How do you survive a road trip with three kids? Having done this many times I know I will be reaching for the juvenile audio books at the Roxborough Library. Not only has Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson made Nebraska's I-80 seem shorter, it has been filled with laughter and conversation which are now part of our memories.

As the kids get older they bring their own reading material and I have succeeded in finding just the right family story to listen to. Jeanne DuPrau's newest trilogy, The Books of Ember, includes The City of Ember, The People of Sparks and The Prophet of Yonwood.

The main characters in the first two books are a pair of twelve year old school friends, Lina and Doon, who have recently been given their lifelong jobs. The City of Ember has a futuristic feel because of the utopia type society described. Problems are beginning to surface though, like food shortages and ever threatening blackouts. It is up to Lina and Doon to figure out how to survive the future. Could there be life beyond Ember?

In the second book Lina and Doon have discovered Sparks, a post-destruction village learning to support itself. Everyday relationships are examined as the people of Sparks and those of Ember learn coexistence in order to survive.
The Prophet of Yonwood is a prequel to the first two books, but needs to be read last to make sense. It describes how the world could become if we do not learn how to forgive and show compassion to others.

The Books of Ember trilogy will interest the whole family and provoke many conversations about real life situations our children could encounter in their lifetime. The Neighborhood Library at Roxborough has all three audio books available on their shelf. Happy travels...