Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture
Encyclopedia
The Capture is the first book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole
series. It is written by Kathryn Lasky
, and was published by Scholastic on June 1, 2003. The book tells the story of Soren, a Barn Owl, who is kidnapped and taken to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, where he meets his friend Gylfie, a tiny Elf Owl, with whom he plans an escape.
Guardians of Ga'Hoole
Guardians of Ga’Hoole is a fantasy book series written by Kathryn Lasky and published by Scholastic. The series, which ended in 2008 with the publication of The War of the Ember, has a total of fifteen books. Apart from the main series there are a few more books and spin offs set in the same universe...
series. It is written by Kathryn Lasky
Kathryn Lasky
Kathryn Lasky is an American author whose work includes several Dear America books, The Royal Diaries books, Sugaring Time, The Night Journey, and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series.-Biography:...
, and was published by Scholastic on June 1, 2003. The book tells the story of Soren, a Barn Owl, who is kidnapped and taken to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, where he meets his friend Gylfie, a tiny Elf Owl, with whom he plans an escape.
Plot summary
Soren is a Barn Owl born in the Forest Kingdom of Tyto. Noctus and Marella are his parents. Soren has an older brother named Kludd. A chick is hatched, and Soren's mother, Marella, calls her Eglantine, and sometimes Dearest Eggie. Mrs. Plithiver, the nest-maid for the family, a blind snake, comes and visits Eglantine. While Soren's parents are on a hunting trip, Kludd pushes Soren out of the nest. Soren gets snatched by a St. Aggie's patrol unit. Grimble, another owl, is holding a tiny Elf Owl named Gylfie. Soon, Soren and Gylfie reach St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. In this "orphanage", owls are "numbered" and they have to do a "sleeping march". Soren is number 12-1, and Gylfie is numbered 25-2. Hortense, a Spotted Owl, is number 12-8. Owls have to calls themselves and other owls by their numbers. The sleeping position is tipping your beak up and putting your head slightly back, while continuessly repeating their own name. Gylfie tells Soren if an owl sleeps in this position under full shine (full moon) they forget their own personality and everything is the wrong side up. This is "moonblinking". Another rule is then revealed: No asking questions. Soren accidentally asks a question in the pelletorium and his down gets plucked. He wakes up finding the pit guardian, "Auntie" Finny, standing above him. Later, forced to sleep under full shine again, Soren finds out that they are getting moon blinked by repeating their own names, which when a word is repeated continuessly, it starts to sound like a noise, not a word anymore. Gylfie then gets an idea: march in place under the rock ridge and say your number, not your real name. On the second day of doing this, an owl finds out and they are "moon scalded", or kept in full shine of the moon. Soren realizes that saying the Ga'Hoolian legends, or Tales of Yore, helps him clear his mind. Soren and Gylfie start telling legends, until the moon goes down. As they come out, they pretend to be perfectly moon blinked. Gylfie soon sees Hortense trying to dislodge an owl's egg from the nest with bald eagles flying nearby. Gylfie and Soren confront Hortense, and find out she is not moonblinked, like them. Skench, Spoorn, Jatt, Jutt, and Auntie find Hortense trying to save the eggs. Hortense appears' to have died after being pushed off the high point of her nest in the hatchery. Grimble, who appears to be on Soren and Gylfies' side, teaches them how to fly, and they fly away, right at the moment when Skench and Spoorn kill Grimble. Gylfie and Soren meet Twilight, a Great Gray Owl. They agree to find the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, where a noble group of owls is found. They also agree to try to find their families, but are most unsuccessful. At the Desert Kingdom of Kuneer, they find a Burrowing Owl named Digger, who agreed to go the quest. At the Forest Kingdom of Tyto, Mrs. Plithiver was discovered and says she wants to come and go the quest,also. Mrs. P rests on Soren's shoulders, who is flying. Also, in the Desert Kingdom of Kuneer, they meet Hortense's eagles, Streak and Zan. Here, traveling to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, the book ends off, and the book The Journey starts. The film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is based on this book, along with The Journey and The RescueCharacters
- Soren, Barn OwlBarn OwlThe Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
, TytoTytoThe genus Tyto includes all barn owls except for the bay owls - that is, the true barn owls, the grass owls and the masked owls collectively making up the subfamily Tytoninae...
alba, from the Forest Kingdom of Tyto; snatched when he was three weeks old by St. Aegolius patrols. - Kludd, Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Soren's older brother.
