The Shapeshifter
Encyclopedia
-- START The Shapeshifter is a series of books by Ali Sparkes
. The series is set in England
, in the Devonshire/Cornwall area, and follows the life of a boy named Dax Jones. The first of the books, Finding the Fox details his early life with his hated step-mum, Gina, and sister Alice. He is very frustrated and the book describes how his body morphs into that of a fox. Dax is one of the Colas
, or Children of Limitless Ability, teenagers who possess amazing supernatural powers. For example, telepathy, the power to move objects, heal injuries or see into the future. These children attend a school called COLA Club, where they are trained to use their powers. During the first and much of the second book, COLA Club is located at Tregarren College, a large, isolated school in Cornwall
. However, in the later books, it is moved to a much smaller location, called Fenton Lodge in the Lake District
, about a half-hour drive away from Keswick
, a mysterious government official arrives and takes him to a secret school where Colas
(children of limitless ability) are trained. At this school, Dax soon makes friends, and feels more at home than he ever has before. But other, more sinister forces have taken an interest in these gifted children, and soon Dax finds himself in terrible danger. With nowhere else to turn he has to discover what all this means, and a chilling prophecy that awaits him in this adventure...
. The whole place has been fortified so that the Children of Limitless Ability won't ever be under threat again. After dodging death once too often for his liking, Dax is looking forward to a quieter time - building a treehouse in the grounds and shifting to a fox or a falcon and exploring the countryside. But all is not well in the spirit world - strange messages are coming through and Dax, Gideon, Lisa and Mia must once again join forces. Could the messages be coming from Luke and Catherine, Gideon's dead brother and sister? Perhaps they're even still alive? In which case, they have to rescue Luke from Catherine's evil clutches - but is Dax really a match for her?
Dax must save his friends from being sold as commodities to the highest bidder, and in the process find out who his mother really is and how he and his friends ended up with such amazing powers.
He also hunted for him and Lisa in Running the Risk.
, medium, clairvoyant
and telepath
. She is extremely reluctant to accept her identity as a COLA, however, following the events of Finding the Fox, begins to come to terms with her powers. Lisa is very rich and lives in a mansion in the countryside. She is also very close to her father,Maurice Hardman, who is proud of her psychic gifts. She becomes quite friendly with Dax and Mia over the course of the series, although her somewhat impetuous nature ofter brings her into conflict with Gideon. She is shown to be a very good actor, especially in book five.
He aranged a trap door down 150m and then spikes and falls down instead of Dax
, but was moved around from family to family so much that she became somewhat unhinged. She has the ability to absorb the powers of COLAs and other people through physical contact, which causes them to become lethargic. She is the principle antagonist
of Running the Risk and Dowsing the Dead as she seeks to permanently obtain the abilities of all the COLAs. She is killed at the end of Stirring the Storm by Mia,who burns her to death. It is speculated whether she is still alive.
She senses Maurice's accident as well as Lisa and rushes to help in Running the Risk
/ medium who receives messages throughout the first book from Gideon's "Aunty Pam" and the wolf that was trying to contact Dax. She is heavily hypnotised by Patrick Wood in the first book to give him all of Dax's slips (Pieces of paper the mediums write the messages from the behond on) to him, this is because she keeps getting the message from the Wolf to "Stay away from the Wood" which of course means Patrick Wood. The hypnosis goes so deep it makes her stop telling Dax the message even directly. She is released from Wood's power along with the other students after Wood's death. She loses her powers at the end of book 2 (Running the Risk), when Catherine steals them. But at the end of book 5 (Stirring the Storm) it is mentioned that the COLAs who lost their powers will most probably get them back now that Catherine is dead.
and the Dutch Kinderboekenweek.
and was awarded the number one book in 2002
Ali Sparkes
Ali Sparkes is a British author. Her books include The Shapeshifter series, Miganium , Dark Summer, Frozen in Time, Wishful thinking, the Monster Makers series, S.W.I.T.C.H series and one upcoming series: Unleashed: a spin-off of The Shapeshifter, centred on Lisa Hardman...
. The series is set in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in the Devonshire/Cornwall area, and follows the life of a boy named Dax Jones. The first of the books, Finding the Fox details his early life with his hated step-mum, Gina, and sister Alice. He is very frustrated and the book describes how his body morphs into that of a fox. Dax is one of the Colas
COLAs (The Shapeshifter)
COLAs appear in The Shapeshifter series of books by Ali Sparkes. "COLA" stands for "Children Of Limitless Ability," a name given in recognition of the children's amazing supernatural powers. There are originally 111 COLAs, including Dax Jones, but in Running the Risk, Catherine Reader drains most...
