The Last Book In The Universe

The Last Book in the Universe

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade dystopian
• Originally Published: 2000
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 740L; grades 4-7
• Structure/Length: 33 chapters; approx. 240 pages; approx. 4 hours and 24 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Spaz, a teenager with epilepsy, is one of the few people in a future dystopian world who doesn’t use mind probes for entertainment, allowing him to see things clearly. He and an old man named Ryter embark on a journey to find a promised land called Eden.
• Potential Sensitivity Issue: ableism

Rodman Philbrick, Author

• Bio: Grew up in New Hampshire; currently lives in both Maine and Florida; started writing novels at the age of 16; writes for both children and adults
• Other Works: Freak the Mighty (1993); The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (2009); Zane and the Hurricane (2014)
• Awards: Maine Library Association Lupine Award (2000); ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2001); Newbery Honor (2010)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Memory’s Impact on Society
• The Foundational Nature of the Family Unit
• Maintaining Class Structure
• Leadership and Privilege
• Inner Versus Outer Beauty

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of dystopian literature and how its literary and cultural qualities convey messages about Memory’s Impact on Society and Maintaining Class Structure.
• Read short paired texts and other resources to make connections to the text’s themes of The Foundational Nature of the Family Unit, Leadership and Privilege, and Inner Beauty Versus Outer Beauty.
• Design and draw personalized memory palaces to creatively write the “book” of students’ own lives and connect their own personal histories to larger issues involving Memory’s Impact on Society.
• Analyze and evaluate plot and character details and the author’s use of symbols and motifs to draw conclusions in structured essay responses about ableism, the purpose of dystopic fiction, and other topics.