Saturday, November 5, 2011

Animorphs

by Ann M. Martin
Five kids were hanging out at the mall one night.  They knew each other from school, but weren't friends, they just happened to be at the mall.  As they were walking home they met this alien that was like a centaur, exept he was blue, had 4 eyes, a knife on his tail, and no mouth.  He spoke in their thoughts.  He was dying.  An alien force was attacking earth and someone needed to fight it.  No one knows because they are silent invaders.  They are little slugs that come in your ear and wrap around you brain.  Only this alien race, the Andelites, have the power to fight them.  He gave the kids this power.  It was the power to morph into other animals, so long as they could aquire their DNA.  The catch is that they can only stay in animal form for 2 hours.  If they stay longer than that, they are trapped in that body forever.  He dies after giving them the power and the information, leaving them to figure out what to do with the knowledge and the rest of their lives.

Audience
Scholastic says they are for grades 4-7 but I distinctly remember loving them in 3rd grade.  The vocab level is grades 3 and 4.  The content level is probably not above middle school

What I Love About These Books
I enjoyed the thrill of the chase as a kid.  These are action packed books with animal facts sprinkled through.  The characters are allowed to grow and develop and change through the books.  The circle of five expands to include others eventually.  The kids that barely knew each other that first night become good friends, the kind that feel safe in fighting with each other sometimes.  The books get darker as you go, but it's not graphic, so you will find as much darkness as you bring to it.  I also like that there's a quick summary at the beginning of each book.  It's better to start with the first one, but not strictly necessary

Cautions
I don't know what to say here.  If the plot summary offended you or made you uncomfortable this is not for you.  If you were okay with it, then you'll probably like the books.  I will say that they are formulaic.  This is annoying for older readers, but sometimes it's good to know what will be in your book when you open the front cover.

Series
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