Silverwing

By: Kenneth Oppel

Narrated by: John McDonough

Shade, a young silverwing bat, is the runt of his colony. Determined to show how brave he is, Shade breaks one of the ancient rules that governs the bats. As punishment, owls burn the bats' roost, forcing them to migrate earlier than normal. While on the trip south to the Hibernaculum, Shade becomes separated from his flock during a rain storm. His destination is millions of wing beats away. Now he must find a way to make the journey on his own. Along the way, he'll meet up with bats of different species--some friendly, some not. Shade will have to learn quickly which ones to trust if he's ever going to see his family again.

A Smithsonian Notable Book for Children, Silverwing combines action, fantasy and factual information on bats into an unforgettable tale. John McDonough's soaring narration brings Shade and his colony to life.

©1997 Kenneth Oppel (P)2001 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"An absorbing adventure story ... gripping" ( Publishers Weekly)

Amazing rendition of a bat's world

I enjoyed learning about bats and the varieties I am with which I am unfamiliar.

However, I did find the beginnings low and almost put it down. I am glad I stuck with it.

I was in Shade's mind the entire book.
Bravo for not using color. I did not notice (which is the point) and a difficult task!
I'm

Great story with a well thought out world.

I'm always looking for fantasy stories featuring unique protagonists. So far Silverwing is one of the only stories I've ever seen with bats as the main characters. Grounded in a real-world setting, the story does a great job of creating its own rules and mythos around these characters.

Good book. Bad formatting

I love this book. My children love it also. My only problem with this is that it is missing several chapter markers. This makes it very difficult to find your place when re-listening to chapters.

good fun story for ages five to twelve or so.

My eight year old especially enjoyed it as he has a fascination with bats. Good mix of reality with magic and religion and morality.

Nice details on bats

This is a sweet story about a little bat named Shade and his adventures in trying to make his way back to his colony after being separated during migration, and his quest for learning the truth of the world. The story includes many interesting factoids about bats.
John McDonough's narration is absolutely first rate.