The Thief Queen's Daughter (25 page)

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ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The information, activities, and discussion questions that follow are intended to enhance your reading of
The Thief Queen’s Daughter.
Please feel free to adapt these materials to suit your needs and interests.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Thief Queen’s Daughter
is the second of the Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, ancient notebooks recently discovered by archaeologists, in which a young Nain boy chronicled the magical sights, mysterious places, and mythical beasts he saw on his travels throughout the known and unknown world. Bits and pieces of the centuries-old notebook, that include Ven’s first-person narrative and sketches, are reproduced in this volume, and after much research, those parts of the journal that did not survive have been added in third-person narrative so that the story is seamless.

Ven Polypheme had just turned fifty years old (approximately twelve in human years) on the day his adventures (and misadventures) began. The youngest in a family of ship-building Nain, a race of people more often seen in mountains and deep within the caverns of the Earth, he is insatiably curious, wishing he could travel away from his home and see the great sights of the world. The opportunity comes upon him unexpectedly and tragically, forcing him to live on his own in an adult world where mystery, adventure, and magic share space with prejudice, danger, and supernatural evil.

Ven’s journey leads him through many mystical wonders of the world, introduces him to great friends and terrible foes, puts his wits and will to the test, and teaches him that the meaning of home is
“
where you decide to stay, where you decide to fight for what matters to you.” His chronicling of his meetings with Fire Pirates, merrows, ship-eating sharks, Rover’s boxes, Spice Folk, Revenants, and other ancient magic, form the pieces of a map from a time when there were places that magic might still be found.

In the second of these journals, Ven recounts the story of his journey within the mysterious Gated City, a former penal colony that exists, surrounded by high walls and guards, within the capital city of Kingston. When the king gives Ven a glowing artifact he wants to know more about, Ven and his friends are led into the fascinating Outer Market of this city of thieves, a colorful and magical bazaar, then later into the dark and dangerous Inner Market, where they encounter the Raven’s Guild and the deadly Queen of Thieves. As they struggle to find a kidnapped friend and escape with their lives in a place where they can trust no one, Ven and his friends learn the answer to the riddle that the king had posed, “the brightest light in the darkest shadow is yours.”

Thematic highlights: First and third juxtaposed points-of-view, racial differences, self-reliance, relationships between mothers and children, looking beyond stereotypes, hidden magic in the world. Recounted in a faux-nonfiction style.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Haydon began working in the publishing field even before her graduation from college. For most of that time she has been editing and developing educational materials and programs for kindergarten through twelfth grade, family literacy, and adult basic education programs. Her materials are used in schools both nationally and internationally, and many of her books for Young Readers and New Readers have garnered the PLA/ALA Top Titles award. In 1994, an editorial friend asked her to make use of her background in medieval music, anthropology, herbalism, folklore, and language to create a new fantasy tale that eventually became the award-winning
Symphony of Ages
series. Beginning with
Rhapsody: Child of Blood
, these novels have made numerous “Best of the Year” as well as national bestseller lists. Elizabeth Haydon lives on the East Coast of the United States with her husband and three children.

WRITING AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

I. Myths and Legends

A.
Macedon, the Rat King, tells Ven a story, which Ven relates to King Vandemere, about how the Wonder came to be within the Downworlders’ dark kingdom, and why they honor the human king. Have you ever heard a story like that before? Myths, legends, and fables are tales that try to teach a lesson, explain how something came to be, or tell why something is the way it is. Aesop’s fables are some of the oldest and most famous of these kinds of stories, such as “The Tortoise and the Hare” or “The Grasshopper and the Ants.” Most fables have a moral at the end, or woven into the story. Research a fable from anywhere in the world, and find out what its moral is. Then try your hand at writing your own fable. Don’t forget the moral!

B.
When she is reading his fortune, Madame Sharra tells Ven that the scales of the deck were given by dragons in order to do something very noble, something that saved the world. What does noble mean? If you aren’t sure, look it up. Have you ever heard a story about something that was done to save the world? What about something noble that was done for a smaller, but still noble, purpose? Sometimes the most noble acts are very small ones, like standing up for someone on the playground or making a sacrifice to help someone else. Write about what you might do or have done that is noble.

C.
Mrs. Snodgrass gives Ven cookies to take to the bridge for the trolls. Otis the barkeeper snorts at this and says it’s all nonsense and superstition. Do you have anything that you are superstitious about, like a lucky number or a ritual you always follow? Do you believe there really are trolls under the bridge? What exactly is a troll? Do a little research in books or on the Internet and find out—there are many different answers. Then draw what you think a troll should look like.

D.
Many cultures have a different versions of the same story. One of the most common is the Cinderella story, which is told in dozens of different cultures around the world. Research one or more of these Cinderella-like stories from around the world and share it with someone who has researched a different one. How are they different from the Cinderella tale you know? In what ways are they the same?

E.
Ven’s own name, by coincidence, is shared with several legendary characters. Who is Polypheme/Polyphemus? Who was Charles Magnus? If you look up its Greek roots, what does the word Polypheme mean? Use your imagination about your own name and write a legend with a character that has the same name. Or find an actual legend or story with a character that really does share your name.

