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: