#1: The Andalite's Gift is the first book in the series, a set of companion books to the Animorphs

Animorphs

Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...

series. With respect to continuity, it takes place between book #7, The Stranger

The Stranger (Animorphs)

The Stranger is the seventh book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel.-Plot summary:Rachel's father asks her to move with him to another state. After some reconnaissance work, Marco and Tobias find an entrance to the underground Yeerk Pool, in one of the...

and book #8, The Alien

The Alien (Animorphs)

The Alien is the eighth book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is the first book narrated by Ax.-Plot:...

. The Andalite's Gift was originally published as two parts and later put together as one book as #2 of Megamorphs

In the Time of Dinosaurs (Megamorphs)

#2: In the Time of Dinosaurs is the second book in the series, a set of companion books to the Animorphs series. With respect to continuity, it takes place between book #18, The Decision and book #19, The Departure...

 came out.

The Megamorphs books are narrated by all six members of the Animorphs, in turns, but there is no specific order, unlike the order of narration in the regular series. This is the first Animorphs book to feature narration by more than a single character. This is also the first book where Ax narrates, predating any of his own books. While each chapter header in Megamorphs includes a small icon showing the face of the chapter's narrator, Ax's chapters have no icon; he also does not appear on the front cover, or in the illustration. Ax's physical appearance would not be depicted until his first book, The Alien

The Alien (Animorphs)

The Alien is the eighth book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is the first book narrated by Ax.-Plot:...

.

Plot summary

The Animorphs plan to have a lazy summer, with several Animorphs attending a pool party and Rachel

Rachel (Animorphs)

Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...

 going to a gymnastics camp. However, before she can leave for the camp, Rachel - in her eagle morph - takes a cruise through the air and, seeing Ax, attempts to say hello but is mobbed by smaller birds, who cause her to crash and lose consciousness. When she awakens, she has demorphed to human but has amnesia

Amnesia

Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...

.

Meanwhile, Jake

Jake Berenson

Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...

 and Cassie

Cassie (Animorphs)

Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...

 are attending the pool party. Because Marco

Marco (Animorphs)

Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...

 was not invited, he decides to take Ax

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...

 along. The two of them morph into mice and crash the party. After they are done terrorizing the guests, they run into the basement to demorph. However, when they demorph, they are attacked by a massive flying monster, known as a Veleek

Veleek

The Veleek is a fictional alien creature from the Animorphs series of books. The creature resembles a cloud of dust but can form blades and teeth to attack its prey with. It isn't strictly one creature but millions of tiny beings acting as one...

 (yeerk word for "pet"). It destroys the house before abruptly dissolving into dust and leaving. The Animorphs regroup and discover that Rachel never made it to the gymnastics camp. Jake, Marco, and Tobias

Tobias (Animorphs)

Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...

 head into the forest to look for her. As Jake and Marco morph to wolves, the Veleek begins to chase after them, and they realize that the Veleek is drawn by the energy generated through morphing. Moments before they are about to collapse from exhaustion, the Veleek flies away.
Rachel has been captured by a crazy ex-Controller, who locks her in a wooden shack and sets fire to it. Rachel inadvertently morphs into a grizzly bear to escape, and is then attacked by the Veleek. The two begin to fight, until Ax encounters them mid-combat. He begins to morph and the Veleek captures him and returns to the Blade ship, delivering Ax to Visser Three

Visser Three

Visser Three, born as Esplin 9466 Primary and later known as Visser One, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K.A. Applegate. He is the leader of the Yeerk forces on Earth, having inherited the planet from Edriss 562, who was Visser One at...

. Rachel demorphs and makes her way into town, where she hides out in an empty house. When police surround the house and tell her to comes out, she morphs into an elephant and breaks through the side of the house.

Meanwhile, Jake, Marco and Cassie notice the Veleek floating through the air as dust, and steal Cassie's father's truck in order to chase after it. They attempt to play a game of "keepaway", by continually morphing to distract the Veleek, but their plan does not succeed. The truck crashes into Rachel's elephant form, restoring her memory but drawing the Veleek to all four Animorphs. The Veleek attempts to capture Rachel, but cannot lift her. Jake and Marco continue on in the truck, but crash it again, and Marco is captured by the Veleek.

Marco and Ax, now prisoners of Visser Three, are on board the Blade Ship. Ax morphs into a flea and hides on the Visser's body. He slightly demorphs and remorphs to attract the Veleek's attention. The Veleek begins to attack Visser Three, causing Visser Three to order the water turned on. In the confusion, Ax and Marco escape from the Blade ship, morphing into birds moments before they hit the ground. From this event, the Animorphs realize that the Veleek does not like water.

The next day, Cassie develops a plan: the Animorphs head out to sea, where Cassie finds and acquires a humpback whale. She morphs into a cockroach, and Tobias flies her as high up as he can. While the remaining Animorphs morph and demorph dolphins to keep the Veleek distracted, Cassie demorphs and then morphs into the whale, all the time falling back to the sea. The Veleek attempts to capture her but cannot carry the whale's weight, and it is dragged into the sea and drowns.

Morphs

Morpher	Morphs acquired	Morphs used
Jake Jake Berenson Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...	--	Wolf, Siberian Tiger, Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
Rachel Rachel (Animorphs) Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...	--	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... , Grizzly Bear Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America... , African Elephant, Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:... , Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
Cassie Cassie (Animorphs) Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...	Humpback Whale Humpback Whale The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...	Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Squirrel Squirrel Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia... , Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:... , Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating... , Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Humpback Whale Humpback Whale The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
Marco Marco (Animorphs) Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...	Mouse Mouse A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...	Mouse Mouse A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles... , Wolf, Gorilla Gorilla Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies... , Osprey Osprey The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings... , Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
Ax Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...	Mouse Mouse A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles... , Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...	Mouse Mouse A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles... , Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus... , Northern Harrier, Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...

TV Adaptation

The Andalite's Gift was adapted as part of the Animorphs TV series, which aired on Nickelodeon and YTV between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 2000. The first book was covered by the thirteenth episode, "The Forgotten", which is the name of the eleventh book in the series (the TV episode bears no resemblance to its namesake book). The TV episodes did not follow the books faithfully, altering many aspects of the characters' roles within the Animorphs, the events in the war against the Yeerks, and added plot lines that were not present in the books. The Veleek

Veleek

The Veleek is a fictional alien creature from the Animorphs series of books. The creature resembles a cloud of dust but can form blades and teeth to attack its prey with. It isn't strictly one creature but millions of tiny beings acting as one...

and its associated plot line are not present in the TV episode.