Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel Date of Publication: 1997 ISBN: 0006481795 Number of Pages: 272

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: Average
GENRES: Adventure, Fantasy
THEMES: Life versus Death, Family, Sacrifice and Redemption, Survival, Coming of Age, Good versus Evil

SUMMARY:
Shade is a young Silverwing bat, a runt in his colony, who gets separated from his mother and the rest of his colony because of a series of misadventures and risky choices. He meets up with a female Brightwing bat, Marina, who is also alone and an outcast from her family, thanks to a mysterious band on her wrist. Together they embark on an incredible and dangerous journey to rejoin Shade’s family at the Silverwing winter hibernating area, “Hibernaculum.”

In this fantasy world, bats are at war with the Owls, and Shade’s behaviour at the start of the story has made the situation worse. Shade and Marina are constantly running from danger, but when they meet up with two large cannibal bats, Goth and his servant, Throbb, they are even more at risk. Shade and Marina must outsmart and outrun the two larger bats in order to meet up with Shade's colony. There is danger at every turn, and the two young bats are never quite sure whom they can trust for guidance.

While on his quest, Shade also discovers that he has a special gift…a unique hearing ability beyond simple echolocation. This gift of specialized hearing is all that may save his colony from the great danger posed by the two cannibal bats who have arrived in Shade's country, and the Owls, who will stop at nothing to eliminate the bats once and for all.

Can Shade reunite with his colony and save his race, or are Goth and Throbb really destined to be the destruction of them all?

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...

• enjoys fantasy and unfamiliar worlds
• likes adventure, suspense, and danger in a tale
• likes action and exciting chases and battles
• enjoys stories about underdog protagonists who save the day
• enjoys stories about animal kingdoms and anthropomorphic characters
• likes epic quest tales
• appreciates Ken Oppel
• feels unaccepted by his or her peers

WHAT ELSE?
This book was the winner of the Mr. Christie's Book Award , the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award, the Blue Heron Award, and the Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Award, as well as seven others. It was shortlisted for the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award and three others as well.

Shade’s journey is so remarkable that readers forget that Shade isn’t human and is just a bat. Many fans say they would not have ordinarily read this type of book, but once they experience it, they absolutely love it and become hooked on the series, which includes the later two books, Sunwing and Firewing. Some readers may be familiar with Silverwing (or think they are) because a cartoon was made and was on TV recently. The actual novel is far better than the cartoon, as the cartoon took many liberties with the plot and characters.

Shade’s father is missing and presumed dead, and although they are all just bats, this might be upsetting for some readers. There is also graphic violence perpetrated by Goth and Throbb, so be aware.

RELATED LINKS:
Author’s Website
Novel Study and Teacher’s Guide
Guided Reading Webbing Unit
Grade 8 Class Webpage Project on Silverwing and Bats