Instellar Pig

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Barney is curious about his very odd neighbors, Zena, Manny, and Joe. They act very strange, are physically perfect, and don't seem to have jobs. They are also always playing a strange board game called, of course, Interstellar Pig. Barney starts playing the game with them and learns to late what the stakes are. The goal is to be the player who is holding the Piggy card when time runs out. The planets of everyone but the Piggy holder will be destroyed when time runs out. Then Barney learns that the Piggy is real and Earth will be destroyed if he loses the game.

Instructional Activities

• Have the students create their own Interstellar Pig card game based on the rules that they read in the book.

• Students will write an alternate ending for the book.

• Science fiction begins with science and departs into speculation about the future or about life on other planets. Have students write predictions about what they think life will be like in fifty years.

• The aliens are obsessed with playing a game that is dangerous and destructive. Ask students to reflect on that. How important is it to play games? At what point is it no longer worth it?

• Have students create a mural that includes representations of the main characters, the conflict, and the major plot points from the novel.

Web Resources

William Sleator's website