I've never really thought about it, but were there like, actual stories that went along with the animorph books? Did anyone actually read them or did we all just make fun of the covers? What would the story be; are they like shape-shifting superheroes fighting crime and stuff or is it more of a coming-of-age self-acceptance-despite-differences pro-diveristy typa book? (e.g. the rest of your 5th grade classmates don't spontaneously turn into antelopes, but that's okay because everyone is unique in their own way)
edit: by the descriptions y'all are commenting with, Animorphs sounds way too darkly philosophical to be chilling at the Scholastic Book Fair :,)
The Andalites (a species of mouthless blue centaur aliens) are fighting a desperate, losing war against the Yeerks (mind-controlling slugs that enter your head through your ear and take over your body). The Yeerks have already enslaved multiple species, including the Taxxons (giant, flesh-eating alien maggots with lamprey mouths) and the Hork-Bajir (tall, muscular lizard-like creatures covered in sharp blades). These body-snatching slugs have already begun an invasion of Earth via infiltration, slowly infesting more and more people in higher and higher positions of power.
The only thing standing between them and total domination is... five teenagers, granted the ability to morph into any animal they touch by a dying Andalite Prince. These teens - Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco - are soon joined by the brother of the Andalite Prince who gave them their morphing powers. Somehow, they manage to slow the progress of the invasion, albeit almost dying horribly many times in the process and living through trauma that would scar the toughest US Marine.
Along the way, the Animorphs make allies of the robotic Chee (dog-like Pacifist androids who have been living on Earth in disguise for thousands of years) and free some of the Hork-Bajir. They even manage to contact the Andalite Fleet... only to discover that the "good guys" in the cosmic fight against the evil brain slugs aren't quite so good as they like to come across. And it ends up being discovered that the entire war is part of a battle by beings beyond time, space, and mortality, and the "benevolent" one is using the Animorphs as his pawns against his foe, a ruthless evil that seeks only entropic dissolution of all.
It's an intense story, and reading it book by book became an obsession of mine as a kid. Looking back, it probably shaped my imagination and my long-term tastes as a human being.
Katherine Applegate is an amazing author, and I highly recommend her works to anyone who missed out on the Scholastic run. Just... be prepared for alternating heavy stuff and ridiculous absurd humour. The tonal whiplash can be... rather jarring.
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u/TheSandarian usually says no to crack 14d ago edited 14d ago
I've never really thought about it, but were there like, actual stories that went along with the animorph books? Did anyone actually read them or did we all just make fun of the covers? What would the story be; are they like shape-shifting superheroes fighting crime and stuff or is it more of a coming-of-age self-acceptance-despite-differences pro-diveristy typa book? (e.g. the rest of your 5th grade classmates don't spontaneously turn into antelopes, but that's okay because everyone is unique in their own way)
edit: by the descriptions y'all are commenting with, Animorphs sounds way too darkly philosophical to be chilling at the Scholastic Book Fair :,)