Gregor the Overlander facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Suzanne Collins |
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| Cover artist | Daniel Craig |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Underland Chronicles |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
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Publication date
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September 1, 2003 |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 978-0-439-67813-1 |
| OCLC | 66527121 |
| Followed by | Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane |
Gregor the Overlander is an exciting fantasy adventure book for young readers. It was written by Suzanne Collins, who also wrote The Hunger Games series. Published in 2003, it's the first book in The Underland Chronicles series.
The book was very popular with critics and readers. It was even chosen by the New York Public Library as one of their "100 Books for Reading and Sharing." In 2005, it was featured by the U.S. National Public Radio. The publisher, Scholastic, says the book is a good read for kids around fourth or fifth grade.
Gregor the Overlander has been published in many languages. You can find it as an audiobook (a book you listen to) and an ebook (a digital book). In the United Kingdom, it was released with a different title: Gregor and the Rats of the Underland.
Contents
Gregor's Underland Adventure
Eleven-year-old Gregor is at home in New York City, looking after his baby sister, Boots, and his grandmother. One day, Boots falls through an old air vent in their building's basement. Gregor bravely jumps in after her.
They tumble far down into a hidden world called the Underland. This secret place is home to humans with pale skin, giant talking bats, rodents (like rats), and insects. There's a big fight brewing between the human city of Regalia and the powerful rats, led by their King Gorger.
Gregor and Boots meet several "Underlanders," including Princess Luxa and her cousin Henry. They also meet the giant bats who are "bonded" to these humans. At first, Gregor just wants to go home. But when two rats attack him, and the Underlanders save him, he accidentally makes the conflict between the humans and rats much worse.
He then learns the real reason the rats hate people from the surface world (Overlanders). A mysterious prophecy, written by the human colony's founder Bartholomew of Sandwich, hints that a "warrior" from the surface will stop the rats from taking over the Underland for good. The Regalian council believes Gregor is this warrior and tries to convince him to go on a special quest mentioned in the "Prophecy of Gray."
Gregor feels bad for them, but he doesn't want to help. That changes when he learns a shocking truth: his father, who disappeared two years ago, also fell into Regalia! He's now a prisoner of the rats. So, Gregor, Boots, and a group of Regalians set off on a dangerous journey. Their goals are to rescue Gregor's father and find allies to help them fight against the rats.
The quest group faces many challenges. They manage to find allies for the Regalians. Finally, they reach King Gorger's prison and find Gregor's dad, who is very thin and has been treated badly. When the rat king discovers their rescue attempt, Henry reveals a terrible secret: he has been secretly helping the rats all along! He hoped to team up with them and conquer the entire Underland.
During their escape, Gregor bravely sacrifices himself to trick the rats' attack force, including King Gorger and Henry, into falling off a cliff. Henry's bat, Ares, who didn't know about Henry's betrayal, chooses to save Gregor instead of Henry as they fall.
When the few remaining quest members return to Regalia, Luxa and her family are heartbroken. Not only because of Henry's betrayal and death, but also because Ares is sentenced to be sent away forever. This is like a death sentence in the Underland. Gregor saves Ares by using his status as the "warrior" to form a new bond with him. After things calm down and the doctors do all they can for his father, Gregor and his family finally return to the surface world.
The Prophecy of Grey Explained
The "Prophecy of Grey" is a key part of the story. Here's what it means:
Beware, Underlanders, time hangs by a thread
The hunters are hunted, white water runs red.
The gnawers will strike to extinguish the rest.
The hope of the hopeless resides in a quest.
Meaning: The usual peace in the Underland is about to break. The rat king plans a big attack against the other creatures. "White water runs red" refers to how the humans throw the bodies of two rats who tried to kill Gregor into a fast river under the Regalian palace. "Hope of the hopeless" might mean Gregor, who tries not to think about the future because it makes him sad, especially after his father disappeared.
An Overlander warrior, a son of the sun,
May bring us back light, he may bring us back none.
But gather your neighbors and follow his call
Or rats will most surely devour us all.
Meaning: Gregor is from the surface world (an Overlander) and his father also fell into the Underland, making Gregor a "son of the sun" in a few ways. He brings the Regalians "light" (which means "life" in the Underland) by defeating King Gorger and the traitor Henry. The humans team up with other species to stop the rats, who eat meat and sometimes even each other.
Two over, two under, of royal descent,
Two fliers, two crawlers, two spinners assent.
One gnawer beside and one lost up ahead.
And eight will be left when we count up the dead.
