This discussion guide has been provided by Penguin Young Readers Group for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.

The discussion questions and activities featured in this guide meet the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts grades 7-12.

G.P. Putnam’s SonsA division of Penguin Young Readers Group

www.penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians 978-067001793-5

THE POWERFUL STORY OF A GIRL’S QUEST TO LEAD HER TRIBE TO

SAFETY AND SURVIVAL. DISCUSSION GUIDE

ISLAND’S END

HOW TO START YOUR OWN BOOK CLUB

Think it would be hard to start your own book club? Think again!

All you need is a little bit of organization and some friends who are as excited about the books they read as you are.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

The best way to find people to be in your reading group is to ask your friends.

Think of all the people you know who like to read, and ask them to join. If you still don’t feel like you have enough people, ask each of your friends to bring someone else. You can usually get a good discussion going with six to eight people, but any number that is comfortable for you will work. If you’re having trouble finding enough cool people to form your reading group, check with your school, local library, or bookstore to see if there’s a group that you can join.

Figure out when and where you want to meet.

Some groups meet once a month, some meet every other month. You could get together at someone’s house, in a park, on the beach, or in your school’s library. If it sounds too official and overwhelming to decide all the “wheres” and “whens” right now, don’t worry! It’s your group and so you get to make all the decisions. All you have to do is get together once, and you can work out the rest of the details later.

Decide how you will choose books and how the discussions will be run.

Maybe you have a favorite author that you and your friends would like to focus on. Or maybe you want to take turns picking your favorite book. Maybe one person likes to talk and would like to lead the discussion, or maybe you would rather just all get together and talk about the books you are reading. If you get stuck, you can often find discussion questions online (try the publisher’s website) or at your local library or bookstore.

The most important thing to remember is that there’s no right or wrong way to have a reading group. Do what you’re comfortable with and always have fun, and your group will be a success!

For more discussion guides to get your group going, visit www.penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians.s have fun, and your group will be a success!

For more discussion guides to get your group going, visit www.penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians.

Climbing the Stairsby Padma Venkatraman

978-0-399-2474-6 (HC) • $16.99978-0-14-241490-3 (PB) • $8.99

Ages 12 up • Grades 7 up

Island’s Endby Padma Venkatraman

978-0-399-25099-6 (HC) • $16.99Ages 12 up • Grades 7 up

ALSO BY PADMA VENKATRAMAN

H Booklist, starred review

H Kirkus Review, starred review

H School Library Journal, starred review

H Publishers Weekly, starred review

H Booklist, starred review

H VOYA, starred review

H Publishers Weekly, starred review

• Booklist Best Book of the Year

• Capitol CCBC Choice

• YALSA Best Book for Young Adults

ABOUT THE BOOK

From the acclaimed author of Climbing the Stairs comes a fascinating story set on a remote island untouched by time. Uido is ecstatic about becoming her tribe’s spiritual leader, but her new position brings her older brother’s jealousy and her best friend’s mistrust. And looming above these troubles are the recent visits of strangers from another island who have little regard for nature or the spirits, and

tempt the tribe members with gifts, making them curious about modern life. When Uido’s little brother falls deathly ill, she must cross the ocean and seek their help. Having now seen so many new things, will Uido have the strength to believe in herself and the old ways? And will her people trust her to lead them to safety when a catastrophic tsunami threatens? Uido must overcome everyone’s doubts, including her own, if she is to keep her people safe and preserve the spirituality that has defined them.

H “An intricate, yet wholly accessible story.”–Booklist, starred review

H “Refreshingly hopeful and beautifully written.”

– Kirkus Reviews, starred review

H “Vividly written and expertly paced, Venkatraman’s novel delivers a moving story that will stay with readers long after the end.”

