Verily, Junk Memoirs – A

A – Animorphs
The Animorphs book series is a series of 62 (or 64 depending on who you ask) books for young adults written by K.A. Applegate, and ended in 2001. However, the first time I had heard the word ‘Animorph’ was when I was a little younger, let’s say seven. On one of the stations there was a television show called The Animorphs. From what I recall, I hated this show. There was just something about it. In fact, every time the show would come on, I would make a point to turn off the TV (which is no small feat for a seven year old). Fast forward three years. I am in grade five and, for silent reading, we were to each pick a book of the shelf at the back of the room, and sit and read for a period of time. I remember pulling a book off the shelf. “Animorphs #23” it read, “The Pretender”. The cover featured a bird (which I later learned was a Red-Tailed Hawk) in the top right corner and a bunny in the bottom left. Between them, were pictures of each of them slowly turning into the other. Also, behind the bird, was the ghostly image of a boy with brown hair. All of this was over a cloudy gold-purple background. I remember just standing there for a second, just staring at the cover. The book itself was in very good condition. The cover was still shiny and the pages were still sort of white. In the end, the shiny cover won out over my dislike for the show (which had gone off the air by then), so I decided to read it. I was hooked. Fast forward a few more years. I had read several more of the Animorphs books. One day, while walking through the library, a video catches my eye. It was a tape of four of the Animorph episodes! Should I borrow it? The last time I saw it, I didn’t really like it. But on the other hand, the last time I saw it was when Pokémon was still big. In the end, I brought it home and put it in my VCR as soon as I could. I couldn’t wait to see the book I was reading be translated onto the screen. As it turns out, Seven-Year-Old-Me was right; the show sucked.

-next post May 19 @ 8:oo pm