Sunwing

by Kenneth Oppel; S.D. Schindler

• ISBN13: 9780689826740
• ISBN10: 0689826745
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-01
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Summary

Shade, a young Silverwing bat in search of his father, discovers a mysterious Human building containing a vast forest. Home to thousands of bats, the indoor forest is as warm as a summer night and teeming with insects to eat. And through the glass roof, t

Author Biography

While a fifteen-year-old student, Kenneth Oppel wrote his first children's novel, Colin's Fantastic Video Adventure, which was published in 1985. After graduating from high school, Oppel attended the University of Toronto, where he studied English and film. In addition to more than a dozen books for children and young adults, Oppel also writes original screenplays, which have been optioned by producers in London, Toronto, and Hollywood. In 1995 he won the Air Canada Literary Award for "a writer under 30 who shows outstanding promise in the field of literary creation." Oppel currently lives in Toronto with his wife, Philippa Sheppard, and their children, Sophia and Nathaniel. Visit his Web site at http://members.aol.com./kenoppel.

Excerpts

Chapter One: Dead of Winter Wings trimmed tight, Shade sailed through the forest. The naked elms, maples, and oaks blazed in the moon's glow, their branches spiked with icicles. Beneath him, trees lay toppled like the skeletons of giant beasts. The groans of freezing wood filled the air, and in the distance Shade heard a mighty crack as yet another branch snapped and fell.He shivered. Even though he'd been flying for hours, he was still cold, the wind chiseling through his sleek black fur into his bones. Wistfully, he thought of the other Silverwings, roosting snugly back at Hibernaculum. Even though their bodies would now be glistening with frost, they were warm in a deep winter's sleep that would take them through to spring. They hadn't wanted to come with him: It was too cold, too dangerous, they said. They didn't care enough to make the journey. Let them sleep, Shade thought, squinting against a sudden blast of wind. They had no curiosity, no sense of adventure.He was going to find his father.And it wasn't as if he was alone. Weaving through the forest alongside him were more than a dozen Silverwings. He could see Chinook, skimming over a heavy fir bough, knocking off snow. Up ahead was Shade's mother, Ariel, speaking softly with Frieda, the chief elder of their colony. There was another bat in the vanguard too, a male called Icarus, who was acting as guide. Shade hoped he knew where he was going. But after all he'd been through recently, he was happy to let someone else blaze the trail for a change."Cold?" he heard Marina ask beside him."Me?" Shade shook his head, trying not to let his teeth chatter. "You?"She wrinkled her neat, pointy nose, as if the very idea was laughable. "No. But I'm pretty sure I saw you shiver.""Not me," he said, and returned her suspicious look. "Anyway, you've got more fur. Look at all that fur!""Well, I am older than you," she pointed out.Shade grunted. As if she ever let him forget!"And Brightwings have better fur," she added matter-of-factly. "Just the way it is, Shade.""Better fur!" he spluttered indignantly. "I've heard it all now! Just because it's thicker doesn't mean it's better.""Sure is warm, though," Marina said with a grin.Shade couldn't help grinning back. Of all the bats traveling with him, Marina was the only one who wasn't a Silverwing. Her fur was much thicker and brighter than his own, radiant in the moon's glow. Her wings were narrower, and she had elegant, shell-shaped ears. He'd met her last autumn, after getting lost on his first ever migration. She'd helped him catch up with his colony at Hibernaculum. She was an infuriating know-it-all but, he had to admit, she'd saved his life, once or twice.A dollop of snow hit him on the back, and Shade looked up sharply to see Chinook swinging lower with a triumphant grin."Oh, sorry, Shade, did I get you?""You're hilarious, Chinook. Really." He shook the snow off before it melted. When they were newborns back at Tree Haven -- and it wasn't so long ago -- Chinook had treated him with about as much respect as a mulched-up leaf. After all, Chinook had been the most promising hunter and flyer, and Shade just the runt of the colony. But now, after all Shade's adventures, Chinook had decided he might be worth talking to."Chinook, that's no way to treat a hero," Marina said, her eyes flashing gleefully.Shade sniffed. Hero? He sure didn't feel like a hero. Maybe the first night or two after he'd gotten back to Hibernaculum, and everyone listened to his stories. But after that, somehow, things went pretty much back to normal. He ate, drank, and slept like everyone else, and felt the same as he always had. Frankly, he'd expected better. What did he have to do to get some respect? He'd escaped from pigeons and rats, from owls and cannibal bats. He'd tunneled beneath the earth and soared through lightning storms. He'd flown in the blazing light of day!And now