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Title: Childhood's End
Author: Arthur C. Clarke
Age level: High School
Recommended by: Gail Lindenberg, Nogales High School, California Summary:
Revisit the genre of science fiction at its best with Clarke's timeless tale of man's evolution into a union with a transcendentalist overmind. The book leapfrogs in 50-year time jumps, beginning with the arrival of the Overlords who hover out in space, and ending with the culminating fulfillment of man's potential as a species of beings who are empathetic and telepathic.
Teaching suggestions: The themes link successfully with studies of Emerson and Thoreau as well as The Grapes of Wrath
by Steinbeck. Most students would enjoy a chance to rewrite the ending. A way to enhance comprehension would be to have students outline the time "leaps" and look at how the generations of man change in each jump.
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