League of Seven; the specific roles its members fill; the various individuals who filled these roles in the past; and the responsibilities of the Septemberists to the League.

  7. Read a biography of Thomas Edison and/or Nicola Tesla. Then, prepare a brief oral report about their lives, relationship, and contributions to science, followed by an explanation of how these legendary thinkers of our history were changed in the alternate world of the League of Seven.

  8. Imagine you are Mr. or Mrs. Dent (Archie’s dad or mom) before the attack of the Manglespawn bugs, working on propaganda to keep the public safe. Create a colorful, annotated poster to help ordinary people remember why “lektricity” is dangerous.

  9. Imagine you are one of a handful of Septemberists who has not fallen victim to the Swarm Queen’s mind-controlling neck bugs. Write a letter to “Any Healthy Septemberist Out There,” describing your understanding of what the bugs are doing and how they might be stopped. Include at least two black-and-white sketches with your letter.

  10. If you could travel to the world of the League of Seven, what place would you most like to see or which invention would you most like to use? Would you stop in New Rome or Brasil? Would you ship yourself somewhere via pneumatic post? Create an outline-style travel itinerary for a visit to this alternate world. Share and compare your itinerary with those of friends or classmates.

  11. In the character of Fergus or Hachi, write at least four journal entries, including one recounting your first meeting with Archie; one discussing your life before joining the battle against Edison; one in which you consider whether Archie’s revelations about the Septemberists and the League of Seven are true; and one in which you ponder what will happen to you and your new friends after the final scene of the novel.

  12. In the character of Archie, write a journal entry reflecting on your recent adventures and describing your struggles with your newly discovered identities as an adopted child, as a possible Manglespawn and, perhaps worst of all, as the “shadow” member of a new League of Seven.

  13. Using information from the novel, create a logo and slogan for the new League of Seven of which Archie, Hachi, and Fergus are all a part. And/or write a HELP WANTED advertisement describing the “open positions” in the new League and the abilities these jobs will require.

  14. Author Alan Gratz commented that he began writing The League of Seven by “listing all the things that ten-year-old Alan would have thought were awesome.” What do you think is awesome? Make a list of at least a dozen objects, images, place names, and phrases that pique your interest. Inspired by this list, write a 1-3 paragraph story idea, and a suggested title and genre (such as steampunk, fantasy, picture book, or graphic novel) you feel would best suit your concept.

  JOIN THE

  SEPTEMBERIST SOCIETY!

  www.septemberistsociety.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Alan Gratz is the author of Samurai Shortstop, an ALA 2007 Top Ten Book for Young Adults. He began writing The League of Seven by listing all the things that ten-year-old Alan would have thought were awesome, including brass goggles, airships, tentacle monsters, brains in jars, windup robots, secret societies, and superpowers. (In fact, he still thinks all those things are awesome.) When he’s not writing books like The League of Seven, Samurai Shortstop, The Brooklyn Nine, and Prisoner B-3087, he’s usually reading other people’s books or creating an awesome new costume for science fiction/fantasy conventions. Visit his awesome website at www.alangratz.com.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE LEAGUE OF SEVEN

  Copyright © 2014 by Alan Gratz

  Reader’s Guide copyright © 2014 by Tor Books

  The Dragon Lantern excerpt copyright © 2014 by Alan Gratz

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by Brett Helquist

  Interior illustrations by Brett Helquist

  Map by Jennifer Hanover

  A Starscape Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  The Library of Congress-Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-3822-8 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4668-3850-5 (e-book)

  e-ISBN 9781466838505

  First Edition: August 2014