Final Thoughts....

Do you think teens and adults respond to this book differently? What do you think your response says about your generation?

Did You Survive the Hunger Games?

The answers to last week's quiz are:

1) c. Lining up for the first day of school 2) d. purple 3) h. 8,000 4) j. behind the older candidates 5) m. Claudius Templesmith

Congratulations! You have completed the Hunger Games Challenge. Be sure to check out the next title in the series, Catching Fire, now available for reserve. Enjoy!

Nature

Nature is a large presence in the book. Is it an ally or an enemy? Are there periods of American history when we have regarded nature as one or the other? Have you seen changes in those attitudes in your own lifetime? Is nature or the animal world as much a part of our lives today?

Play the Hunger Games!

Take the Hunger Games challenge for On the Same Page!

Did you survive last week's challenge? The correct answers were: 1) a. decorating cakes 2) e. sugar berries 3) h. Cato 4) l. nightlock berries 5) o. cherry blossom

Here’s your new challenge:

1) What was Katniss doing the very first time Peeta saw her?
a) Rooting through the rubbish behind his parents’ bakery
b) Standing on a stool and singing
c) Lining up for the first day of school

2) What color robes do the Gamemakers wear?
d) purple
e) gold
f) white

3) Approximately how many people live in District 12?
g) 12,000
h) 8,000
i) 23,000

4) During the reaping, the youngest candidates stand
j) in back of the older candidates
k) in front of the older candidates
l) with their families

5) What is the name of the Hunger Games announcer?
m) Claudius Templesmith
n) Caesar Flickerman
o) Delly Cartwright

Visit next week for the posted answers.
Bring the whole family for Hunger Games Day at the Main Library this Saturday!
Hunger Games Day: Read it, Play it, Survive It!

The Portrayal of Adults

The adults in this book seem to be very flawed. Why do you think Collins portrays them this way? Katniss's mother is one of the most important—do you think Katniss is too hard on her? What about other adults Katniss encounters?

Play the Hunger Games!

Take the Hunger Games challenge for On the Same Page!

Did you survive last week's challenge? The correct answers were: 1) c. burn ointment 2) d. uphill 3) h. tracker jackers 4) k. slowly cover your face, remain still for a while, then move gradually away 5) m. an explosion

Here's your new challenge:

1) The bakery skill that helps Peeta survive after he is injured in the games is
a) decorating cakes
b) lifting hundred-pound bags of flour
c) making flatcakes

2) Katniss tricks Peeta into swallowing sleep syrup by telling him she has flavored it with berries she calls
d) sweetberries
e) sugar berries
f) jamberries

3) Who is the last tribute to die in the 74th Hunger Games?
g) Thresh
h) Cato
i) Foxface

4) Katniss and Peeta make their stand at the end of the games with a handful of
j) nightshade berries
k) bloodshade berries
l) nightlock berries

5) The pink and white flowers Peeta picks for Katniss as they head home are
m) the tops of wild onions
n) dogwood
o) cherry blossom

Visit next Friday for the posted answers and a new challenge.
Bring the whole family for Hunger Games Day at the Main Library on Saturday, March 20th from 1-3 p.m.

Hunger Games Day: Read it, Play it, Survive It!

Survival vs. Principles

Katniss feels ashamed when Peeta tells her, “I want to die as myself…I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not.” (p. 141) She had been worrying about survival, not principles. Do Katniss and Peeta become monstrous during the games? How do they reach the point of making their stand at the end of the games, when they stake their survival on a principle?

Play the Hunger Games!

Take the Hunger Games challenge for On the Same Page!

Did you survive last week's challenge? The correct answers were: 1) b. The Girl Who is on Fire 2) e. Vespasian 3) g. Careers 4) l. 11 5) m. Cato and Glimmer

Here’s your new challenge:

1) Haymitch’s first gift to Katniss in the arena is
a) water
b) food
c) burn ointment

2) Katniss has to outrun an artificial forest fire during the games. Fire generally travels faster
d) uphill
e) downhill
f) neither

3) Katniss must avoid stings from giant mutant wasps called
g) jibber jabbers
h) tracker jackers
g) jabber jays

4) If you are in danger of being attacked by hornets,
j) run—hornets will not follow you out of their territory
k) slowly cover your face, remain still for a while, then move gradually away
l) make as much noise as possible while keeping your mouth covered

5) In the arena, Katniss loses her hearing because of
m) an explosion
n) dehydration
o) a hand-to-hand combat wound

Visit next Friday for the posted answers and a new challenge.
Want more information? Try these websites.

How Would You Feel....

If you were always being watched? Katniss and Peeta and the other tributes must react for the camera from the moment they are chosen for the games, and in their totalitarian society, everyone must hide their dissent. How do you think your behavior would change if you knew that you were always being watched?

Play the Hunger Games!

Take the Hunger Games challenge for On the Same Page!

