The Lost Boy

Mysterious, Magical, Dynamic, Thrilling, Dark 

The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth 

Published by Scholastic Inc. Copyright 2013

Shortly after Nate moves into a new home, he discovers an old tape recorder hidden under the floorboards in his room. Nate suddenly finds himself in the middle of a dark mystery surrounding a boy who went missing many years ago. He teams up with his neighbor, Tabitha, and encounters several strange creatures as they go on their quest to solve the mystery of the lost boy. 

Grade level: 4-6

Lexile Measure: GN370L

Description: Graphic novel 

Suggested delivery: Independent read 

Electronic Resources:

Author's Website

Greg Ruth’s website offers preview pages of the book that students can read before they start the book, as well as a map of the fictional Kingdom from the story. It also contains an inside look at the making of the book, including the beginning stages of the story and story extensions. 

Interview with the Author

This is an interview with the author about the makings of the book. Students can read this interview to learn more about Greg Ruth and his ideas and inspirations to write the story. 

Teaching Strategies

Key vocabulary:

·         Relic – something that is from a past time, place, or culture

·         Sleuth – someone who looks for information to solve crimes

·         Malevolent – having a desire to cause harm to another person

·         Vengeance – the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something to hurt you or someone else

·         Tyrant – an unfair ruler who has complete control over a country

·         Envoy – a person who sent by one government to represent it

·         Deception – the act of making someone believe something that is not true 

Before reading: Have students make predictions of what the book will be about by using the picture on the cover and the title. Have them write down their predictions in their reading journals.

During reading: Encourage students to come up with “I wonder” questions as they read the book. Have them keep track of all of their questions using sticky notes.

After reading: Have students reflect on their predictions and questions to see if their predictions were correct and if their questions were answered.  

Writing activity: The author leaves the end open for a continuing story. Have students extend the story by adding on to the ending. Students should first write their extension stories in narrative format and then turn it into a graphic novel format. They can use an online comic strip creator such as http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/ to make their story extension look more the book. 

 Ruth, G. (2013). The Lost Boy. New York, New York: Scholastic.