
They were 8 and 5 when we listened to these books and really enjoyed them. My kids are very sensitive to scary or worrisome stories (like, we can’t even watch Finding Nemo because of the beginning). These books are recommended fro ages 8-12. Imagery: You can picture everything in perfect detail with the amazing descriptions provided.The first two books in the series take place on Earth while the third takes place in the underworld that is part of their bat religion. Fantasy: Obviously, it is all fantasy since the animals are talking but their world, beliefs, and almost magical use of their echolocation and sound powers puts this book series on par with the best fantasy books around.Also Roman Mythology and Mesoamerican Mythology references are present with mentions of sacrifices in the temples for the bats’ God, Camazots (again, a Mayan reference) Mythology: With names like Zephyre, Ariel, and Orestes, it’s hard to not make connections to Greek Mythology and compare stories.Aesop’s Fables: The story is inspired by Aesop’s “The Birds, the Beasts, and the bat” There is a war between animals in that fable this story is an elaborate retelling of the war and the reasons for the war from the bat’s prospective.Virtues: Bravery, doing the right thing (even when its hard), being a good friend, perseverance…they are all there.Excitement: The story was exciting many twists and turns.We would just sit and listen in our house cuddled up with snacks for hours at a time! From the moment I woke up, they were asking for it! What was so great about the Silverwing Book Series? Usually, we only do audiobooks in the car but once we got into the story, the boys would ask to listen to it everyday. John McDonough, the narrator, is absolutely fantastic. The audiobook for Silverwing is over 6 hours long, and the next two books in the series were even longer (9 hours!). Our free borrows ran out, but we still had Silverwing….so that’s what we listened to. Naturally, the book was replaced by yet another Boxcar Children mystery (always a favorite in our family) and only by chance did we give Silverwing a second shot. I didn’t pay much attention and the boys seemed bored. We started the first book (as an audiobook in the car) and nobody seemed into it. Why have I never heard of these? Why isn’t there a Silverwing World right next to Harry Potter World in Orlando? It is seriously THAT GOOD! The Silverwing Series by Kenneth Oppel did that. Every once in a while, we run across a book that just blows me away.
