Silverwing (novel) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Silverwing

First edition
Author	Kenneth Oppel
Country	Canada
Language	English
Series	Silverwing series
Published	1997 (HarperCollins)
Pages	255
ISBN	0-00-648144-2
OCLC	35977345
Followed by	Sunwing

Silverwing is a popular children's novel written by Kenneth Oppel. It was first published in 1997 by HarperCollins. The story is about a group of silverwing bats. Many people compare this book series to the classic animal story Watership Down. Silverwing is the first book in the Silverwing series. However, in the story's timeline, it happens after the book Darkwing.

Story Overview

Part 1: A Young Bat's Journey

Shade is a young Silverwing bat. His father disappeared before Shade was born. Shade lives with his mother, Ariel. Other young bats, especially Chinook, often pick on him because he is small. Shade challenges Chinook to look at the sun, which is forbidden by the owls. When Chinook backs down, Shade looks at the sun himself. This action gets the attention of an owl.

Four elder bats, Bathsheba, Aurora, Lucretia, and Frieda, try to teach Shade a lesson. But Frieda takes Shade to a special Echo Chamber. This room holds the history of bats and their long rivalry with owls. Frieda shows Shade a metal band on her wrist. She explains that the bat goddess Nocturna gave it to her. It is part of a promise that bats will one day return to the sun.

A group of owls, led by General Brutus, comes to the bats' home, Tree Haven. They want to get back at Shade. When the bats refuse to give Shade to them, the owls set the tree on fire. Frieda tells the colony to join the male bats at Stone Hold. From there, they will fly to their winter home, Hibernaculum. Before they leave, Ariel teaches Shade a "sound map." This map uses landmarks like a cathedral, a valley shaped like a wolf's head, and a waterfall.

During their journey, a big storm hits. Shade gets separated from his colony. He lands on a human fishing boat. There, he meets Marina, a Brightwing bat who also wears a metal band. Another group of Graywing bats offers to help Shade find his colony. But Shade decides to go with Marina instead. He heard that banded bats are not welcome with the Graywings.

Part 2: New Friends and Dangers

Shade and Marina arrive in a big city. Pigeons attack them, thinking they are dangerous meat-eating bats. They escape to a cathedral. Inside, they meet Zephyr, an albino bat. Zephyr is a seer, meaning he can see the future. He tells Shade where to find Frieda. He also says that Shade's father, Cassiel, is still alive.

As they leave, an owl attacks Shade and Marina. Two large bats, Goth and Throbb, defeat the owl. Goth and Throbb are also banded bats. They are responsible for the pigeons' fear. Shade offers to guide Goth and Throbb south if they protect him and Marina from owls. They agree. However, Goth secretly plans to hunt the other Silverwings once they find them. Goth worries about Marina. He tells Throbb to get rid of her. But Throbb makes a mistake and hunts another Brightwing bat instead. Shade sees this. Shade and Marina realize Goth and Throbb are dangerous. They manage to escape when humans shoot at Goth and Throbb.

Part 3: Finding Home and Truth

Shade and Marina escape into the sewers of a human town. This town is near the valley shaped like a wolf's head. In the sewer, a rat named Remus mistakes them for dangerous bats. But Remus's brother, Romulus, believes their story. He helps them find a way out of the sewer.

Outside, Goth and Throbb find Shade and Marina again. They threaten to hunt them unless Shade guides them to Hibernaculum. Shade pretends to agree. He uses special leaves, like the ones Zephyr used, to make Goth and Throbb fall asleep. With a head start, Shade and Marina fly towards a storm. Goth and Throbb follow. During a struggle, Goth takes Marina's band. But the metal bands act like lightning rods. Lightning strikes, defeating Throbb and seemingly Goth.

Shade and Marina continue to Ariel's last landmark, the waterfall. This helps them find Hibernaculum. The Silverwings welcome Marina. Shade and other bats in the colony prepare for a journey. They want to find out the truth about the bands and locate Shade's father, Cassiel.

