Introduction to Animorphs:

Animorphs is a young adult sci-fi series written by K.A. Applegate - a catch-all penname for Katherine Applegate, her husband Michael Grant, and the occasional ghostwriter. It consists of 54 main series books (numbered 1-54), 8 side books (4 Chronicles and 4 Megamorphs books), and a variety of adaptations and spin-offs, including 2 choose your own adventure books, a Nickelodeon series, a card game, video games, and an ongoing graphic novel remake.

What is Animorphs about?

War.

At its core, Animorphs is the story of a group of children fighting an ongoing secret war against the Yeerks. It's about the reconnaissance and investigations they undertake, the fights they engage in, the allies and enemies they make or discover along the way, about the scars of imperialism and colonialism, and above all, the psychological, moral, emotional, and almost spiritual toll that it takes on all of them.

There are plenty of parts where the story is fun, exciting, thrilling, even funny at times. Our heroes do win battles, they do get to say sick one-liners and then kick ass, they get to tell jokes and be in hilarious situations. But these are the moments of levity between descriptions of disturbing body and existential horror, thorny and painful moral quandries, and moments of loss, despair, and emotional breakdowns. Our heroes are guerrilla fighters against a vast, technologically superior enemy force that has already infiltrated the human race; this was never going to be easy.

But it's also a story about doing your duty - not in a patriotic sense, but in a "great power, great responsibility" sense. It's a story about what to do when you can't trust authority. It's a story about the bonds you make with people going through the same hell you are. And it's a story about hope through action, about finding the allies you can trust, and standing by them.

Would you recommend Animorphs to adults?

Absolutely. If you're the kind of adult who likes reading things like Lord of the Rings or War and Peace, you aren't going to find reading these books any amount of challenge. There are books that explore these themes in far more adult ways than in Animorphs - well written sci-fi or historical fiction will probably touch on these topics more deeply.

However, these are quick, easy reads. I am a reasonably fast reader, and they tend to take me about 1-1.5 hours to read each one, or 4-6 bus trips to or from work. As someone who used to be a big reader but got out of the habit as an adult, these have been a great way to get myself back into the groove enough to read "more important" books. I've started reading them before I go to bed as an alternative to being on my phone. And as an adult with access to the internet, you are perfectly capable of looking up summaries for books that aren't rated very highly - you aren't limited to grabbing whichever book hasn't been taken out at the library, or just getting the next book when the book fair comes around.

There are certain books in this series that I would recommend just as good pieces of literature. Any book that I've rated S is just a good book outside of its position in a kids series. There are plenty of moments in these books that I've had to stop and really take in a line from one of the characters as they grapple with the situation in front of them or consider a moral dilemma or reflect on what they've been through.

Plus you get to enjoy the nostalgia of VCRs and dial-up internet and the days where you could just walk onto a plane.

Is Animorphs suitable for my kid?

Depends on the kid.

The books are marketed as young adult fiction, and are certainly aimed at younger readers. The scholastic website has them recommended for "children in Grades 3-7", so ages 8-13. Obviously it will depend on the maturity and reading ability of the child in question, but I would reckon that age range is fairly accurate.

On a reading comprehension level, the language used isn't significantly challenging for the recommended age group. Occasionally there are technical or slightly rarer vocabulary words that might trip up a younger reader, but they are often accompanied with enough context for a competent reader to figure out their meaning. In addition, the series is set in the 90s and there might be some references or technologies that they aren't familiar with - for some younger kids, a VCR is as alien a technology as a dracon beam or an Escafil device. As such, younger readers might benefit from having the book read to them, or reading it alongside an adult who can tell them who David Letterman is and what viscera means.

More crucially, an adult might be helpful to help them deal with any difficult emotions brought up by the books. As mentioned, they do touch on difficult subjects that they might have questions about or need help to process. There is a tendency for books for younger readers to (understandably) have a clear and obvious right and wrong in conflicts, and for there to be an obvious, unambiguous Big Bad. Animorphs does not. If your kid has never read a book where the heroes do bad things, they might need some help figuring out how they feel about it.

That said, the characters spend a lot of time figuring out how they feel about it too, and things do gradually ramp up in moral ambiguity. Media literacy and moral deliberation are both skills that are, if anything, more vital to practice in our current media and political landscape, and this is an age-appropriate way to practice and develop those skills in a safe and structured environment. Kids do often love reading about things that are gross or a bit scary or mean and horrible, and while our heroes do often have horrible things happen to them, they usually get out in one piece.

I'm going to ever so slightly lean on a spoiler and just note that if the child in question has had a rough family life - they've been neglected, their parents had a rough divorce, they've lost a parent or family member - you may want to keep an extra eye on them when reading certain books. They will either find them validating and relatable, or too close to home and upsetting.

How can I read Animorphs?

The first half of the series is relatively easy to find in print - they were popular Scholastic book fair pickups, and they have been rereleased a couple of times. There is an upcoming rerelease of the first four books with new covers, but it appears to be US exclusive. The latter half of the series are considerably harder to find, and can fetch prices of £20-30 on eBay or Biblio for a copy in good condition.

I would always recommend checking your local library - it's a wonderful resource in general for physical and digital media, and for research or community events - but unfortunately Animorphs is an older series and it's not unlikely that it's been weeded out for more modern books. Children's books in particular are more likely to be damaged or outdated, and kids tend to be voracious readers when given the opportunity. You may, however, have some luck if your library has a digital ebook service. My local library uses Borrowbox, and it's unfortunately not available there. Libby has the eBooks available, but requires your library to have specific access to them.

I personally really enjoy reading the books in physical copies, but the e-Book versions are freely available to own yourself, too. I should note that these are unofficial fan creations, but they do have Applegate's (though not explicitly Scholastic's) blessing. They're available in a number of formats, and can be downloaded from this Reddit post.

If you're more of an audiobook person, you're in luck! The audiobooks were released in 2020-2024, and they are pretty good. The books have different voice actors for each member of the Animorphs narrating the books, and I haven't found any duds yet. If your library gives you access to Hoopla or Libby, the Animorphs audiobooks may be in their collection free of charge!

When should I read the Chronicles and Megamorphs books?

There's a few approaches you can take here. A common one is to read them in publication order, which will serve you perfectly well.

My personal recommendation, however, is as follows:

• Megamorphs 1: The Andalite's Gift - after book 7.
• The Andalite Chronicles - after book 13.
• Megamorphs 2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs - after book 18.
• The Hork-Bajir Chronicles - after book 19. (Yes, this does mean book 19 has a side book either side, but it's the most in keeping with the text. Alternatively, read after book 22.)
• Megamorphs 3: Elphangor's Secret - after book 29.
• Visser - after book 35.
• Megamorphs 4: Back to Before - after book 41.
• The Ellimist Chronicles - after book 48.