- Eglantine, Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Soren's younger sister.
- Noctus, Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Soren's father.
- Marella, Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Soren's mother.
- Mrs. Plithiver, Blind Snake, Soren's family's nest-maid.
- Gylfie, Elf OwlElf OwlThe Elf Owl is a member of the owl family Strigidae that breeds in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is the world's lightest owl, although the Long-whiskered Owlet and the Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl are of a similarly diminutive length. The mean body weight of this species is 40 grams...
, Micrathene whitneyi, from the Desert of Kuneer, snatched when she was three weeks old by St. Aegolius patrols. - Twilight, Great Grey OwlGreat Grey OwlThe Great Grey Owl or Lapland Owl is a very large owl, distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. In some areas it is also called the Great Gray Ghost, Phantom of the north, Cinereous Owl, Spectral Owl, Lapland Owl, Spruce Owl, Bearded Owl and Sooty Owl.-Description:Adults have a big, rounded...
, StrixStrix (genus)Strix is a genus of owls. They belong to the typical owl family Strigidae, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owls . Common names are earless owls or wood owls though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and "wood owl" is also used as a...
nebulosa, free flyer, orphaned within hours of hatching. - Digger, Burrowing OwlBurrowing OwlThe Burrowing Owl is a tiny but long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing Owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated...
, AtheneAthene (owl)Athene is a genus of owls, containing two to four living species, depending on classification. These birds are small, with brown and white speckles, yellow eyes, and white eyebrows...
cunicularia, from the Desert of Kuneer; lost in desert after attack in which his brother was eaten by Jatt and Jutt. - Skench, Great Horned OwlGreat Horned OwlThe Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
, BuboHorned owlThe American horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus Bubo, at least as traditionally described. This genus, depending on definition, contains about one or two dozen species of typical owls and is found in many parts of the world. Some of the largest living Strigiformes are in...
virginianus, the Ablah General of St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned OwlsOWLSOWLS is a mnemonic used by general aviation airplane pilots to assess an unprepared surface for a precautionary landing.Like all mnemonics this check has become part of aviation culture and folklore.OWLS:* Obstacles* Wind direction...
. - Spoorn, Western Screech OwlWestern Screech OwlThe Western Screech Owl is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the European Scops owl and the North American Eastern Screech Owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott.-Description:Length averages , wingspan and weight . Weight...
, Megascops kennicottii, first lieutenant to Skench. - Jatt, Long-eared OwlLong-eared OwlThe Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...
, AsioAsioAsio is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in family Strigidae. The genus Asio contains the eared owls, which are characterised by feather tufts on the head which have the appearance of ears...
otus, a St. Ageolius sublieutenant, warrior, and enforcer. - Jutt, Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, a St. Ageolius sublieutenant, warrior, and enforcer; cousin of Jatt.
- Aunt Finny, Snowy OwlSnowy OwlThe Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great...
, Bubo scandiacus, pit guardian at St. Aegolius. - Unk, Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, pit guardian at St. Aegolius.
- Grimble, Boreal Owl, AegoliusAegoliusAegolius is a small genus of owls. Three of the species are restricted to the New World, but th Boreal Owl has a circumpolar range through North America, Eurasia, the Alps and the Rockies.The species are:...
funerus, captured as an adult by St. Aegolius patrols and held as hostage with the promise his family would be spared. - 47-2, Western Screech Owl, Megascops kennicottii, picker in the pelletorium of St. Aegolius.
- Hortense, Spotted OwlSpotted OwlThe Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of forests in western North America, where it nests in tree holes, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between 13 and 66 yards high and usually contain two eggs...
, Strix occidentalis, originally from the Forest Kingdom of Ambala, snatched an indeterminate age by St. Aegolius patrols; trained as a broody Owl in the eggorium of St. Aegolius. - Streak: Bald eagleBald EagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
, free flyer. - Zan: Bald eagle, mate of Streak.