F.
When they are traveling through the Raven’s Guild, Clemency comments that the Meadow Folk are named after poisonous plants that the Spice Folk consider to be evil. Why? What plants do you know of that could be taken care of by an evil fairy? Look them up and see if, in fact, they have any good properties as well as bad ones, the way Stuff-of-Dreams can be both a medicine and a poison.

II. Gated Cities and Penal Colonies

A.
Much of modern day Australia has its roots in a penal colony. In 1788 the First Fleet landed with about 780 convicts on prison ships in Botany Bay in New South Wales. Read about this historic period and learn how the sending of prisoners to another land began one of the world’s most interesting cultures.

B.
What is a penal colony and why would a government want to use one? Look up some examples and read about them. Then draw a vertical line down a sheet of paper and make two columns, one for good and one for bad results. List why you think the penal colony system was a good idea on the left, and a bad one on the right. Then decide overall whether you would have used a penal colony if you were a king long ago.

C.
All through history, people have been putting walls around their cities, mostly to keep invaders out. Can you name some examples? Look up some historic walled cities and find some pictures, if you can. What do they have in common? Do you think the wall helped the lives of the people in the city, or hurt them? Do you think it was easier to maintain and defend a walled city, or one with other types of defenses?

D.
In historic times castles often had walls that surrounded them. Another type of defense around a castle was a moat, a wide trench of water that made approaching the castle difficult. Which do you think worked better, a moat or an outer wall around a castle? King Vandemere has neither—he built his castle on the top of a huge, rocky cliff that seems to have a Guardian watching out for him. Why is this a good way to defend the Castle Elysian?

E.
The Castle Elysian is positioned in a place where the king can see the sea to the north and the wide fields all around him. Design your own castle, including what sort of geographic features it would have. Look up castles in a book or on the Internet to see what sorts of features most of them have, like bulwarks and a portcullis. Remember, a castle was like a small city, so you will need to account for all the things the people inside it need to live. How will you supply food and water? Then name your castle and draw a picture of it.

III. Limitations and Special Abilities

A.
Saeli is much smaller than most other people. Have you ever been in a group where you were much smaller or much bigger than the people around you? How does Saeli compensate for her small height? In
The Thief Queen’s Daughter
we see how her special abilities with plants and flowers make her both vulnerable and more capable than the other children. Give some examples of both.

B.
Everyone has talents. In
The Thief Queen’s Daughter
we see how each person’s special abilities help keep the group safe. What is Ida’s special ability, and how does it help? What about Ven—how does his natural Nain ability to dig help? Char has lived on ships all his life; do you get to see him do something that makes use of that experience? What about Nick’s speed as a runner, or Clem’s common sense as a house steward? What are your talents and how do they help you? How do you use them to help others? Look up a famous person who is known for one kind of talent and see if you can discover another one, such as an actor who is also a painter, or a politician who also sings.

C.
McLean, the Lirin Singer in the Crossroads Inn, has eyes that do not work, and yet he seems to have special insights that are very valuable to Ven. What would your life be like if you were blind? How would your days and nights be different from the way they are now? What would you no longer be able to do? Try it. Clear anything dangerous or breakable out of a room you are familiar with. Get a good blindfold or dark eye mask and put it on. Listen to music and a TV show without using your eyes. Try to make your way around the room just by touch. Try to eat, using silverware, without being able to see. If you can sit outside while “blind,” try that, too. What do you hear, smell, and feel that you might not have noticed when you could see?

D.
Why is Amariel annoyed when Ven asks her if she knows anything about the human city? Are you ever excluded from events or things you might like to do because of the way you are—for instance, because you have to be older to participate, or be able to speak a different language? If you could grow a merrow’s tail and be able to breathe under water, would you? What if you could not become human again?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.
In the Outer Market of the Gated City, Ven and his friends ride a carousel and swings that are made up of mythical beasts—a blue-green sea serpent, a lion with wings, a silver dragon, a griffin, a black unicorn. If you had the chance to ride, which beast would you pick? Or would you stick to a real-world animal, like a horse or a camel? Why? If you were building a magical carousel, what animals would it include, and what would it be able to do, besides going around and around? What other mythical beasts have you heard of, or can you imagine?

2.
In this book, we see birds being used as messengers and spies. Both the albatross and the ravens seem to be watching Ven. Madame Sharra tells Ven that the albatross is acting as the eyes for someone else. Who do you think that might be? Whose eyes are the ravens? Why are birds especially dangerous spies?

3.
At the beginning of this book, Ven receives a letter from his mother. How does that make him feel? Describe Ven’s relationship with his mother, based on what he says about her. How does Mrs. Snodgrass compare to her? Or the Thief Queen? What do you think he learns about his mother in this book?

4.
Who do you think the man with the hooked nose is? Why do you think this?

5.
When Ven sees the bed in the Thief Queen’s chamber, why does he know how to open the secret passage? When he enters the tunnels of the Downworlders, what does he realize about the Lightstone that he has seen earlier? Have you ever learned from an experience in the past that helped you later?