Guardians of Ga'Hoole
Encyclopedia
Guardians of Ga’Hoole is a fantasy
book series written by Kathryn Lasky
and published by Scholastic. The series, which ended in 2008 with the publication of The War of the Ember, has a total of fifteen books. Apart from the main series there are a few more books and spin offs set in the same universe. The first three volumes of the series have been made into an animated 3D film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, directed by Zack Snyder
.
but later on follows Coryn, Soren's nephew.
In the first volume, The Capture, Soren, who lives in a nest with his parents and siblings Kludd and Eglantine in a forest kingdom called Tyto, is pushed out of the nest by Kludd. When he cries out to his parents for help, Soren is found and snatched by a patrol of the evil owls from the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, or St. Aggie's. Soren and other snatched owlets are enslaved into tasks such as sorting eggs and pellets, for reasons they don't quite understand. Owls at St. Aggies are “moon blinked”, a brainwashing technique caused by marching under the light of the full moon and endlessly repeating their true names to forget them so as to lose sense of self and will. Soren befriends a young Elf Owl
named Gylfie (from the desert kingdom of Kuneer), who, like him, is resistant to the moon-blinking, and together they plot both to discover as much as possible about the true purpose behind St. Aggie's and to escape. The two also befriend a Spotted Owl
named Hortense who has stunted growth and delayed development of her flight feathers. This enables her not only to pass herself off as an owlet, resist moon-blinking and rescue snatched eggs from suffering the same fate as the other owlets. She is eventually found out and is thrown off of a cliff by a St. Aggie's pit guardian, Finny. Soren and Gylfie manage to resist moon blinking, learn to fly with the help of an imperfectly moon-blinked owl named Grimble, and to escape with Grimble's assistance. Grimble is murdered the night Soren and Gylfie escape by Skench and Spoorn. After escaping, they then meet Twilight, an orphan Great Grey Owl
who learned his survival instincts from the "Orphan School of Tough Learning", Digger, a Burrowing Owl
, who lost his family to the St. Aggie's marauders and is extremely sensitive and philosophical, and the blind Mrs. Plithiver, Soren's former nest-maid snake. With the help of Hortenses's two Bald Eagle
friends named Streak and Zan, they kill two of St. Aggie's patrols, the cousins Jatt and Jutt. The four owls form a band and fly away in search of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, where legend says the great knight-owls live who are dedicated to doing good deeds and eventually find it. The story continues with their encounters with the Pure Ones until the end of the series in the 15th book, "The War of the Ember."
editions show the subtitle on the covers, although the books were not originally released with this feature. The three books—The First Collier, The Coming of Hoole, and To Be a King—are about the legendary young king Hoole, and his mentor, the first collier, Grank, along with the pacifist Theo. Grank was the first to find the Ember of Hoole, and King Hoole was the first to find the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. Hoole came under the protection of Grank because his mother was a close childhood friend of Grank’s.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
book series written by Kathryn Lasky
Kathryn Lasky
Kathryn Lasky is an American author whose work includes several Dear America books, The Royal Diaries books, Sugaring Time, The Night Journey, and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series.-Biography:...
and published by Scholastic. The series, which ended in 2008 with the publication of The War of the Ember, has a total of fifteen books. Apart from the main series there are a few more books and spin offs set in the same universe. The first three volumes of the series have been made into an animated 3D film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, directed by Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder
Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. After making his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead, he gained wide recognition with the 2007 box office hit 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics...
.
Story
This series mostly follows the adventures of Soren, a young Barn OwlBarn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
but later on follows Coryn, Soren's nephew.
In the first volume, The Capture, Soren, who lives in a nest with his parents and siblings Kludd and Eglantine in a forest kingdom called Tyto, is pushed out of the nest by Kludd. When he cries out to his parents for help, Soren is found and snatched by a patrol of the evil owls from the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, or St. Aggie's. Soren and other snatched owlets are enslaved into tasks such as sorting eggs and pellets, for reasons they don't quite understand. Owls at St. Aggies are “moon blinked”, a brainwashing technique caused by marching under the light of the full moon and endlessly repeating their true names to forget them so as to lose sense of self and will. Soren befriends a young Elf Owl
Elf Owl
The Elf Owl is a member of the owl family Strigidae that breeds in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is the world's lightest owl, although the Long-whiskered Owlet and the Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl are of a similarly diminutive length. The mean body weight of this species is 40 grams...
