In "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix, the story follows Luke, a third child who lives in hiding due to strict population control laws that forbid families from having more than two children. Luke discovers another shadow child named Jen, who is determined to challenge these oppressive laws, and he faces a choice between the safety of remaining hidden and the risk of joining her rebellion. The narrative explores themes of freedom, identity, and the consequences of governmental control over individual lives.

1. By: Margaret Peterson HaddixAmong the Hidden

2. Plot: Luke has never been to school. He's never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend. Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside. Then, one day Luke sees a girl's face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he's met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows--does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?

3. Margaret Peterson HaddixI grew up on a farm outside Washington Court House, Ohio. As a kid, I liked to read a lot, and was also involved in 4-H, various bands and choirs (I played flute and piano), church youth group, the school newspaper, and I ran track one year in high school. After graduating from Miami University (of Ohio), I worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolisuiz-bowl type team. I was pretty disastrous as an athlete,; and a part-time community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois, before my first book was published. I've moved around a lot as an adult, having also lived in Luxembourg (during a college semester abroad) and in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Several years ago, I moved back to Ohio with my husband and kids; we now live in Columbus, Ohio. My husband is a newspaper editor and my kids are both in middle school.

4. How did you get the idea for Among the Hidden? I first started thinking about Among the Hidden when my husband and I were trying to decide whether to have a third child, or whether to stop with two. All the reasons we could come up with for having or not having another baby seemed entirely subjective, more emotional than rational—except the possibility that the world was overpopulated, and it might be irresponsible to have more than two kids. I remember thinking in frustration one night, “Well, if overpopulation were that bad of a problem, there’d be a law, that nobody could have a third child!” My next thought was, “What if there was a law like that?” I knew instantly that I had a good idea for a book, regardless of what my husband and I decided.

5. Was there ever a two-child rule? I made up that rule, but it’s not entirely far-fetched. For many years, China has had a more stringent law: families there are limited to one child. But there are some exceptions to that rule, and the circumstances and enforcement methods in China are different from those in my book. (You could probably tell that Among the Hidden wasn’t set in China.) When I was researching my book, I read a lot about China’s efforts at population control—and efforts in other countries--but I was not trying to depict any of those situations exactly. I wanted to be able to imagine the world of Among the Hidden in my own way.

6. What is the setting of Among the Hidden? You may have noticed that I never actually gave an exact time and place for the story. I didn’t just forget to—I did this on purpose. I wanted readers to think about whether this is something that could happen in the United States, if there were droughts and famines and an extreme change in the government. But I didn’t want to come out and say that, partly because all the explanation would have bogged down the story, and partly because I thought a lot of people would think, “Nope, that could never happen here!” and then dismiss the whole book. So I wanted to make readers think. I could have given an exact year—I was picturing everything as happening twenty or thirty years in the future. But it’s always bothered me that the book 1984 lost some of its effect after 1984 came and passed, so I didn’t want to be that precise.

7. Isn’t it Ironic?… A woman with twins in front of a sign saying, "Have only one child" in Chinese.

9. Interesting Fact:May 11, 1811: Chang and Eng, first Siamese twins.Chang and Eng Bunker were the first set of conjoined twins to be brought to international attention. Because they were born in Thailand, which was then called Siam, they were called Siamese twins. However, in the village where they were born, they were known as the "Chinese Twins" because their parents were from China. Joined at the breast by cartilage, the pair became part of a world tour organized by British merchant Robert Hunter to satisfy the public\'s curiosity about the phenomenon. After ten years of performing for audiences around the world, the twins went into business for themselves as tobacco farmers, settling in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, and even becoming U.S. citizens (at which time they adopted the name Bunker). They married two sisters in 1843 and fathered twenty-one children between them. It wasn't until after their death that doctors realized they could easily have been separated.

