The Capture (Guardians Of Ga'hoole, Book 1) Read Free Books and Download eBooks
GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE is a classic hero mythology about the fight between good and evil. This series is filled with adventure, suspense, and heart.In the first book in the GUARDIANS... series, the reader is introduced to Soren, a barn owl and the centerpiece of the series. When Soren is pushed from his family's nest by his older brother, he is rescued from certain death on the forest floor by agents from a mysterious school for orphaned owls, St. Aggie's. When Soren arrives at St. Aggie's, he suspects there is more to the school than meets the eye. He and his new friend, the clever and scrappy Gylfie, find out that St. Aggie's is actually a training camp where the school's leader can groom young owls to help achieve her goal--(cont.)
Lexile Measure: 730L (What's this?)
Series: The Guardians of Ga'Hoole (Book 1)
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Scholastic; Reissue edition (June 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439405572
ISBN-13: 978-0439405577
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.2 x 7.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (272 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #18,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #70 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Birds #170 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > Science Studies > Nature #328 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works
Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 4 - 7
Soren is a young owl who has all of the comforts in life that a young barn owl should. He has two loving parents to take care of him and bring him food, an older brother named Kludd and a new baby sister named Eglantine to play with, and a nursemaid snake named Mrs. P. He is growing rapidly, partaking in the ancient rituals of his people (such as the first meat and bone ceremonies) and is learning about what it means to be an owl. All seems perfectly idyllic, until the fateful moment he "falls" out of his nest, rather, is pushed out of his nest by his jealous and malign older brother.Soren cannot help but think of the tales he has heard of owlets falling from their nests, and how few ever survive the encounter. But he has little time to ponder on this as he is quickly snatched and taken to the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned owls. What happens here is beyond his comprehension; the academy is run by only a few owls, but they are all tyrants in their ways. Soren soon realizes that between the moon blinking (brain washing) sleeps and the lack of food there is something amiss at the academy. His worse fears are confirmed when he befriends a young elf owl named Gylfie who also suspects the motives of this so called "orphanage", especially when the acquire positions in the pelletorium. During this time they find out about the all important "flecks" that are being separated from the pellets, apparently these flecks are very valuable in that they have some kind of magical potency to them.The longer they stay the more bizarre things become, especially when they learn that in addition to the fact that the academy is snatching owlets they are also stealing eggs. It is then that Soren and Gylfie decide to flee.
In anticipation of the upcoming movie based on Kathryn Lasky's GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE series, Scholastic has re-released the first book in the series, The Capture. Being an owl fan, I of course had to give it a try! Lasky is clearly following in Richard Adams' footsteps here, what with her invented owl words and the mixture of animal behavior and very human social commentary. The Capture is less intense than Watership Down in terms of both reading level and violence level, however, and would be suited for readers who might be too young for Adams' book.Soren, our protagonist, is growing up in a loving, comfortable barn owl family. Lasky incorporates a great deal of information about owl behavior and translates it into the customs of a culture. The owls have rituals for their first bites of different types of food, for example, and for the stages of learning to fly. Lasky is skilled at depicting the intricacies of a social structure, as is evident both here and in last year's Hannah. The rituals of Soren's family create a sense of warmth and community, even if they do sometimes focus on owls' digestive processes a little too much for me. (Kids will probably love it. Especially if they've done the "examine the owl pellet" thing in school.)One day, though, Soren tumbles from the nest and is kidnapped by several other owls. He is taken to St. Aggie's, which claims to be a school for orphaned owls. But Soren isn't really an orphan, and this isn't really a school. It's more of a cross between a totalitarian state and a cult. Now, Soren and his new friend Gylfie need to resist brainwashing, find allies, and escape St. Aggie's. The St. Aggie's scenes are creepy enough to get under even an adult's skin, while still keeping the violence level appropriate for the target audience.
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.
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