The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade mystery adventure
• Originally Published: 2007
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 890L; grades 4-7
• Structure/Length: 39 chapters; approx. 497 pages; approx. 13 hours, 17 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Four gifted children who have lost their families answer a newspaper ad posted by Mr. Nicholas Benedict, who gives them a series of tests before admitting them to the Mysterious Benedict Society. They go on a dangerous mission to stop a would-be dictator who is laying the groundwork to take over the world by using subliminal messages to destroy any resistance.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Psychological torture; threats of violence; coercive control; references to loss of parents and family estrangement

Trenton Lee Stewart, Author

• Bio: Born in 1970 in Arkansas; earned his MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop; writes novels and short stories; TV series adaptation of The Mysterious Benedict Society premiered on Disney Channel in 2021; lives in Little Rock, Arkansas
• Other Works: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (2008); The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma (2009); The Secret Keepers (2016); The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages (2019)
• Awards: New York Times Best Seller

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Power of Cooperation
• Found Family
• Finding the Bravery Within
• Fear
• The Abilities of Children

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Explore background information on subliminal messaging, propaganda, manipulation, and coercive persuasion to increase their engagement with and understanding of The Mysterious Benedict Society.
• Read/study paired texts and other brief resources to deepen their understanding of themes related to The Power of Cooperation, Found Family, Finding the Bravery Within, Fear, and The Abilities of Children.
• Demonstrate their understanding of the theme of The Power of Cooperation by designing a task requiring a variety of abilities and a test designed to evaluate these varying abilities.
• Analyze the significance of various elements of the novel, such as paradox, characterization, motivation, setting, plot detail, and symbolism, and construct essay responses tying these to the novel’s meaning.