, or Children of Limitless Ability, teenagers who possess amazing supernatural powers. For example, telepathy, the power to move objects, heal injuries or see into the future. These children attend a school called COLA Club, where they are trained to use their powers. During the first and much of the second book, COLA Club is located at Tregarren College, a large, isolated school in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. However, in the later books, it is moved to a much smaller location, called Fenton Lodge in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, about a half-hour drive away from Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria
Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
Finding the Fox
When Dax Jones discovers that he has the power to transform himself into a foxFox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, a mysterious government official arrives and takes him to a secret school where Colas
COLAs (The Shapeshifter)
COLAs appear in The Shapeshifter series of books by Ali Sparkes. "COLA" stands for "Children Of Limitless Ability," a name given in recognition of the children's amazing supernatural powers. There are originally 111 COLAs, including Dax Jones, but in Running the Risk, Catherine Reader drains most...
(children of limitless ability) are trained. At this school, Dax soon makes friends, and feels more at home than he ever has before. But other, more sinister forces have taken an interest in these gifted children, and soon Dax finds himself in terrible danger. With nowhere else to turn he has to discover what all this means, and a chilling prophecy that awaits him in this adventure...
Running the Risk
Dax Jones is beginning to get used to his new life at Tregarren College. However, when he returns to the school after a short stay at Lisa Hardman's country house, he discovers an astonishing surprise awaiting him, in the form of Gideon's long-lost brother Luke and sister Catherine. However, these new arrivals are not the only thing which Dax has to worry about; something is bringing on a strange lethargy in his fellow COLAs, and it seems to be getting worse. When he tries to warn his friends, they all think that he is being paranoid, leaving him to deal with the danger alone. Follow Dax as he dares deeper into his shapeshifting powers...Going to Ground
Following the events of Running the Risk, Dax and the other COLAs are sent to recover. However, during this time off, Lisa experiences a vision which warns her that Gideon is in deadly peril. She and Dax attempt to rescue him, only to find that he is not actually in any sort of danger - at least not yet. But strange and unexplainable electrical faults are taking place all over the country, and the government seem to think that Gideon's powers are responsible. Now they will stop at nothing to find him and contain the threat they believe he poses. Gideon, Dax, Lisa and Mia, set off across the country, attempting to outwit their pursuers, while also trying to find the real cause of these electrical events to clear Gideon's name.Dowsing the Dead
The fantastic Shapeshifter series continues with Dax and his friends settling into their new secret hideaway in the Lake DistrictLake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
. The whole place has been fortified so that the Children of Limitless Ability won't ever be under threat again. After dodging death once too often for his liking, Dax is looking forward to a quieter time - building a treehouse in the grounds and shifting to a fox or a falcon and exploring the countryside. But all is not well in the spirit world - strange messages are coming through and Dax, Gideon, Lisa and Mia must once again join forces. Could the messages be coming from Luke and Catherine, Gideon's dead brother and sister? Perhaps they're even still alive? In which case, they have to rescue Luke from Catherine's evil clutches - but is Dax really a match for her?
Stirring the storm
In this exciting finale Dax and his friends are moved up the country in a bid to keep their identities a secret, but are the special forces who are transporting them their allies, or are the Children of Limitless Ability being used as pawns in a much bigger scheme? Once again it is Dax who's at the centre of things - it's him they want most of all. But who are 'they'? And who's the brains behind this master plan?Dax must save his friends from being sold as commodities to the highest bidder, and in the process find out who his mother really is and how he and his friends ended up with such amazing powers.
Dax Jones
Dax is the main character of the series. He has the ability to shapeshift into a fox, falcon and (in the fifth book) an otter. He lives with his cruel stepmother and friendly but annoying half sister. His father does not seem to take much of an interest in him in the first books but the reason for this is revealed in the 5th book. He also is very close with Gideon. Lisa could be a potential love interest because of the suggestive scenarios they are put in such as dancing together and Lisa's protectiveness of Dax. Dax has a very strong will and is the 'guide' of the group.He also hunted for him and Lisa in Running the Risk.
