SuitabookDarkwing
Kenneth Oppel, Keith Thompson
- Reading
- Read together in manageable stretches, pausing after the attack or a change in Dusk’s role. Invite your reader to predict what his abilities might mean for the group, without needing to know the series.
- Themes
- Difference and belonging: Dusk is treated as an outsider in his colony, despite being the leader’s son; he is also described as having unusual abilities. Dusk’s journey from being treated as a misfit to finding the courage to fly presents his difference sympathetically.
- Prehistoric adventure: The adventure is set in the Paleocene, with vivid environmental details, and follows survivors seeking a new home after an attack. The setting is presented through sensory detail as part of an imagined prehistoric animal adventure, rather than as a nonfiction account.
- Worth knowing
- The plot includes social rejection and a predator attack on the colony. These bring exclusion and danger into the adventure; consider how your reader responds to threatened characters and survival peril.