The Tree of Water (46 page)

• The major places to which Ven and his friends travel in
The Tree of Water
are mostly known as realms, and they correspond to the actual zones of the sea. Look up the zones of the sea (Sunlit, Twilight, Midnight, etc) and make a chart of them. Write words or draw pictures of some of the plants and creatures that can be found in those zones.

• Create a PowerPoint or other multimedia presentation showing the actual creatures, plants, and formations in the sea that you found most interesting in
The Tree of Water.
Share that presentation as a report on magic hiding in plain sight to your class, explaining what you think is most magical or interesting about them.

• If you could be any one of the people or any type of creature in
The Tree of Water,
who or what would you be? Write a one-page account telling the story of your birthday as that person or creature, and what you did to celebrate it.

• Not all of Ven's diary entries survived. Find a place in the book where there is narration about something that happened, and write Ven's account of it, complete with illustrations. Notice that each of Ven's illustrations in the book are signed, and remember to do that on your illustrations as well.

• Skelligs are actual geological formations off the coast of Ireland. Research the skelligs, and then build your own skellig out of modeling clay or papier-mâché. Make birds, animals, and structures (like the beehive huts on Skellig Michael in Ireland) that you want on your own skellig. Write a poem about your own mountain island.

• Imagine Ven is a travel agent, writing about the places he has been for other people who want to explore them. Make an itinerary (look this up if you don't know the word) in list form with comments about the places he went, in order (reference the book). Have him use a five-star rating system (1 being awful, 5 being wonderful) to rate each of these places. Write the comments as if you are Ven.

• Fantasy as a genre is supposed to make you use your imagination to envision places that do not exist. Of all the places or creatures in
The Tree of Water,
which place, creature, or thing was, in your opinion, the most beautiful? The most interesting? The scariest? Draw three pictures depicting each of those places, creatures or things.

• Many times Ven and his friends are reminded that “everything in the sea is food for something else, and the sea is always hungry.” Look up what a food chain is, and make one, using the creatures and plants from Ven's world.

• In Ven's world, there are five elements—earth, air, fire, water, and ether—that are the basis of all life and all magic, that need to be brought together to make a miracle. Research the origin of these five elements in ancient Greece. If you were forming a world of your own, what would your elements be? Make a poster illustrating the ones from Ven's world and contrast them with the ones from you own world. Which would be the same?

• Much of the “magic hiding in plain sight” in the sea is real. Many of the sea creatures, such as the sea dragon, the sunflower starfish, and the green sea slug all exist in our world. How does the author blend actual scientific information about existing creatures with those that are made up? Which beings and animals do you think really exist or once existed, and which do you think are imaginary? Make a list of creatures or parts of the sea you think might be real, and look them up online to see if you are right.

• Turn one of the scenes in
The Tree of Water
into a play. Get some friends who have also read it to act out the parts with you. Present the play to your class.

 

FROM STARSCAPE BOOKS

The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme

by Elizabeth Haydon

The Floating Island

The Thief Queen's Daughter

The Dragon's Lair

The Tree of Water

 

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

 

THE TREE OF WATER

 

Copyright © 2014 by Elizabeth Haydon

 

Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Brandon Dorman

 

The Floating Island
excerpt copyright © 2006 by Elizabeth Haydon

 

Reader's Guide copyright © 2014 by Elizabeth Haydon

 

All rights reserved.

 

Cover art by Mike Heath

 

Endpaper map by Ed Gaszi

 

A Starscape Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates,
LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

 

www.tor-forge.com

 

eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

 

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

 

ISBN 978-0-7653-2059-9 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4668-6367-5 (e-book)

 

e-ISBN 9781466863675

 

First Edition: October 2014

tor-forge.com/starscape