The Bark of the Bog Owl

Title	The Bark of the Bog Owl
Author	Jonathan Rogers
# of Pages	248
Best for Ages	10-14
# of Clovers
# of Times Read

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Setting:

This book takes place on the island of Corenwald. The main character of this book is 12-year-old Aidan Errolson, the sixth son of Errol Errolson. I can not figure out when this book takes place. The genre of this book is fiction, and it is told in third person. This is the first book in the Wilderking Trilogy.

Plot:

Aidan Errolson lives a normal life as a shepherd. One day, when he is out watching the sheep, Aidan hears the bark of the Bog Owl. The Bog Owl is a mysterious creature that lives in the swamp. Aidan walks toward the swamp to investigate, and it turns out to be a feechie boy. (Feechies are people who live in the swamp). Aidan makes friends with the boy, whose name is Dobro. Soon after they meet, a panther attacks the sheep. Aidan and Dobro kill it. Back at Aidan's house, an old man named Bayard the Truthspeaker shows up. Bayard is a prophet, and he says he has come to find the Wilderking. The Wilderking is a king from an old prophecy who will save Corenwald. Bayard looks at Errol's first five sons, and says that they are not the Wilderking. So Errol brings in Aidan. Bayard says that Aidan is the Wilderking. Soon after, Errol and his family are invited to a council at King Darrow's palace. (King Darrow is the ruler of Corenwald.) At the council with the other nobles of Corenwald, King Darrow celebrates their new alliance with the Pyrthens. (The Pyrthen Empire ruled over the ancestors of Corenwald, till they escaped and started Corenwald.) Errol speaks out against this, and the Corenwalders go to war once again. Aidan must stay at home for he is not old enough to be in the army yet. However, Errol sends Aidan to bring some food to his other sons. On the way to the army camp, Aidan is captured by feechies. However, soon they find out that Aidan killed the panther with Dobro, and they make him a feechie friend. (This means that Aidan has a mark on his arm that he can show to any feechies, and they will recognize him as a friend.) When Aidan arrives at the camp, he doesn't see very much fighting. However, he soon sees the reason. The Pyrthens are sending out a might champion, over 7 feet tall. He calls out to the Corenwalders, and asks them to send out a champion to fight him. He also insults the Corenwalders god, the One True God. Aidan is so shocked that no one is going out against him, that he volunteers to go out to fight. The king accepts, and offers to give Aidan the best of all his armor. Aidan declines, because it is too heavy. So Aidan collects five stones from a nearby stream for his sling, and heads out to battle. Can Aidan defeat the Pythen champion? Or will Aidan die at the hands of a giant.

Recommendation:

This book is like a different take on the story of David and Goliath from the Bible. It was a good book. I liked the feechies, because some of their customs were fun to hear about, such as fishing with your hands. The characters had strong personalities, like Dobro. Overall, this book was pretty good, and there are some sequels to it. So you should read this book.