– School Library Journal, starred review

H “…an enticing blend of mystic traditions and imaginative speculation…” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

ABOUT THE AUTHORPadma Venkatraman was born in Chennai, India, but became an American citizen after attaining a Ph.D. in oceanography from The College of William and Mary. Padma’s oceanographic research led her to the Andaman Islands, where she

lived for a year, in close proximity to tribespeople similar to those in Island’s End. Her first young adult novel, Climbing the Stairs, won the Julia Ward Howe Award and was a Book Sense Notable, Book-list Best Book of the Year, Bank Street College of Education Best Book, New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, YALSA BBYA selection, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, and a Capitol CCBC Choice. She lives with her family in Rhode Island.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS• The book begins with Uido’s dreams. What might this indicate

about the importance of dreams to her culture?

• Strangers arrive at the beach. Where do you think they come from? Why do you think they have come?

• Lah-ame is the spiritual leader for Uido’s people. How do some of his roles and practices mirror a spiritual leader that you know or follow?

• Lah-ame retells the story of why Uido’s tribe moved to the island they now inhabit. Why is storytelling so important to a tribe like Uido’s? Is oral history important in our culture?

• How is Uido different from Natalang and the other women in her tribe?

• Think about where people live in Uido’s village—families, young people, older people. How do you think this way of co-habitation evolved?

• Uido talks to Danna about the kinds of sacrifices that Lah-ame has made to be the spiritual leader of their community. Are these sacrifices that all leaders must make? Is Uido’s chance worth giving up so much?

• Why is Ashu so jealous of Uido? Would Ashu make a good oko-jumo? What does his jealousy, and some of his other comments, say about his opinion of girls in the tribe?

• In Chapter 11, Lah-ame says, “And in times of change such as this, a woman must lead the tribe.” Why do you think he says this?

• In Chapter 13, Lah-ame tells Uido that the Otherworld is not some distant location, but really just another way to sense the world. What do you think he means? Based on what you have read so far, what do you think he refers to as the Otherworld?

• After her training, Uido returns home to her tribe, but things are different. What is it like to do so much growing up away from the people you’ve known all of your life?

• When Ragavan comes again with his boxes of matches, Uido is horrified. What does his gift mean for her place amongst her people? For her people’s beliefs and customs?

• Uido says that only once before Tawai gets sick has Lah-ame’s cures failed to work. What does this tell you about sickness and medicine on the island?

• When Tawai is sick, Uido must decide whether to leave her island to cure him, or to stay and maintain her people’s strong faith in their own ways. What are some consequences of both of these decisions? Why is it so important to maintain the En-ge’s culture?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS• When Uido battles with the squid, she says that she will do

everything in her power to save her people, that she will protect every life in her care. What do you think is more important to protect: their health and physical lives, or their spiritual and cultural selves?

• Maya explains to Uido that Ragavan is much stronger than Maya or her uncle. What do you think she means by this? How is Maya’s version of strength different than Uido’s?

• Uncle Paleva and Lah-ame both gift stories to Uido. What does that mean to you? How do the En-ge treat stories differently than we do?

• The spirits warn Uido of the upcoming tsunami. What reason might she have to doubt them, or herself?

• Do you think the magic and the spirits of Uido’s tribe are “real”? What makes them more or less real than our medicines and technologies and religions?

RESEARCH AND WRITING ACTIVITIES

• Tribes such as Uido’s still exist in places just out of modern reach. Where do you think most of them are located? Is it best to respect their culture, or to introduce them to modern ideas of medicine and education?

• In Uido’s tribe, everything is shared and no one goes hungry. What would our world look like if we tended to our neighbors like Uido’s village does? Would this system of living work in our modernized world?

• Ashu has many problems with Uido being chosen as a female oko-jumo, as do a few of the other hunters. In many places connected to the modern world, women have not had an easy time gaining positions of leadership. Think about why this might be. Who are some women leaders who have created bet-ter worlds for their people? What qualities make Uido a strong leader?

• Much of Lah-ame and Uido’s work revolves around healing. But they don’t just heal the body, they also heal the minds and souls of their people. What do you think of “alternate” heal-ing practices? What are some links between Uido and Maya’s methods of healing?