Oppel, Kenneth, Silverwing. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 1997.
Silverwing is the first book in a trilogy. A fourth book about bats, Darkwing, was published in 2007, but is separate from this trilogy and stands alone. Darkwing is a story about prehistoric bats and the first flight.
Follow this link to an excellent website for Silverwing.
As we explored the website, it was interesting to learn about the inspiration behind some of the landmarks on the bats' journey to Hibernaculum. Kenneth Oppel was born in British Columbia and grew up both in Victoria, BC and Halifax, NS. As we read the description of the mountain peaks (wolf ears) in the story, we pictured our local mountaintop, nicknamed "The Lions," and indeed, Oppel claims this was the inspiration for the mountain landmark in the book. Marina's island was inspired by Grand Manan, off the coast of New Brunswick, where Aidan's Nana, Nanita and Great Aunt live.
We learned about the different types (silver-haired, eastern red, vampyrum spectrum) of bats on which some of the characters were based. We learned more about how bats use echolocation to see with their ears, where bats live and what they eat.
We were impressed and amazed to learn that Roald Dahl, one of Aidan's all-time favourite authors, played a role in getting Oppel's first book published. Here is Kenneth Oppel's bio.
Aidan really liked this book. His favourite bat is Shade, the main character. Shade is the runt of the colony. He's smart and small.
I am so glad Aidan liked this book. It is one of my all time favorites too. Oppel does such a great job teaching us about bats and at same time telling a page-turning story complete with classic characters - like the blind prophesying bat. I can still hear the rattle of the "bracelets" or bands on Goth and his partner even though it's been years since I read the book.
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