Gideon Reader
Gideon is a telekinetic and Dax's best friend. He is fair and athletic, with many freckles. Gideon enjoys playing football, and constantly eats chocolate. He and his father live alone with their pet bird, until they discover that Gideon has a long lost triplet brother and 'sister', named Luke and Catherine respectively. Gideon loves his brother Luke when he is found, but his sister was evil and betrayed both of them. This left him Gideon getting gradually sadder over the course of all the books.Lisa Hardman
Lisa is dowserDowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation , without the use of scientific apparatus...
, medium, clairvoyant
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
and telepath
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
. She is extremely reluctant to accept her identity as a COLA, however, following the events of Finding the Fox, begins to come to terms with her powers. Lisa is very rich and lives in a mansion in the countryside. She is also very close to her father,Maurice Hardman, who is proud of her psychic gifts. She becomes quite friendly with Dax and Mia over the course of the series, although her somewhat impetuous nature ofter brings her into conflict with Gideon. She is shown to be a very good actor, especially in book five.
Mia Cooper
Mia is the most skilled healer ever to be brought to COLA Club. She is very gentle and compassionate, as well as being a vegetarian. She is also a pyrokinetic in book four onwards, and becomes somewhat more aggressive due to her black obsidian bracelet. She is best friends with Lisa, Dax and Gideon. She becomes very sick in book one, because she absorbs too much pain while healing her friends. However, she is able to channel this pain out of her body and destroy it. She is aware that Spook likes her, but does not return his feelings.Spencer "Spook" Williams
Spook is the best illusionist in the series and considers himself to be a highly skilled magician. However, he is disliked by almost all of the other COLAs. He seems to be attracted to Mia, and is close friends with a fellow illusionist named Darren Tyler. He is very cruel toward Dax and Gideon, frequently insulting them. He particularly dislikes Dax, who has a resistance to his glamour, however in the fifth book, it is revealed he is actually Dax's distant cousin and starts to become more likable and friendly. His real name is Spencer (as revealed in book 3).Luke Reader
Luke is Gideon's triplet brother, and is almost identical to him, except for the fact that he wears glasses. He does not appear until book two, and does not display any supernatural powers when brought to Tregarren. He is therefore considered a 'dud' until he holds back the sea to save the lives of his fellow COLAs. He is a telekinetic like Gideon, although apparently to a much greater degree. It is revealed in Book Four that his other sibling, Catherine, made him into a mute following the events of Running the Risk, by shutting down the speech centres of his brain.Principal Patrick Wood
The principal of the COLA club in Finding the Fox, he is a glamourist with the ability to create illusions. He uses these to charm the other students and members of staff into liking him. As Dax is able to see through this glamour, Patrick tries to kill him, resulting in his own death.He aranged a trap door down 150m and then spikes and falls down instead of Dax
Catherine Reader
Catherine is Luke and Gideon's triplet sister,which is always very energetic, although she is slightly unlike the two in appearance. Her birth is revealed to have been an accident, and she is often referred to as "the parasite". She was adopted and raised in AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but was moved around from family to family so much that she became somewhat unhinged. She has the ability to absorb the powers of COLAs and other people through physical contact, which causes them to become lethargic. She is the principle antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of Running the Risk and Dowsing the Dead as she seeks to permanently obtain the abilities of all the COLAs. She is killed at the end of Stirring the Storm by Mia,who burns her to death. It is speculated whether she is still alive.
