Sep 19, 2025
MY LITTLE BABIES from my favourite book
MY LITTLE BABIES from my favourite book
Silverwing (series) by Kenneth Oppel - have you read this xenofiction?
Yes, I've read all of it
Yes, I've read some of it
No, I've heard of it or the author but haven't read it
No, I haven't read this or heard of it
Shade is a young Silverwing bat, the runt of his colony. But he's determined to prove himself on the long, dangerous winter migration to Hibernaculum, millions of wingbeats to the south. During a fierce storm, he loses the others and soon faces the most incredible journey of his young life. Desperately searching for a way to rejoin his flock, Shade meets a remarkable cast of characters: Marina, a Brightwing bat with a strange metal band on her leg; Zephyr, a mystical albino bat with a strange gift; and Goth, a gigantic carnivorous vampire bat. But which ones are friends and which ones are enemies? In this epic story of adventure and suspense, Shade is going to need all the help he can find -- if he hopes to ever see his family again.
[Goodreads]
Interested in reading it, or have thoughts about having read it? Share them in the tags! This is a new blog, so reblogs for reach are also appreciated! 🦇
THE GUY!!!
Have you read Airborn by Kenneth Oppel (2004)?
yes
no
I didn't finish it
I've never heard of it
More people need to pick up Darkwing by Kenneth Oppel. The low fantasy elements* (*particularly, a deliberately inaccurate representation of how evolution works) aren't for everyone, but it's such a competently written and surprisingly mature book that I cannot recommend it enough‼️
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my own shade design!
Guess who rediscovered an old show that I probably haven't watched (and never finished) in over a decade :)
I was planning on drawing a more accurate bat furry oc, but while looking for references, I came across some screenshots of the Silverwing tv series. So, of course, I had to make a little brown batsona
I'm of the belief that horror for children doesn't need to be (and often isn't) less scary than horror for adults. Like any other genre, it's more about handling topics in a child-appropriate way, and maybe addressing fears that are more relevant to children than they are to adults. Horror for children can often hit just as hard as an adult, especially if you're an adult that strongly remembers what it was like to be a kid.
Take The Nest by Kenneth Oppel as an example (spoilers ahead). The main character is a young boy who has a newborn brother. There's something unspecified wrong with the baby - all he knows is that the house is tense, his parents are crying a lot, and making a lot of trips to the hospital. He's visited in his dreams by angels who offer to "fix' the baby, and he accepts, only to learn that these angels are actually wasps who are planning to eat the baby and replace him with a replica they're building in their nest. He tries to take back the offer, but the wasps don't understand why he wouldn't want a new, perfect brother to replace his sick one. In the climatic scene he's huddled in the bathroom with his baby brother as millions of wasps swarm the house.
That book is TERRIFYING. I read it at 25 and felt like my throat was closing up at some parts. Despite this, its intended audience is 8-12 year olds. Many of the fears are more relevant to children - feeling helpless in an adult world, adults not giving you complete information, a sibling taking up all of your parents' attention and energy. But this is also a book about eugenics, even if it never says so explicitly. It's a good introduction to the concept in a way kids can relate to and understand, but it's not any less horrifying as an adult. It features other things that are scary at any age, like swarms of insects, someone you love being replaced by a copy, and the extremely creepy idea that a human child could be born from a wasp nest.
That's why I love reading middle-grade horror in particular! It's a chance to reconnect with childhood fear, and the balancing act of handling serious topics in a child-appropriate way is fascinating to me. Oftentimes horror for this age group is very inventive, because there are common tropes and content that's off-limits. And every once in awhile I find something that is genuinely scary at any age. I love that.