10. The Shadow Children Series:Among the HiddenAmong the ImpostersAmong the BetrayedAmong the BaronsAmong the BraveAmong the EnemyAmong the Free

11. Ch. 1 & 2 Vocabulary: ShudderHarrumphedReassurePeeredUmpteenthRuntRecognizableProtestedLoanedStartledCrouchedSkilletInsistedSuperstitionHulkingShivered

12. Chapter 2 Questions:1. What kind of cake did Luke get for his sixth birthday?2. Why did Luke want to cry?3. Why wasn’t Luke supposed to look out the kitchen’s side table?4. Why did Matthew and Mark never have to hide? 5. What was the Population Law?6. Who do you think took the woods away?

13. Ch. 3 & 4 Vocabulary: CareenedSkittishOffendedDesertedAutomaticallySlantedBeseechinglySuspiciousCuriosityHoveredCaravanScurried

14. Ch. 3 & 4 Questions:1. What toy did Luke long for? Why?2. What rule did Luke have to follow in order to walk around in the house?3. How did Mark treat Luke?4. Why did Dad grumbled about Luke staying in the attic?5. Had Luke ever seen another human being other than his family?6. Luke’s mother said “and things could be worse”. Do you agree with her? Why or why not? 7. Where did Luke have to sit for breakfast?8. Why did they decide to sit Luke there?9. What was Luke eating for breakfast?

15. Ch. 5-6 Vocabulary: BoreReciprocityAuctionCommentRetrieve

16. Ch. 5 & 6 Questions:1. What were court orders?2. Who sent the family a letter?3. What was the letter about?4. What arrived two weeks later?5. Where were the majority of the pigs going?6. How are they going to pay the taxes?

17. Ch. 7 & 8 Vocabulary:LingerRescueRagedFatigue ComplainingVastLinoleumTentativelyCautiousPerchApparatusTeeteringBlubberedZeal

18. Ch. 7 & 8 Questions:1. What was Luke’s pattern?2. Where were the worker’s going?3. Who were the Barons?4. What were “sissy clothes”?5. What did Luke do in his free time?6. What did Dad make them for lunch?7. What games did the boys play?8. Why was the family in such a rush-where were they going?9. What did Luke do while they were gone?10. What was Luke’s interest that particular day?11. Who caught Luke working in the house?12. How did Luke feel about this situation?

19. Ch. 9 & 10 Vocabulary: recoveredreluctantlymutteredIrritableyeastpatheticresignedlydisgustedlyincredulouslyceremonyguffawedpantomimed

20. Chapter 9 & 10 Questions:1. What did Luke see?2. What did Luke want his mother to talk to his father about?3. Would you like to be Luke? Why or why not?4. What was wrong with the bread that Luke had made?5. How was the bread described?6. What were they eating for dinner?7. What did Dad think of Luke cooking?8. What family had their windows blocked by heavy blinds?

21. Ch. 11 & 12 Vocabulary:

22. Ch. 11 & 12 Questions:1. What was the main idea in this chapter?2. What do you believe Luke should do about it?3. What was harvest?4. What does the word “sporadically”?5. What idea did Luke think up?6. How was he going to accomplish this?7. How many people left?8. Did he actually leave the house?

23. Ch. 13 & 14 Vocabulary:

24. Ch. 13 & 14 Questions:1. How did he proceed to the neighbor’s house?2. How did Luke view his house?3. What complication happened at the end of the chapter? 1. How did he get inside the house?2. Describe the house from Luke’s perspective.3. What does the word “pristine” mean?4. Who did Luke find?5. What did the girl tell Luke that frightened him?6. What words came out of Luke’s mouth?

25. Ch. 15 Questions:1. Who was the girl referring to as a “shadow child”?2. What did Luke mean by saying that “he broke many taboos today”?3. What was the girl on the phone?4. What does the word “competent” mean?5. What was the girl’s name?6. Did Jen have more or less freedom than Luke?7. What do you think Jen meant when she said “I’m your ticket out.”?

