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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I think the right audience would love it, but I didn't, August 3, 2009
This review is from: The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) (Paperback)
In my search for popular children's books I came across the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. Currently, it appears there are fifteen books and a September 24, 2010 movie is scheduled to be released.
The author, Kathy Lasky has written more than fifty fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. She is quoted as saying, "I want young readers to come away with a sense of joy for life. I want to draw to them into a world where they're really going to connect with these characters."
For the most part she achieves this with The Capture.
Story overview:
A young Barn Owl named Soren finds himself falling from the warm nest of his parents only to land at the bottom of the tree. Unfortunately for Soren, his parents were out hunting for food. Only his little sister, unhelpful (& deceiving) brother, and blind snake-servant remained.
Soren is captured by an Owl patrol and taken to St. Aegolius' Academy for Orphaned Owls. It did not matter that Soren wasn't really an orphan because, as he discovers, the Academy's true aim is to conquer the Owl kingdoms. Soren learns of the true horrors of Moon Blinking--which destroys an Owl's free will--hard labor, punishment for asking questions, and the terror of Owls who yield to Vampire Bats.
With the help of his Elf Owl friend named Gylfie--and a few un-blinked Owls at the Academy--Soren escapes. They are joined by a male Great Grey Owl named Twilight, who helps both Soren and Gylfie to find their homes, but unfortunately they have been deserted. Now a new and greater adventure lies ahead.
My thoughts:
There is a slight Redwall`ish feeling to this tale; if you like one you may like the other. For some odd reason newly born Owls have an instant British vocabulary, but overall it is a cute and charming adventure. Personally, I got bored with it. My attention kept dropping off and the events seemed to drag on longer than I would have liked. However, I think the right audience would love it. Particularly those who are between 6 to 12 (six to twelve) years old.
Things to consider:
As mentioned under my thoughts, I think this is appropriate for children between six and twelve, and for both girls and boys. Note that any youth beyond tweens runs the risk of becoming bored with it. However, I do want to caution that there are a few disturbing situations that may be considered frightful to some children. Off the top of my head these are: vampire bats drinking the blood of willing Owls, a few violent deaths, and a horrific act of Cannibalism. Overall this is a clean story, and is free from any sexual references or profanity.
James D. Maxon
[...]
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you like the Warriors books, you may like these as well, December 31, 2009
This review is from: The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) (Paperback)
My eight-year-old son has begun this series while he waits for the next installment of the Omen of the Stars books from Erin Hunter. He's completely hooked, to the point that he sat down and read for two hours by himself. As a Mom who values literacy, I couldn't be more thrilled.
My son doesn't mind that the story is quite dark. He is a huge fan of the Warriors books, which deal with death and betrayal and can be horrifically gory and very, very sad. I think when these things are presented in the context of an animal kingdom, it may be a bit easier for kids to take them in without personalizing it too much. It also may be a function of the fact that this is a heroic tale, and he expects those kinds of stories to get wicked in spots. In any case, it's something to be aware of before buying the book: it's not for any reader who's squeamish or prone to nightmares. And if you're buying it for a younger child, make sure there will be an adult available to scan the book and talk to the child about it, if the child wants to talk.
As a reader, I appreciate how beautiful the prose is. The writing is graceful and literate, without being too densely packed or too advanced for my child to read alone. He has asked about a couple of words, but most are clear from the context. The characterizations are deft, with more shown than told, and, while I was able to guess what would come next from the clues and foreshadows, my son was pleading for extra reading time. This was a real page-turner for him.
The story shares with the Warriors books a heroic journey set in the fully realized world of a recognizable species (here, owls). Eight-year-old boys love the yarping (at least, mine does). There are more fantasy/magical elements to this series than there are in the first two Warriors series ("realism" being relative inasmuch as we are talking about the worlds of cats and owls here), but the feel of the journey and the emphasis on the relationships between and among the characters are very similar.
I would recommend this for children who like animals, have active imaginations, and like epic stories with strong heroes.
I enjoyed the book on its own merits, but I really really loved how much my son enjoyed it.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book, April 24, 2009
A Kid's Review
This review is from: The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) (Paperback)
the charaters were introduced very quickly so that was over with and you can get on with the story.the setting is really neat.owls try to take over all the other owl kingdoms by moon blinking other owls.i recomend this to 8 9 and 10 year olds.this book was so interesting i read it in a day.
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