Silverwing (series) facts for kids

The Silverwing Book Series is a set of novels written by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. These books tell the exciting adventures of a young bat named Shade. There are four books in the series, published between 1997 and 2007. Many schools in Canada and parts of the United States use these books in their lessons for older elementary and middle school students.

Story Overview

The Ancient Bat War

Long, long ago, about 65 million years after the dinosaurs disappeared, there was a huge war. Birds and other animals fought to control the land and sky. Bats did not join either side because they saw themselves as neither birds nor beasts.

Eventually, the birds and animals made a deal. Birds would rule the sky, and animals would rule the land. But because bats stayed neutral, they were punished. They were forbidden from flying during the day or even looking at the sun. From then on, bats could only fly at night. This story is inspired by an old fable called "The Birds, the Beasts and the Bat" by Aesop's Fables.

Shade's First Big Journey

In the first two books, Silverwing and Sunwing, we follow Shade's adventures. One day, Shade looks at the forbidden sun, and soon after, owls destroy his home, Tree Haven. While his colony, the Silverwings, flies to their winter home called Hibernaculum, Shade gets lost at sea.

He meets Marina Brightwing on an island. She is another young bat who has been outcast. Together, they travel to a big city. On their journey, they meet many interesting characters. These include Zephyr, a bat who can see the past and future, and two dangerous, giant bats named Goth and Throbb who eat other bats. They also meet rat kings and humans who try to catch them.

Shade and Marina eventually find his colony at Hibernaculum. After a short rest, some bats go on a quest to find Shade's father, Cassiel. He had disappeared after learning a big secret about humans. They find a place called "paradise" where bats live safely. But Cassiel is not there. While other bats settle in, Shade and Marina escape.

Shade gets separated from Marina and ends up in a jungle. He learns that bats are being sacrificed at a pyramid to block out the sun forever. Cassiel is also meant to be a sacrifice. Shade and Marina work together to free the captive bats, owls, and rats. They defeat Goth. After this, the owls finally allow bats to fly during the day. Shade and Marina then become mates.

A Trip to the Underworld

Years later, in the book Firewing, Shade returns to Tree Haven. His son, Griffin, accidentally drops a burning stick on his friend Luna, causing her to fall into the underworld. Griffin follows her. In this underworld, dead bats live and forget they died. Griffin finds many bats glowing strangely.

A powerful bat god named Cama Zotz orders Goth, who has been brought back to life, to hunt Griffin. An elder bat named Frieda gives Griffin a special sound map. Griffin and Luna try to escape the underworld. Other dead bats help them. Goth kills Griffin, but Shade sacrifices his own life for Griffin and Luna. This allows them to return to the world of the living.

Main Characters

• Shade: He is a silver-haired bat. At first, he is small and not very strong, and other bats tease him. He is curious and looks at the sun, which is forbidden. This act starts all his big adventures. Shade learns a lot about the dangerous world around him. He saves his colony many times and becomes a respected leader. In Firewing, he is a father and plays a key role.

• Marina Brightwing: She is an Eastern red bat and Shade's closest friend. She is a bit older than him. Marina was forced to leave her own colony because she had a human band on her wing. She lives alone on an island until she meets Shade. She helps him find his colony. Later, she and Shade become mates.

• Goth: He is a very cunning and dangerous bat from the Vampyrum spectrum species. He eats other animals, including other bats. He and his friend Throbb are brought from South America to the city. Goth is the main villain in the series. He tries to kill Shade's colony and later tries to bring back the bat god Cama Zotz. He is very hard to defeat.

• Griffin: He is the son of Shade and Marina. He is a mix of Silverwing and Brightwing bats. Griffin is known for worrying a lot and being good with words. In Firewing, he becomes a hero like his father. He and Luna are almost killed by Goth, but Shade saves them.

• Luna: She is a young female Silverwing bat and Griffin's best friend. While other young bats find Griffin a bit boring, Luna finds his worrying funny. She invents a game called "the Owl Game." In this game, bats try to land as close to an owl as possible. Luna gets badly burned in an accident, which leads Griffin to the underworld.

Other Important Characters

Silverwing Bats

The Northern Bats, like Shade's colony, have a group of Elders who lead them. The Silverwings are based on real Silver-Haired Bats.

• Ariel: Shade's mother. She raises Shade after his father, Cassiel, leaves. She becomes an Elder.
• Cassiel: Shade's father. He left the colony to see the sun. Shade later finds him.
• Frieda: A very old and wise Elder of the Silverwing colony. She helps Shade even when he does foolish things. She later helps Griffin in the Underworld.

Vampyrum Spectrum Bats

These bats are meat-eaters and worship a Mayan bat god named Cama Zotz. The name Vampyrum spectrum is the scientific name for the Spectral Bat.

• Throbb: Goth's friend and fellow prisoner. He is not very brave and does what Goth tells him.
• Voxzaco: The High Priest of the Vampyrum. He tries to bring Cama Zotz back to life.

Other Bat Species

• Zephyr: An albino bat who lives in a church tower. He is very old and blind, but he can "see" the past and future using his amazing sonar. He also knows a lot about healing plants.
• Caliban: A mastiff bat who leads a group of bats living in a large statue.

Other Animals

• King Boreal: The king of the owls. He is persuaded to let bats fly during the day.
• Orestes: A young owl prince and King Boreal's son. He helps convince his father to lift the ban on bats flying in daylight.
• Romulus: The king of the Northern rats. He believes bats and rats might be related.
• General Cortez: The king of the Southern rats. He helps Shade and Marina.

Key Locations

• Tree Haven: A large oak tree where young bats are raised. It is burned down in the first book but later rebuilt.
• Hibernaculum: A safe place behind a waterfall where Shade's colony hibernates during the cold winter.
• Human Building: A place that seems like a paradise for bats, but it is actually where humans capture bats to use them for dangerous purposes.
• Jungle: A rainforest, probably in Central America. It is home to the Vampyrum spectrum bats and their Pyramid.
• Statue Haven: A large statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro. Bats use it as a safe place.
• The Pyramid: The home of the Vampyrum royal family. It is destroyed in a big explosion.
• Underworld: A place beneath the earth created by Cama Zotz. All bats go here when they die. It is possible for living creatures to enter, but it is very rare.