Chapters

Part One

• 1. Shade
• 2. Tree Haven
• 3. The Echo Chamber
• 4. Ablaze
• 5. Storm
• 6. Marina
• 7. Into the City

Part Two

• 1. Goth and Throbb
• 2. Pigeon
• 3. Keeper Of the Spire
• 4. Star Map
• 5. Closed Skies
• 6. Dark Allies
• 7. Escape

Part Three

• 1. Winter
• 2. Transformation
• 3. Wolf Ears
• 4. Rat
• 5. Romulus & Remus
• 6. Capture
• 7. Betrayal
• 8. Thunderhead
• 9. Hibernaculum

Main Characters

Shade - A young Silverwing bat. He is the smallest in his colony. Shade is smart and good at finding solutions. He often outsmarts Goth. He is also patient and thinks before acting. Shade is curious, which sometimes causes trouble, but also helps him learn important things. He is the son of Ariel and Cassiel. Shade has thick black fur and a strong chest, but he is smaller than other bats.

Goth - A large, meat-eating Vampyrum Spectrum bat from the southern jungles. Goth is very tough and only cares about himself. He is also clever. He plans to hunt other bats. Goth dislikes Nocturna and humans because a human once experimented on him. He believes Zotz is the true master. Goth's overconfidence leads to his defeat by Shade.

Marina - A Brightwing bat, a bit older than Shade. Marina is very loyal to Shade. She is also sensible and suspicious of Goth and Throbb from the start. Unlike Shade, she is not easily impressed by Goth.

Throbb - A Vampyrum bat who met Goth in a science lab. Goth keeps him around because he can be useful. Throbb is not very smart and Goth easily tricks him. He makes a mistake that helps Shade and Marina escape. He is lost during a thunderstorm.

Frieda - The main elder of the Silverwing tribe. Frieda is kind to Shade and shows him the secret Echo Chamber. She is like Shade because she also wanted to see the sun when she was young. Frieda makes tough choices, even sacrificing Tree Haven to keep Shade safe.

Zephyr - An albino bat who lives in the city's tall spire. Zephyr helps other bats find their way during migration. He can also see the future and accurately predicts events in the book.

Bathsheba - An elder of the Silverwing tribe. Bathsheba is often impatient and wants to follow strict rules. She was willing to give up Shade to save Tree Haven. She also wants to be the leader instead of Frieda.

Ariel - Shade's mother and Cassiel's mate. Since Cassiel disappeared, Ariel has been very protective of Shade. She saves Shade from the owls. She also teaches Shade the sound map, which later helps him.

Scirocco - The leader of a group of banded bats Shade and Marina meet. Scirocco is a trickster. He uses special sounds to make other bats believe they can turn into humans. Shade and Marina accidentally lead Goth and Throbb to Scirocco's group, and they are hunted.

Romulus - A flying rat who is imprisoned because he has wings. Romulus is curious about bats and helps Shade and Marina escape.

Remus - Romulus's younger brother. Remus is very active and easily worried. He almost harms Shade and Marina but changes his mind.

Chinook - A promising young Silverwing bat. Chinook often teases Shade about his size. He is boastful but also a bit of a coward. Despite this, Chinook agrees to join Shade later.

Cassiel - Ariel's mate and Shade's father. Cassiel wears a band and went missing while trying to learn the truth about the bands. He is not seen in the book, but his story is important.

Nocturna - The goddess of the northern bats. Nocturna was upset when bats were banished. She promised they would return to the sun. She gave bats many gifts, like dark fur and echolocation. The metal bands are part of her promise, but bats have different ideas about what the promise means.

Zotz - Cama Zotz, or Zotz, is the god of the Vampyrum Spectrum bats. Zotz's teachings say that when a bat hunts another bat, it gains energy. Goth and Throbb follow Zotz's teachings very closely.

Brutus - The general of the owls near Tree Haven. Brutus's owls burn down Tree Haven because of Shade's actions.

Television Series

Silverwing was made into an animated miniseries for television. It was shown on the Canadian channel Teletoon and later on Toon Disney's Jetix. The episodes were also put together to make three movies. You can also find the whole series on DVD and iTunes.