Did you survive last week's challenge? The correct answers were: 1) a. rice 2) f. a year's supply of grain and oil for one person 3) h. cookies 4) k. 74th 5) m. Theseus and the Minotaur

Here’s your new challenge:

1) What is the nickname given to Katniss in the games?
a) The Archer
b) The Girl Who Is on Fire
c) The Girl from District 12

2) Which Roman emperor was famous for building the Colosseum in Rome, where the infamous gladiator games took place?
d) Nero
e) Vespasian
f) Julius Caesar

3) Tributes who practice like Olympic athletes for the Hunger Games are popularly called
g) Careers
h) Alltimers
i) Destines

4) What is Katniss’s score in the pre-game tests?
j) 7
k) 9
l) 11

5) Who are the tributes from district 11?
m) Cato and Glimmer
n) Thresh and Rue
o) Thresh and Glimmer

Visit next Friday for the posted answers and a new challenge.
Keep building your skills! Try more great survival books and movies.

Violence and Society

Violence as entertainment plays a large part in The Hunger Games, and the novel itself is both violent and entertaining. What shocked you most about the book? What important points do you think the author makes about violence and its effects on society? violence in the media? violence and children?

Play the Hunger Games!

Take the Hunger Games challenge for On the Same Page!

Did you survive last week's challenge? The correct answers were: 1) a. aloe vera 2) e. a real plant with an edible root 3) g. a dandelion 4) l. Catnip 5) o. cat

Here’s your new challenge:

1) What is the most widely consumed grain on earth?
a) rice
b) wheat
c) corn

2) The “tesserae” that teens in the districts earn by risking more entries in the reaping lottery are worth
d) a year’s supply of grain for one person
e) a year’s supply of bread for one person
f) a year’s supply of grain and oil for one person

3) As Katniss sets off for the games, Peeta’s father gives her a gift of
g) bread
h) cookies
i) cake

4) Katniss and Peeta participate in which year of the Hunger Games?
j) 70th
k) 74th
l) 79th

5) Collins says she based The Hunger Games partly on the myth of
m) Theseus and the Minotaur
n) Apollo and Diana
o) Opheus and Eurydice


Visit next Friday for the posted answers and a new challenge.
What would Katniss do? Explore a variety of Hunger Games programs.

Katniss and Peeta

The characters of Katniss and Peeta are so different. Which one did you like more? Which surprised you more? Why do you think Collins made Katniss the main character rather than Peeta? Do you think the characters' backgrounds explain the differences between them?

Play the Hunger Games!

Take the Hunger Games challenge for On the Same Page!

Did you survive last week's challenge? The correct answers were: 1) b. look for areas where animal tracks converge 2) e. 3 weeks 3) i. white 4) j. don't eat 5) n. oleander

Here’s your new challenge:

1) Katniss’s mother is an herbalist and healer. Which of these healing plants would she probably not find growing wild in the Appalachian region known as District 12?
a) aloe vera
b) bee balm
c) common boneset

2) Katniss’s father named her after a water plant with an edible root. Is katniss
d) a real plant, but it’s not edible
e) a real plant with an edible root
f) made up by Suzanne Collins

3) After Peeta gave Katniss a burnt loaf of bread, what did she see that gave her hope to keep her family from starving?
g) a dandelion
h) a coin
i) a primrose

4) Gale’s nickname for Katniss is
j) Kat
k) Catkin
l) Catnip

5) Prim’s pet Buttercup is a
m) goat
n) rabbit
o) cat

Visit next Friday for the posted answers and a new challenge.
Find your allies for the Hunger Games—join a book discussion.

Inspiration for The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins has said that The Hunger Games was inspired by the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, the Roman gladiators, reality TV games, and actual TV footage of young people at war. What is the strongest parallel you see between the events of The Hunger Games and our society or history? Do you find any comparisons to events that have been part of your own life?

Play the Hunger Games!

Take the Hunger Games challenge for On the Same Page!

1) Which of these methods can help you find water in the wild?
a) look for the tallest plants in the area
b) look for areas where animal tracks converge
c) both

2) On average, how long can a person survive without food?
d) 4 days
e) 3 weeks
f) 1 month

3) Though berries of any color can be poisonous, what is the most common color for poisonous berries?
g) black
h) red
i) white

4) Which course of action will slow down your body’s dehydration?
j) don’t eat
k) eat slowly
l) eat a lot of fatty foods

5) Which of the following plants is not edible?
m) cattail
n) oleander
o) dandelion

Would you survive the Hunger Games? Read the book!
Visit next Friday for the posted answers and a new challenge. The challenges will get harder as the weeks go by!

What Do You Think...

of The Hunger Games? Do you like it? Why or why not? Do you think a teen science fiction novel was a good choice for On The Same Page? Do you like the choice of one book for both teens and adults?

How To Participate in On The Same Page

Be sure to stop by your local branch and pick up a copy of The Hunger Games! Then visit the On The Same Page website to learn more about the book and the author, attend a program or book discussion and check back here next week for an online book discussion and to test your Hunger Games knowledge and wilderness survival skills!