About the Author

     Hi everyone! My name is Erin, and I’m reading the book The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton. Virginia Hamilton was born on March 12th, 1936 and grew up on a farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Her grandfather had been a slave in Virginia before he escaped to Yellow Springs and he would always tell stories about slavery. I bet that’s what inspired her to write some of her stories, like this one. As you probably can tell, she loved to write. In college, she majored in literature. She first attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, then transferred to Ohio State University. While attending the New School for Social Research, she met a poet named Arnold Adoff and they later got married and moved back to Yellow Springs with their two children. Virginia Hamilton died on February 19, 2002 at the age of 65.

Tasks:
1. Respond- By looking at the front and back of this book, what do you think it’s going to be about?
2. Read- Section 1 (pg. 1-60)

Section 1

     Okay, so now you guys read Section 1, right? Good. I know the beginning was pretty boring, but don’t worry, it’ll get better. It started out with the weird dream, then they start the long drive from South Carolina to Ohio. When they first arrive at the house, they find everything already set up. Oh, and did I mention it took part in the Underground Railroad? Well anyways, Thomas goes outside, tired of being in the new house, and meets Pesty and Mac Darrow. Then, Thomas finds a secret underground tunnel. When he goes inside, he hears strange noises, so he gets scared and starts running. He ends up coming out through the kitchen.

Tasks:
1. Respond- How would you feel if you were like Thomas, and you had to move to a mysterious new place?
2. Read- Section 2 (pg. 61-106)

Section 2

Hey readers, welcome back! We are now on our 2nd section of our book, where things are beginning to become more exciting. This is finally the part where Thomas meets the mysterious Pluto. He decides he wants to go out and explore around the house, but when he goes up the hill, he falls asleep. When he wakes up, its getting pretty dark, so he tries to go back down to the house. But Thomas becomes frozen with fear, when he hears that same strange noise he heard in the underground tunnel. Despite his fear, Thomas follows the sound. After slipping on a platform, he ends up face-to-face with Pluto, who he believes is the Devil. Pluto, then, chases Thomas back to his house, where Thomas runs through the door. When he goes to bed, he thinks he sees a shadow walking through the house.

Tasks:
1. Respond- What would you have done: a) Followed the noise like Thomas, or b) Went back home and completely ignored it? Why?
2. Read- Section 3 (pg. 107- 171)

Section 3

     Hi everyone, it’s me, Erin, again with the 3rd section of our book. In this section, Thomas wakes up to find his father with three triangles that, they believe, almost forms the Greek Cross. It was a Sunday, so the Smalls had church, where everyone seems to act strangely around Pluto. Afterwards, they go to the college campus, where Mr. Small is going to be working. They then find the fourth triangle, which they believe is a warning sign. Since Thomas broke the lock to the back door when he ran into it, they have to get a new one. While looking for a new lock, they meet Carr, who warns them about the Darrows. Once they return home, they find their kitchen is in ruins.

Tasks:
1. Respond- How do you think the setting is important to the book’s plot, characters, or authors message or theme?
2. Read- Section 4 (pg. 172-225)

Section 4

We are almost to the end of our book, with only one more section to go. I don’t know about you, but I found this section very interesting and suspenseful. Thomas and his father go out into the woods to look for who destroyed their kitchen, while Mrs. Small stayed with the twins. They see Pluto out in the open, but as soon as he sees them he darts into the cave, where he lives. In search of Pluto, they go deeper into the cave, where they finally find Pluto with Pesty, in what appears to be Dies Drear’s treasure room. Not long after, they find a second Pluto, which they later find out is the actual Pluto’s son, Mahew. They also find out that Pluto’s real name is Henry Skinner. Later that night, Mahew comes to their house and comes up with a plan to fool the Darrows, so that they won’t try to steal Dies Drear’s treasure anymore.

Tasks:
1. Respond- What do you think the Complication of this book was, and where did it occur?
2. Read- Section 5 (pg. 226-279)

Section 5

Well, were finally at the end of our book now. After organizing a plan to scare the Darrows, they go out and buy props so that they could be disguised. Since Mahew is an actor, he made sure everything went well. The Darrows thought the cave would be empty, so that they would be able to steal the treasure. But what they didn’t know, was that everyone was secretly hiding until they came, and when they popped out, the Darrows actually thought they were the ghosts of Dies Drear and the two slaves. Once they ran away, frightened, they all went in the cave and talked about Dies Drear, and the two slaves that died with him. Mr. Pluto told them about the signs the slaves would use to tell which way to go, the mysterious triangles that Thomas and Mr. Small had found, except those were put up by the Darrows to try and scare them off. After that, everyone went back home and that was the end.

Task:
1. Respond- How did you like the book? What was your favorite part? Who was your favorite character? (Etc.)