Meaning: This part lists the members of the quest: Gregor and Boots (two Overlanders); Luxa and Henry (two Underlanders from royalty); the bats Ares and Aurora (two fliers); the giant cockroaches Temp and Tick (two crawlers); the spiders Gox and Treflex (two spinners); and the rat Ripred (one gnawer). They are all going to find "one lost up ahead," who is Gregor's dad. Out of these twelve, Tick, Treflex, Gox, and Henry all die during the quest, leaving eight survivors.
The last who will die must decide where he stands.
The fate of the eight is contained in his hands.
So bid him take care, bid him look where he leaps,
As life may be death, and death life again reaps.
Meaning: Henry, the last person to die on the quest, chooses to betray the humans. He seals his own fate by not noticing that Gregor is leading him off a cliff. He could have controlled the "fate of the eight" because of his strong connection with the rats, if he had lived. The last line has many meanings. It could mean how sad Luxa is, even though she lives, because Henry, her best friend, died.
Main Characters on the Quest
- Gregor: An ordinary eleven-year-old boy from New York City. He is believed to be the warrior from "The Prophecy of Gray." Later, he forms a special bond with Ares the bat.
- Boots (Margaret): Gregor's two-year-old sister. She accidentally finds the way into the Underland. She is the main reason Gregor agrees to go on the quest.
- Luxa: The future queen of the Underland, about Gregor's age. Her parents were killed by rats. She is bonded to Aurora the bat.
- Vikus: Luxa's grandfather and the leader of the quest at first. He leaves the group during the journey, and they have to continue without his guidance.
- Henry: Luxa's cousin and next in line for the throne. He secretly wants to team up with the rats to take over the "weak" species of the Underland. He dies chasing Gregor off a cliff, thinking his bonded bat, Ares, would always save him.
- Ripred: A very smart and skilled rat. Vikus asks him to help the quest group get into the rats' territory. In later books, Ripred teaches Gregor how to use echolocation (like bats do).
- Temp: One of two crawlers (giant cockroaches) who join the quest. He is one of the first crawlers to meet Boots and Gregor and becomes their friend.
- Tick: A friend of Temp who bravely gives her life to save Boots from a group of rats.
- Ares: A large black flier (bat) bonded to Henry. He chooses to save Gregor instead of Henry when they fall off a cliff. He didn't know about Henry's betrayal until it was too late. Gregor decides to bond with him to save him from being sent away forever.
- Aurora: A flier (bat) who is bonded to Luxa. She has golden fur.
- Gox and Treflex: Two spinners (giant spiders) who help the quest group on their journey.
- Gregor's dad: His name is never given, but Gregor's father is a very important part of the quest because the group goes to find and rescue him.
About the Book's Release
Since its first release in 2003, Gregor the Overlander has been published in many different editions, often with new cover art. It's now available in languages like German, French, Spanish, Norwegian, Italian, Polish, Greek, Dutch, Finnish, and Chinese.
The book was also made available as an ebook by 2010 and as part of a collection of books. An audiobook version was released on December 13, 2005, read by actor Paul Boehmer.
Critics praised the book. School Library Journal called it "an engrossing adventure for fantasy fans." Common Sense Media gave it a perfect 5/5 rating, saying it had "strong characters, vivid descriptions, flawless pacing, breathless excitement, laughs and scares, and a vision that makes this fantasy very different."
The book was also praised for dealing with big topics like war and conflict in a way that's still adventurous and easy for younger readers to understand. Suzanne Collins herself has said she spent a lot of time planning the alliances and strategies in the book to make military sense, but still keep it simple for young audiences. Publishers Weekly gave the novel a "starred" review, which is a special honor for books of "exceptional merit." They said, "Collins does a grand job of world-building, with a fine economy of words... In her world, a child singing 'Patty-Cake' can change the course of history and a stoic rat can mourn the fact that although he is able to read, he cannot write because he has no thumb. Unlike Gregor who cannot wait to leave, readers will likely find it to be a fantastically engaging place."
While most reviews were positive, some minor criticisms were made. One reviewer noted that the book sometimes lacked enough descriptive details for characters and places like Regalia. The same School Library Journal review that praised the exciting scenes also mentioned that "Gregor is not the most compelling figure at first, but as the story progresses he becomes more interesting, maturing through the challenges he faces."
Gregor the Overlander was chosen as a Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice. It also won third place for the Nutmeg Children's Book Award in 2006. It was nominated for several other awards, including the Kansas William Allen White Children's Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award. The book won the Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for 2005–2006 and was the first runner-up for the Texas Bluebonnet Award.
Images for kids
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First edition cover of Gregor the Overlander