26. Ch. 16 Questions:1. What was Jen and Luke’s signal?2. What does the word “propaganda” mean?3. What were the names of Jen’s brothers?4. What does the word “infiltrator” mean?5. What job did Jen’s step dad have?6. What did Jen think of Government leaders?7. What was on the carpet?8. What did Luke and Jen do about this situation?

27. Ch. 17 Questions:1. How did Jen get to the mall?2. What was a “forged Pass”?3. What had Jen checked out on the computer?4. What is the story behind the “fingerprints”?5. What type of food did Jen give Luke?6. What did he think about it?7. What was the government trying to force people to become (according to Jen)?8. Why did the government pass the Population Law?

28. Ch. 18 & 19 Questions:1. What was the main idea of this chapter?2. Who was Carlos?3. What was the password?1. What did Jen give Luke to read?2. What game did Luke’s dad offer to play with him?3. Do you believe that Luke’s dad is becoming suspicious of his behavior?4. What is hydroponics?5. How many calories a day was the government regulating to the people?6. The article that intrigued Luke said that there was plenty of food and the population law was unnecessary-who did they believe was eating all the food?

29. Ch. 20 & 21 Questions:1. What month did Luke have a safe journey to Jen’s house?2. Why did Luke’s dad hang around the house a lot during the winter months?3. What did Jen want her I.D. to say?4. What month was the rally going to be held in? 1. What was the letter about that Luke’s dad get from the government?2. Why did Luke think the government wanted them to stop?3. How many times did Luke go see Jen in February, March?4. Why did the government make pets illegal?5. Did Luke think his brothers would betray him?6. What hobby did Mark have?

30. Ch. 22 & 23 Questions:1. What was Jen’s plan on getting to the rally?2. How did the Population Police get a few days off?3. What did Luke think about the plan?4. How did Luke leave things between him and Jen at the end of the chapter?1. How was Luke feeling at the beginning of the chapter?2. Where did Luke’s mother find him when she got home?

31. Ch. 24 & 25 Questions:1. What was Luke thinking he would do to Jen?2. Why was Jen glad that the government outlawed pets?3. Did Luke change his mind about going to the rally?4. What was his thought behind it? 1. Why was Luke up early that morning?2. What was the big announcement on the radio about that Luke thought was the rally?3. What did Luke want his mother to do?4. At the end of the chapter, it states that Luke has a plan-what do you think his plan is?

32. Ch. 26 & 27 Questions:1. Where did Luke go?2. What did Luke type on the computer?3. What happened at the end of the chapter?1. Who found Luke?2. What questions were asked to Luke?3. What happened to Jen?4. What warning did Jen’s dad give to Luke?5. What is Jen’s dad’s occupation?

33. Chapter 28 Questions:1. What situation happened at the beginning of the chapter?2. Why did this situation occur?3. What did Jen’s dad discuss with Luke about the government (page 135)?4. What did Jen’s dad say about the population law?5. Who was at the door at the end of the chapter?

34. Chapter 29 Questions:1. What did Jen’s dad instruct Luke to do?2. What explanation did Jen’s dad give for the computer message?3. What did Jen’s father say he would do if the people searched his house?4. How did Jen’s dad talk to Luke after the police had left?5. Why did they have to communicate this way?6. Was there a door?7. Why did Jen’s dad tell Luke that (about the door)?8. What ideas did Luke think of to help free him?9. What was Luke’s final decision at the end of this chapter?

35. Chapter 30 Questions:1. Who was Lee Grant?2. Who was the real Lee Grant?3. What happened when Jen’s dad came for Luke? How did they act?4. What did Luke say that he wanted to do for Jen?5. Why did he want to do this?6. How did Lee Grant feel at the end of the chapter?

36. Think about it: 1. Did you like this book?2. What about this book did you like?3. What chapter did you see yourself in?4. How would you feel if you were a “Third Child” in their country?5. Would you stay hidden or would you find a way to escape?