Silverwing

May 3, 1999
PW compared this "gripping" epic starring a bat to Watership Down for the author's use of animal characters in his investigation of tolerance, intellectual freedom and other social concerns. Ages 8-12.

September 29, 1997
Oppel (Dead Water Zone) turns to animal fantasy with this mostly absorbing adventure story about a bat named Shade, the runt of the Silverwing colony. Although Shade is small for his age, he is curious and a bit obsessive, in some ways a Jonathan Livingston Seagull of the bat community. He longs to see the sun, strictly forbidden to the bats by the other animals; he even wishes to bring sunlight to his colony, as "the greatest gift of all." His obsession, he learns later, was shared by his missing father, who thought Humans would help bats return to the daylight. His actions cause their bitter enemies, the owls, to burn his colony's nesting site just before the bats migrate south. Shade is separated from the others during a storm, and the bulk of the narrative chronicles his attempts to rejoin them. Along the way, he meets and befriends Marina, a bat of another species, driven out by fear of the band that Humans have placed on her wing. Together they escape a squad of pigeons, marauding owls and carnivorous bats seeking to return south to the jungle, among other hazards. This epic journey is gripping, and details of bat life are inventively and convincingly imagined, though Shade's (and other bats') quasi-religious yearnings and struggles over tolerance, intellectual freedom and other abstractions get a little too much emphasis. As in Watership Down and other examples of this genre, the animals provide a conduit for their creator's social concerns. Ages 8-12.

November 1, 2023

Gr 3-7-Fans of the "Silverwing" trilogy will be delighted by this graphic novel adaptation. Shade, the runt of his silverwing bat colony, is daring and questions the set ways of the older bats. When a storm wind separates him from the rest of the colony during their migration to the winter shelter of Hibernaculum, he must find his own way and decide whom to trust as he travels. Full-color illustrations make the characters easy to identify with distinctive features for each species (rat, pigeon, bat, owl) as well as for each individual. The mad rat king, vengeful owls, and the pigeon garrison are just a few of the dangers that Shade and his brightwing friend Marina must survive. There are also many natural details worked into the story and illustrations. The diets of the various bats, their use of echolocation, and even the way tiger moths can jam bat radar are all pulled from nature. Those realistic touches support the story of survival and help readers suspend their disbelief, and may also encourage research into the various types of animals seen in the book. VERDICT A fast-paced adventure perfect for those who enjoy animal characters.-Suzanne Costner

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Starred review from October 1, 2023
A young bat separated from his migratory flock in a storm weathers deadly dangers in this graphic version of the original 1997 novel. Steininger's art transforms a tale that was already rich in soaring heights and breathless hazards into an even more vivid and vertiginous odyssey, with quick transitions accelerating the pace to warp speed between rare moments of rest. Forced to flee from vengeful owls after breaking an ancient rule by staying up to watch the sunrise, young Shade has only a sonic map of his flock's customary migratory path to guide him to safe winter quarters. Along with depicting diverse bird and bat species with exactitude and subtle, expressive touches of anthropomorphism and viewing them from fluid aerial angles as they swoop, flutter, and dodge, the artist ingeniously captures a sense of how bats use sound to perceive their surroundings, and even to create illusory shapes and signals. He's also a dab hand at portraying both the story's mystical, otherworldly moments and the savagely naturalistic ones that tend to follow as Shade encounters shuddersome menaces on his long journey--most notably a horde of sewer rats with a raving king and two demonically hideous tropical bats with cannibalistic tastes. The episode ends with Shade, accompanied by loyal brightwing friend Marina and other volunteers, setting out in search of his vanished father. A graphic adaptation of the sequel, Sunwing, can't come too soon. A brilliantly evocative reboot. (Graphic animal adventure. 9-13)

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