Below the Root

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

This book first came out in 1975. It is the first book in the Green Sky Trilogy, which was the most popular series at my elementary school in the mid-1980s. There was a waiting list a mile long for it in the school library, and after a year on the list I finally read this book in 3rd grade.

I don't remember much from my early reading, but I did remember the basic storyline all of these years. This book starts the trilogy by introducing us to the utopian world of Green Sky, a distant planet far in the future which is populated by the descendants of refugees from a war that destroyed Earth. The main character is a 13 year old boy named Raamo who is chosen to become a member of the ruling body, the Ol-zhaan, based on his psychic abilities.

Raamo soon discovers things that make him suspicious of the society and rules he has grown up with, and he begins to investigate the forbidden forest floor. What he finds there will ultimately shake the foundations of Green Sky society and change his world forever.

While reading this book again as an adult, I was able to appreciate the deeper theme of questioning utopia that runs through the series. I think this book would be appropriate for 5th or 6th graders after an introduction to political systems, but much was lost on me when I read it in 3rd grade.

In fact, I think the only reason I remember the story so well is that in 1984, this series was the basis for a wildly popular computer game for the Commodore 64, also called Below the Root. The game picked up the story where the trilogy left off, and I spent many hours playing it! While the game is long gone, the books are finally back in print and I have purchased the whole trilogy. I've wanted this on my bookshelf for over 20 years, and I finally have it!