The Bark of the Bog Owl

Author:

Jonathan Rogers

Illustrator:

N/A

Published by:

The Rabbit Room

First Published:

19 Feb 2014

Ideal for readers aged

9-12y

My Review

Basing his novel on the biblical story of David and Goliath, Jonathan Rogers has created a medieval fantasy kingdom, Corenwald. Inhabited by knights and feechiefolk, it is under threat from the Pyrthen Empire. Aiden’s older brothers are all sent to war, while he must stay at home and help his father on the land, until, after hearing no news, he sets off to find them, and his adventures set him on his way to becoming the king of all Corenwald that the old prophet predicted he would be. Quirky and thrilling, this has the feel of a classic. I read it aloud to my two youngest, aged 10 and 12, and they loved it.

Heads Up!

This is the first in the Wilderking Trilogy – look out for the sequels, ‘The Secret of the Swamp King’, and ‘The Way of the Wilderking’.

Publisher Review

12-year-old Aidan Errolson, comes from a long line of adventurers. His grandparents were among the first settlers of Corenwald's Eastern Frontier. His father had been one of the kingdom's greatest warriors. Aidan, on the other hand, lives the quiet, comfortable life, of a nobleman's son. He never has any real adventures, and that, he believes, is the one great injustice of his otherwise happy life. All that will change the day he first hears the bark of the bog owl, and meets Dobro Turtlebane. Dobro is one of the feechiefolk, a tribe of half-civilized swamp dwellers who fight too much, laugh too loud, cry too easily, and smell just terrible. But another meeting on that remarkable day may change Aidan's life even more profoundly. Bayard the Truthspeaker arrives with a startling pronouncement: Aidan Errolson will grow to be the Wilderking, the long-prophesied wild man, who will come out of Corenwald's forests and swamps to lead the kingdom back to its former glory. There's just one question: Is Bayard the Truthspeaker a prophet or a madman? This initial installment in The Wilderking Trilogy is sure to capture the hearts of young and old, boys and girls alike.