named Gylfie (from the desert kingdom of Kuneer), who, like him, is resistant to the moon-blinking, and together they plot both to discover as much as possible about the true purpose behind St. Aggie's and to escape. The two also befriend a Spotted Owl
Spotted Owl
The Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of forests in western North America, where it nests in tree holes, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between 13 and 66 yards high and usually contain two eggs...
named Hortense who has stunted growth and delayed development of her flight feathers. This enables her not only to pass herself off as an owlet, resist moon-blinking and rescue snatched eggs from suffering the same fate as the other owlets. She is eventually found out and is thrown off of a cliff by a St. Aggie's pit guardian, Finny. Soren and Gylfie manage to resist moon blinking, learn to fly with the help of an imperfectly moon-blinked owl named Grimble, and to escape with Grimble's assistance. Grimble is murdered the night Soren and Gylfie escape by Skench and Spoorn. After escaping, they then meet Twilight, an orphan Great Grey Owl
Great Grey Owl
The Great Grey Owl or Lapland Owl is a very large owl, distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. In some areas it is also called the Great Gray Ghost, Phantom of the north, Cinereous Owl, Spectral Owl, Lapland Owl, Spruce Owl, Bearded Owl and Sooty Owl.-Description:Adults have a big, rounded...
who learned his survival instincts from the "Orphan School of Tough Learning", Digger, a Burrowing Owl
Burrowing Owl
The Burrowing Owl is a tiny but long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing Owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated...
, who lost his family to the St. Aggie's marauders and is extremely sensitive and philosophical, and the blind Mrs. Plithiver, Soren's former nest-maid snake. With the help of Hortenses's two Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
friends named Streak and Zan, they kill two of St. Aggie's patrols, the cousins Jatt and Jutt. The four owls form a band and fly away in search of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, where legend says the great knight-owls live who are dedicated to doing good deeds and eventually find it. The story continues with their encounters with the Pure Ones until the end of the series in the 15th book, "The War of the Ember."
Books in the series
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 1: The CaptureGuardians of Ga'Hoole: The CaptureThe Capture is the first book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. It is written by Kathryn Lasky, and was published by Scholastic on June 1, 2003. The book tells the story of Soren, a Barn Owl, who is kidnapped and taken to St...
(2003) - Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 2: The JourneyGuardians of Ga'Hoole: The JourneyThe Journey is the second book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. It is written by Kathryn Lasky, and was published by Scholastic on September 1, 2003. In this book, Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, Digger, and Mrs...
(2003) - Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 3: The Rescue (2004)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 4: The Siege (2004)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 5: The Shattering (2004)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 6: The BurningGuardians of Ga'hoole: The BurningThe Burning is the sixth novel in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series.- Plot :The book begins with the Chaw of Chaws flying to the Northern kingdoms to deliver Dewlap to the Glauxian Sisters' Retreat. After that, the Chaw breaks up into two groups, one to find Moss, an old warrior, and another to...
(2004) - Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 7: The Hatchling (2005)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 8: The Outcast (2005)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 9: The First Collier [from Legends of Ga'Hoole] (2006)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 10: The Coming of Hoole [from Legends of Ga'Hoole] (2006)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 11: To Be a King [from Legends of Ga'Hoole] (2006)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 12: The Golden Tree (2007)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 13: The River of Wind (2007)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 14: Exile (2007)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 15: The War of the Ember (2008)
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole: A Guide Book to the Great Tree (2007)
- Guardians of Ga’Hoole: Lost Tales of Ga’Hoole (2010)
Legends of Ga’Hoole
The legends are not part of the band’s experiences. A spin-off series of books was planned to begin, entitled "Legends of Ga’Hoole". However, the series was canceled, and all books that were planned as part of the series were moved to the original "Guardians of Ga’Hoole" series, with the titles unchanged. The advance copyAdvance copy
As a marketing tool, publishers provide free copies of new titles to booksellers, journalists and even celebrities.Such books are variously referred to as readers editions, an advance copy, an advance reading copy, ARC or ARE...
editions show the subtitle on the covers, although the books were not originally released with this feature. The three books—The First Collier, The Coming of Hoole, and To Be a King—are about the legendary young king Hoole, and his mentor, the first collier, Grank, along with the pacifist Theo. Grank was the first to find the Ember of Hoole, and King Hoole was the first to find the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. Hoole came under the protection of Grank because his mother was a close childhood friend of Grank’s.
Movie
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole [based loosely on the first three books]
Video Game
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'HooleLegend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (video game)-References:*...
[based on movie and books] "Legends of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole: the War of the Pure Ones."