Gregor the Overlander

• Genre: Fiction; middle-grade fantasy
• Originally Published: 2003
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 690L; grades 4-7
• Structure/Length: 27 chapters; approx. 336 pages; approx. 6 hours, 33 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister Boots tumble through a grate in their apartment building’s laundry room and find themselves in the Underland, a dark place where translucent-skinned humans and giant, sentient bats, spiders, and roaches are on the brink of war with King Gorger, king of the giant, sentient rats. Gregor discovers that the Underland is tied to his father’s mysterious disappearance and that the only way to find him is to embrace the prophecy and become the warrior who will unite the Underlanders to defeat the rats.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Violence

Suzanne Collins, Author

• Bio: Born 1962; youngest of four children; daughter of a military officer; double majored in theater and telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington; prolific career writing for children’s television (Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, Oswald); author of the award-winning Hunger Games trilogy; writing often examines the effects of war and violence on children and teens; distinguished writer who has been on several “best of” lists, including School Library Journal Best Books of 2008 and NY Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing; recipient of the 2016 Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community; named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2010 
• Other Works: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (2004); Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (2005); Gregor and the Marks of Secret (2006); Gregor and the Code of Claw (2007); The Hunger Games (2008); Catching Fire (2009); Mockingjay (2010); The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020)
• Awards: Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award (2005); Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice book; NAIBA Children’s Novel Award (2004)