The Capture (Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Book 1)(Library Edition) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Kathryn Lasky (Author), Pamela Garelick (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Soren is born in the forest of Tyto, a tranquil kingdom where the Barn Owls dwell. But evil lurks in the owl world, evil that threatens to change Soren's life forever.

Soren is captured and taken to a dark and forbidding canyon where there is a mysterious school. It's called an orphanage, but Soren believes it's something far worse. He and his new friend, the clever and scrappy Gylfie, find out that the orphanage is actually a training camp. Soren and Gylfie know that the only way out is up. To escape, they will need to do something these fledglings have never done before -- fly. And so begins a magical journey. Along the way, Soren and Gylfie meet Twilight and Digger. The four owls band together to seek the truth, be reunited with their families, and protect the owl world from unimaginable danger.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-At the beginning of this new series, a young Barn Owl named Soren lives peacefully with his family, participating in rituals like the First Meat ceremony, and enjoying legends about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, knightly owls "who would rise each night into the blackness and perform noble deeds." After he falls from his nest, his idyllic world transforms into one of confusion and danger, as he is captured by evil chick-snatching owls and taken to the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Soren and his new friend Gylfie work to develop strategies for withstanding "moon blinking" (brainwashing), while secretly striving to learn how to fly. The legends of Ga'Hoole help them to survive, and they are able to escape to find their families and warn the world about the dangers of St. Aegolius. While the owls have human characteristics, such as Soren's determination and Gylfie's creative ideas, their actions and culture reflect Lasky's research into owl behaviors and species. The story's fast pace, menacing bad guys, and flashes of humor make this a good choice for reluctant readers, while the underlying message about the power of legends provides a unifying element and gives strong appeal for fantasy fans.
Beth L. Meister, Yeshiva of Central Queens, Flushing, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Soren, a barn owl still weeks away from fledging, is knocked from his otherwise loving family's nest by his nasty older brother. He is swooped up from the forest floor by a pair of nefarious owls who hold him--along with many other owlets of diverse species--captive in a kind of owl social reformatory. Lasky portrays an owl world that has more in common with George Orwell than with Brian Jacques, offering readers big questions about human social psychology and politics along with real owl science. Broad themes related to the nature of personal choice, the need for fellowship based on love and trust, and sharing knowledge with one's peers are presented compellingly and with swift grafting to the animal adventure story. Developmentally linked celebrations (such as "First Fur" and "First Meat"), methods devised for brain-washing (including the regimental marching of sleepy owls by moonlight), and the diverse landscapes in which owls makes their homes come to life here as Soren rebels against his captors, makes a friend, and executes the first stage of his planned liberation and family reconciliation. Readers will look forward to upcoming installments. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged edition (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786145994
• ISBN-13: 978-0786145997
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (157 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,382,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Readers! Thanks for coming by my author page. I've written all sorts of books - from fantasy about animals to books about science. One of my favorite animal fantasy series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, is a major motion picture. I liked writing about Ga'Hoole so much that I decided to revisit that world in a new series, Wolves of the Beyond. Visit my website, www.kathrynlasky.com to see a slide show about the real wolves I researched for the series and for the latest update on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie. All my best, Kathryn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Action packed, escaping owls, October 22, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) (Paperback)

Gaurdians of Ga'Hoole is looking like a really great series so far. This author has a very big imagination, and a very stretched vocabulary. This book, #1 The Capture, is very different and I'll tell you why.
There are no people in this book. Just owls. In this book, the owls have dialouge. They're regular characters in the story. It's very exciting to see and think what the owls see and think to each other. I thought that this was very interesting to see how the owls interacted like people. So I kept reading, and started to really like this book.
Soren is a baby owl, just about 2 weeks. He is a barn owl in the kingdom of Tyto. He has a newborn sister, Eglantine, and an older snobby brother Kludd. Soren is living a great life with his parents until he falls out of his nest onto the floor of the woods, or maybe, pushed out. Soren is then scooped up that night by an older adult owl, and taken to an academy for orphan owls. Soren does not like this, he's not an orphan. Soren meets a smaller owl around his age that was also captured. His name is Gylfie. Soren and Gylfie do not like this place, its weird, and scary for them. Soren and Gylfie figure out that this is not a good place to hang out for a while. They have to get out, but how. They have to fly, something that they are not capable of doing as an owlet.
I really recommend this book because, youm really do not want to stop reading. Theres constant action, and constant thinking between the owls. This book is not to long if your worried about that. It's only 235 pages with a chapter about the sequel, The Journey. It's deffinatly action packed when the owls escape. You definitally do not want to stop reading #1 The Capture, and all the other, Gaurdians of Ga'Hoole books.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Adventure and Mystery about Owls, October 30, 2003

By 

Rachelle Ayala (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) (Paperback)

Young owlets are being snatched from their nests, eggs are disappearing. Something sinister is going on in the Owl Kingdoms. This first book in a series tells of how young Soren a barn owl, and Gylfie, a diminutive elf owl, survive the rigors and brainwashing of the evil St. Aegolius Academy. They band together with two other orphans and a blind snake in search of their families, and the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, a legend where ancient knights on silent wings went to do battle against evil and perform deeds of greatness. But first they have to fight their evil jailors who were out to attack other helpless owlets. At the end of the first book they set off "To Ga'Hoole!". And the reader is hooked and must get "The Journey" which is book #2.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Capture, January 20, 2004

By 

Kathryn Schneider (Orinda, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) (Paperback)

> "Guardians of Ga'Hoole, The Capture," is a fiction adventure book
by Kathryn Lasky.It is the first of the series. The next book is "The
Journey."
>
> Soren is a barn owl who lives with his mother, father, brother
and new sister. They live in the forest kingdom of Tyto, in the southern
kingdoms of the owl world. Their life was the same as any other owl
family, until Soren fell out of their hollow and got snatched. He came to
St. Aegolius Academy for orphaned owls, where horrible owls take young
owls from their homes and have them help to lead the owl world to
them.They have them do something called Moon blinking, which hypnotizes
them so they do not escape.Soren and his friend Gylfie do not get
moonblinked. Together they try to go save the owl world from disaster.
>
> I think this is a wonderful book for people who love adventure
stories. The ages that people would most enjoy this book would be 8-12.
It has new excitement on every page, and you always want to know what's
going to happen next. There never seems to be a dull moment in this
book.