Agent(Owen) Hind
Owen is an Agent who works to find and bring COLAs to Tregarren. He has a tattoo of an eagle on his arm, a symbol of protection, and is very protective of the other students. In certain parts of the books he is ruthless and seems slightly evil but otherwise he is very caring. Even though Dax believes him to be his friend and trusts him with his life, in almost every book he feels that Owen is betraying them. In Finding the Fox it looks like he is helping Patrick Wood, when he's doing the opposite. In Running the Risk he seems to be tampering with the students food, it revealed he is, but, he's taking out the sugar and E-numbers. In Going to Ground Dax is told to "Beware the laughing man", he believes this is Owen when he laughs at Dax' suggestion of him being out to get him, Dax runs into danger to release later that the landmark he and Gideon where hiding out in was a rock formation called the laughing man. But, no matter what he's accused of. Owen is Dax' loyal friend and father-like figure. Which makes things difficult for Dax when Catherine hangs Owen and Dax' dad over the ocean, and then gives Dax the opportunity to save only one of them (in Stirring the Storm). To make the decision easier for Dax, Owen fakes his own death, although Dax and the others are later made aware that he is alive. He is like a second father to Dax.Paulina Sartre
The Principal (after finding the fox) and French teacher at Tregarren, she is an empath and psychic. She uses her powers to find other COLAs.She senses Maurice's accident as well as Lisa and rushes to help in Running the Risk
Barry Blake
A glamourist who has the power to vanish from sight. However, this power is not very useful in making him inconspicuous, in the respect that he is rather clumsy and has a permanently stuffed nose which creates a whistling sound whenever he exhales. A friend of Dax and Gideon, and in Dowsing the dead the best friend of Clive.Jessica Moorland
A psychicPsychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
/ medium who receives messages throughout the first book from Gideon's "Aunty Pam" and the wolf that was trying to contact Dax. She is heavily hypnotised by Patrick Wood in the first book to give him all of Dax's slips (Pieces of paper the mediums write the messages from the behond on) to him, this is because she keeps getting the message from the Wolf to "Stay away from the Wood" which of course means Patrick Wood. The hypnosis goes so deep it makes her stop telling Dax the message even directly. She is released from Wood's power along with the other students after Wood's death. She loses her powers at the end of book 2 (Running the Risk), when Catherine steals them. But at the end of book 5 (Stirring the Storm) it is mentioned that the COLAs who lost their powers will most probably get them back now that Catherine is dead.
Jacob and Alex Teller
Brothers who possess a telepathic link with each other. They can also mimic other people in voice and mannerisms. They both have nut brown hair and blue eyes, and do a very funny impression of Spook. They lighten everyone's mood near the end of Running the Risk.Darren Tyler
An illusionist and friend of Spook Williams, one of the 'true ten'/'true eleven' at the end of book Four. It is mentioned that he acted very chipper, like most of his illusionist friends, but, Dax sensed he was homesick and talked to him about it and arranged for his Grandma to visit the nearby town of Polgammon and see him more often. This cheered Darren up and has stuck up for Dax afterwards. He had a go at Spook for setting a dog on Dax in Running the Risk and has seemed quiet happy since.Jennifer Troke
One of the 'true eleven' at the end of book four, her power is vanishing, like Barry's. However, she is much better at being invisible, as she is less clumsy and can move about quietly. It is mentioned that she often appears by the elbows of other students and remarks on books which they are reading. She often gets Barry into trouble in lessons, but never gets into trouble as much herself, due to the ability to look innocent. In the last book, Gideon claims that she is attracted to Dax as she is seen staring at him and blushes whenever he comes nearby.Clive
Clive is Dax's very close friend. They are separated in book one when Dax leaves to attend Tregarren, but are reunited in book three. Clive is considered a genius, and is taken in as one of the COLAs. He becomes room mates with Barry, with whom he shares a like/hate relationship. His love of technology has helped the COLAs on several occasions, although it had caused him to be continuously bullied before he attended COLA Club.Caroline Fisher
Caroline is a reporter who was determined to find out the secret of the Beast of Barksend. She threatened to bring the world's reporters into Tregarren if Principal Wood didn't talk to her. Patrick used his glamour powers to hypnotise Caroline into thinking everything was in order, but, after realising she had brought a tape recorder, decided she'd have other tricks as well and swiftly decided to kill her. He tricked her into believing there was a bridge across the marsh and left her to drown. She becomes friends with Dax, Gideon, Mia, Lisa and the others after they saved her from Patrick Wood making her drown in the marsh. She was grateful and sent a letter to Dax, which told him he might not always be safe a Tregarren and gave him a key to her bolt hole, the Owl Box and solitary cottage, hidden deep in the woods, should he ever need it. When he did go there in Going to Ground she sent them a warning phone message that the government had discovered the Owl Box's location and where going to get them. She is very determined and takes everything in her stride. She dislikes people who keep secrets and this is the reason she and Dax don't get along at first.Awards
Finding the Fox was nominated for the Bolton Children's Book AwardBolton Children's Book Award
The Bolton Children's Book Award is an annual award given to works of children's literature published in paperback during the previous year. The award is sponsored by Bolton Literacy Trust, The University of Bolton and Page Nation.-List of Prize Winners:...
and the Dutch Kinderboekenweek.
and was awarded the number one book in 2002
Trivia
- Although the first two books of the series were translated in Dutch, the other 3 books were never released in the Netherlands because of problems experienced by the Dutch publisher.