The Marvellers

By Dhonielle Clayton

Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Author Website:  

https://www.dhonielleclayton.com/

Marvellers Website: 

https://www.themarvellersseries.com/

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Which Marvellers character are you? Take the quiz and find out! 

Marvellers Quiz 

Arts and Crafts

Make a Wombie.

1. Take a cotton ball or pom pom.

2. Add feet and googly eyes.

3. They were always hungry so be sure and provide them with some food.

Using Tangrams make your favorite Tower (example, Taste Tower, Touch Tower)

Tangrams 

Science

Science that looks like magic.

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/science-magic-tricks-2268213

Science experiments that look like magic (15:10):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=M7qe1P6q8os&ab_channel=5-MinuteCrafts

Ella’s grandmother had an herb garden. How to make your own:

https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/grow-an-herb-garden

What are constellations? (5:16):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=adKrNga8-Qs&ab_channel=MizyakaDizyakaENG

Make your own constellation.

https://sendat.academy/students/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/star-constellation-craft.pdf

Constellations for kids (9:46):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=pqis3gZwVaY&ab_channel=LearnBright

Free Article and Quiz on Britannica (do not need sign in)

https://www.britannica.com/science/constellation

MakerSpace Activities:

In the book they mention magic elixirs. Lava Lamps are actually elixirs.

https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/outreach/kidschemistry/activities/lava-lamp.pdf

Arcanum Training Institute is a floating school. How do things float? Try this experiment with a balloon: 

https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/floating-balloons/

Origami

Origami Crane (6:41):

https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=GC_Szxdqh2Y&ab_channel=EasyPaperOrigami

Quilt Family Square

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WZ0xGprRYtyRk0VLQJlLHhLUJIWyFBCP/view?usp=sharing

Discussion Questions:

There are 5 paragons discussed in the book; touch, spirit, vision, sound, and taste. Which paragon interests you the most? Explain why.

Ella comes from a family of Conjurors and isn’t well received at the Arcanum Training Institute. Why do you think that is? 

Who was the most influential person in Ella's family?

Ella grew up in New Orleans. How did she describe the area where she grew up?

What was the culture of the food she had growing up?

How did Brigit and Ella become friends?

What are Starposts?

On page 376, what happened when Ella was asked to go before the Disciplinary Board?

Describe the Touch, and Taste Towers.

The book talked a lot about secrets. What were some of Bridgit and Jason’s secrets?

What were the Night and Photoballoons?

What happened to Mastergi Thakur when he caught Ella in the taste tower?

What are the Underworld gates? How would you describe them?

Name some of the conjure companions.

How did the rotties help Ella and her friends?

How do they save Masterji Thakur?

What kind of trouble did Siobhan’s pixies cause?

During the story, the Marvellians constantly made negative comments towards the Conjurers. Why?

With the ending, what do you think the next book could be about?

There are many chapter books that include schools that students go to learn magic. How did this one compare to some you have read?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader's theater for The Marvellers 

Watch the book trailer for The Marvellers on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.

Read Aloud: 

https://www.teachingbooks.net/qlzoe3d

Read Alikes: 

Magic Within Us

Okogwu, Tola. Onyeka and the academy of the sun. When twelve-year-old Onyeka discovers that she has psychokinetic powers, her mother reveals that she is Solari, part of a secret group of Nigerian mutants that trains at the Academy of the Sun. (NoveList)

Dumas, Marti. Wildseed witch. When an emotional outburst unleashes a magical ability within her that draws the attention of witches, social media-loving tween Hasani discovers she is a "Wildseed," a stray witch who is more powerful than those who insult her can possibly imagine. (NoveList)

Fight Against Evil

Alston, B.B. Amari and the night brothers. Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor Black girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician. (NoveList)

Chainani, Soman. The school of good and evil. Best friends Sophie (princess wannabe) and Agatha (witchy loner) are headed (via kidnapping) to the School for Good and Evil, but their assumed destinies are reversed. (NoveList)

Reviews:

Clayton, Dhonielle. The Marvellers. Macmillan Publishers/Henry Holt and Company, 2022.

Booklist

The Marvellers.

By Dhonielle Clayton(author) 

May 2022. 416p. Henry Holt and Company, $14.99 (9781250174949) Grades 5-7.

REVIEW: First Published February 15, 2022 (Vol. 118, No. 12) (Booklist). 

Floating in the sky, safely away from the Fewel (contemporary nonmagical) world, the Arcanum Training Institute brings together magical practices from across the globe, teaching young Marvellers to discover and control their powers. True integration is only coming to the school now, however, with 11-year-old Ella, the first Conjuror to be admitted. The Marvellian world is skeptical of Conjurors and their necromantic brand of magic, and Ella’s first year is marked by harassment and discrimination. When a notorious convict known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, Conjurors are accused of helping, and when her plot to return to power intersects with Ella’s investigation into a missing teacher, Ella must fight to clear her family’s name—and survive. Clayton’s middle-grade debut tackles the lack of diversity in the magic-school subgenre, featuring a Black heroine from New Orleans along with a culturally rich milieu and supporting cast. The world building is impressive in its breadth and depth, painting every scene with amusingly alliterative details of magic, food, and commerce, plus regular interstitial epistolary clippings. Sky’s the limit for this promising series. —Ronny Khuri 

Used with the permission of Booklist  https://www.booklistonline.com/

School Library Journal starred (June 1, 2022) 

Gr 3-7-Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is excited to be the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute for Marvelous and Uncanny Endeavors. At the institute in the sky, aspiring Marvellers from all over the world study and hone their skills with the hope of being sorted into one of five paragons: touch, vision, spirit, sound, and taste. Unfortunately, Ella has to contend with her classmates' preconceived notions of Conjurors being unnatural, bad, and untrustworthy. Despite a few missteps, Ella makes new friends, excels in her class, and learns from her favorite teacher and mentor. Things take a turn for the worse when the Ace of Anarchy, an infamous criminal, escapes from prison. People assume the escape was with a Conjuror's help, making them even more suspicious of Ella and her fellow Conjurors. As if things weren't bad enough, Ella's beloved mentor also disappears. It's up to Ella and her friends to get to the bottom of things and prove once and for all that she belongs. Ella is an inspirational heroine who has the formidable task of being the first Conjuror at the institute. Though her classmates' snide comments upset her, she doesn't back down from them, stares right back when they glare at her, and speaks up for herself and her friends. Thanks to the unique magic system and the descriptive worldbuilding, readers will find themselves transported. As with many description-heavy fantasy texts, readers should expect a steady yet entertaining read. This novel is an exemplary example of diversity with a Black girl protagonist, and characters representing a variety of cultures, skin tones, gender identities, sexual orientations, and religious affiliations. VERDICT This fun, immersive tale is a must-purchase for all collections.-Myiesha Speight © Copyright 2022. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2022

Additional Reviews Available

• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 05/01/22

• Horn Book Magazine, 05/01/22

• Kirkus Reviews starred, 03/15/22

• Publishers Weekly starred, 04/04/22