Another great book find

How do these great books find their way into my house? A few weeks ago I picked up a library book on a whim: The Bark of the Bog Owl by Jonathan Rogers. I guess it was on the featured books shelf in the kids' area - I don't even remember how it got in our bag. It looked like a fantasy - which my kids don't typically like! So it went in the library book basket and sat there for about 2 weeks. When I was going through the books to find the (over)dues, it turned up and I looked it over again. Hmm...

Echoing from the river bottom forest...the bark of the bog owl speaks of wild places still untamed, of quests not yet pursued, of great deeds not yet done. Aidan Errolson heeds this call of the wild, and soon learns it's a call to save his country.

Having nothing else to read (yeah, right), we dove in. And then we couldn't stop...

You might find the story familiar: Aidan is a young farm boy, youngest among 4 brothers. His main job is tending the sheep; he protects them with his sling. One day he is called home only to find an old man, "the Truthspeaker" in his home, giving a strange prediction... this young boy is to be king? War erupts, and no one will come forward to answer the enemy's challenge, till Adain and his sling save the day...

It's a fun adventure story with lessons if you want them: bravery, trust, friendship. There's an explosion. My kids figured out the biblical connection early on. Kids not exposed to the Bible might just see it as a great story - it is not a "religious" book; there are a few references to "the One True God" and that's it.

And, this story does not take place in Israel. More like Georgia swampland. Then there's the surprise of the "feechiefolk" who some think are mythical creatures...

We've started the next in the trilogy immediately (I think yesterday I read about 100 pages between the 2 books) and it's just as good. Aidan is now part of the king's court, but is losing the king's favor. He is sent out on an impossible quest...

Written for 9-12's, it's still a satisfying read aloud for the parents. OK, for this parent, anyway.