Deep Blue

Deep Blue

Jennifer Donnelly

Publish date 2014

Grade 5

Published by Scholastic

Reading Level: HL580 L

 2 starred reviews:

Publisher’s Weekly


”Donnelly (Revolution) opens the four-book Waterfire Saga with a richly imagined novel set in an undersea world of mermaids descended from the lost citizens of Atlantis … It’s just right for readers who have grown up with, but aged out of, The Little Mermaid and the Disney Fairies franchise.”

Booklist

“Best-selling Donnelly (Revolution, 2010) builds an alluring mermaid civilization and history, filled with painterly descriptions of Sera’s underwater palace and its unearthly architecture, her sumptuous wardrobe, and the menagerie of half-human, half-marine animal denizens. There’s also plenty of romantic tension with handsome mermen, strife between merls (that’s girl mermaids) from rival regions, and some powerful female friendships amid the fast-paced plot, filled with wondrous magic. This series opener raises far more questions than it answers, but it lays a promising groundwork for the forthcoming volumes … This series will be a part of your world.”

The book, Deep Blue, by Jennifer Donnelly is about a mermaid, Serfina, who is the daughter of the Queen of Miromara, Isabella. Serfina is bound to be ruler of her people one day. She is also supposed to take part in an arranged marriage to Mahdi. On the eve of her Dokimí, which was when it was supposed to be determined if she could take the crown or not, she had a strange dream that was of an old tale of ancient evil. This is forgotten about as she practices her song spell for her Dokimí. During the ceremony, an assassins arrow wounds Isabella. Serfina escapes the assassins only to discover the truth about the ancient evil. Serfina sets out to find the others who have had the same dream and can help her form a sisterhood to defeat the evil.

Description: Children’s Choice Book

Suggested Delivery: Individual, small group

 Electronic Resources (2):

Deep Blue Trailer

         This is a link to the official book trailer of Deep Blue. It includes a song that was inspired by the book and was produced for it. This can be used for pre reading.

PDF of Deep Blue Discussion

         This is a link to the online PDF from teachingbooks.net. This PDF has Pre reading discussion questions as well as discussion questions in general. This includes all the Common Core State Standards that are used along with the book. This includes information for the second book of the WaterFire Saga as well. This can be used for pre reading, during reading, and after reading.

 Vocabulary:

decorum – etiquette

inscrutable – impossible to understand

scimitar – a short sword with a curved blade

decimated – to kill or destroy

baroque – relating to a period of time in the 17^th and

betrothal – the act of promising to marry someone

proximity – nearness in time or space

alliance – a merging of efforts of two or more groups for mutual benefit

reconcile – restore friendly relationships between two groups

immobilizing – to prevent from moving

           Teaching Suggestions:

·      Use this book to teach about loyalty.

·      Use this book to teach about making choices.

·      Use this book to teach about finding key details.

Pre Reading: As a pre reading activity, read the prologue aloud to the class. Have the students write down any connections or predictions that they may have about the book. The students can then share their information and use it to come up with a class prediction for the book.

During Reading: During reading, have students write a summary of each chapter on a sticky note along with any predictions they might have. This will help students keep track of events and character changes.

After Reading: The students can answer the question, “What can you learn from Serafina’s actions and choices that would have merit in our world?”. This will help students understand how their own actions and choices can have an impact on others. This will also be a text to world and text to self connection.

Writing Activity: Students will write a detailed journal entry related to the theme of the book. The students should state what the theme is and at least five key details or events that occurred that help support the theme. This should also include at least three quotations from the text.

Donnelly, J. (2015). Deep Blue (WaterFire Saga). New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion.