How Many Animorphs Books Are There? Reading to find out more. The mid-90s book show was composed by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant under the title K.A. Applegate.
The books follow a set of children having the capability to change into whatever animal they touch. Rachel, Cassie, Marco Jake, and Tobias, Together with their alien friend Aximili Esgarrouth Isthil (nicknamed Ax), would be the Animorphs.
They utilized their creature shape shifting powers to save humanity contrary to a covert alien invasion of Earth with a parasitic race of slug like critters called Yeerks.
Just like any great power, there’s a catch that the children can not remain in creature shape for more than two weeks. Should they stay changed for a long time, they will become permanent.
What Is Animorphs
Animorphs is a young adult science fiction series authored by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant that was released from 1996 to 2001.
The story follows a group of five adolescents – Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias – who come across a dying extraterrestrial named Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.
The alien grants the youngsters the ability to “morph” into any animal they come into contact with in order to combat an invasion of parasitic aliens known as Yeerks who are attempting to take over Earth by taking over human minds.
As the series unfolds, the Animorphs face a variety of hurdles and obstacles as they attempt to foil the Yeerks’ intentions. They also form close ties with one another and meet new friends and foes along the road. The books frequently address themes of loyalty, bravery, sacrifice, and the moral ambiguities of battle.
The books were popular with young adult readers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and they have since attained cult status. The series has been lauded for its interesting characters, unusual premise, and mature themes, as well as its ability to deal with hard subjects in a way that young readers can understand.
How Many Animorphs Books Are There?
There are 54 regular Animorphs books in the original series, written by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. The series was published between 1996 and 2001.
In addition to the 54 regular books, there are four “Megamorphs” books, which are longer books that feature the main characters in different situations than the main series. There are also four “Chronicles” books, which are prequels that tell the backstory of some of the characters, as well as a “Visser” book, which is told from the perspective of one of the main villains.
In total, there are 59 books in the Animorphs series. There were also several spin-off series, such as “The Andalite Chronicles” and “The Hork-Bajir Chronicles,” which focus on some of the secondary characters and their histories.
Animorphs Books In Order
1: The Invasion (Spring 1997)
2: The Visitor
3: The Encounter
4: The Message
5: The Predator
6: The Capture
7: The Stranger
Megamorphs 1: The Andalite’s Gift (Summer 1997)
8: The Alien
9: The Secret
10: The Android
11: The Forgotten
12: The Reaction
13: The Change
14: The Unknown
15: The Escape
16: The Warning
17: The Underground
18: The Decision—(c. 1998)
Megamorphs 2: In the Time of Dinosaurs—(Sario Rip time travel to 65,000,000 BC.)
19: The Departure
The Hork-Bajir Chronicles (1966, 1968–69, 1998)
Although the events in this story occur between The Ellimist Chronicles and The Andalite Chronicles, the entire story is being told by Jara Hamee to Tobias after book #13, The Change, and before the events of #23 The Pretender. Tobias makes reference to his restlessness and the fact that there were no missions planned (Prologue, pg ix).
However, in The Pretender, (pg 12) Tobias makes reference to the fact that they had worked plenty lately, dealing with the horrifying matter of David, the first new Animorph. This places the last possible break before book #20, the first book in the David trilogy.
20: The Discovery
21: The Threat
22: The Solution
23: The Pretender
24: The Suspicion
25: The Extreme
26: The Attack
27: The Exposed
28: The Experiment
29: The Sickness
Megamorphs 3: Elfangor’s Secret (Time Matrix time travel to 10/25/1415, 12/25/1776, 10/21/1805, c. 1932-1939, 6/6/44, and 1967)
30: The Reunion—(sometime a little bit before or after 12/18/98)
31: The Conspiracy
32: The Separation—(c. 1999)
33: The Illusion
34: The Prophecy (no earlier than 5/19/99)
35: The Proposal
Visser (1976, 1980s, 1991–1999)
The trial chronicled in Visser is set during and after the events of The Proposal, but the book also covers events before The Andalite Chronicles.
36: The Mutation
37: The Weakness
38: The Arrival
39: The Hidden
40: The Other
Megamorphs 4: Back to Before (1999, experimental timeline to 1997)
41: The Familiar
42: The Journey
43: The Test
44: The Unexpected (c. 2000)
45: The Revelation
46: The Deception
47: The Resistance
48: The Return
49: The Diversion
50: The Ultimate
51: The Absolute
52: The Sacrifice
53: The Answer
The Ellimist Chronicles (story stretching billions of years into the past)
Technically this is set during the same time as the first chapters of The Beginning even though it covers events set far before The Andalite Chronicles.
54: The Beginning (2000-c. 2004)
Facts Regarding the Animorphs Book Series
1. Animorphs author K.A. Applegate is more than one person.
Although Katherine Applegate is best known as the creator of the Animorphs series, the series was developed by a team. Under the pen name K.A. Applegate, she authored the works in collaboration with her husband, Michael Grant.
The couple’s two halves each have their writing careers outside the Animorphs world. Michael is the author of the YA novel The Gone, and Katherine is the author of the Endling trilogy and the Ivan & Friends books for young readers.
2. Fifty-four books were published in five years
Scholastic published the 54 novels that make up the main Animorphs series between 1996 and 2001. Even for a two-person writing staff, it is a lot of stuff. Michael and Katherine weren’t working alone, however.
Katherine Applegate disclosed that volumes 25 through 52 were ghostwritten in a 2011 Reddit AMA. By creating thorough plot outlines for each book, the original writers maintained control over the story’s course and returned to pen the last two books.
3. And that’s not including spin-offs.
Dedicated Animorphs readers know that the journey continues beyond the first 54 novels. The brand grew to encompass several companion series, including The Animorph Chronicles and Megamorphs, which alternate between the perspectives of several characters during each chapter.
Alternamorphs, a choose-your-own-adventure-style spin-off series, was also created for the universe.
4. Animorphs was conceived beside a dumpster.
The background of Animorphs is evidence that ideas may occur in unexpected locations. One evening while strolling about their Sarasota, Florida, apartment complex, Applegate and Grant decided to start formulating ideas for a brand-new children’s series.
In her submission to Scholastic’s online Animorph database, the Anibase, Katherine said that she intended to “write about animals—to put youngsters into the brains of animals somehow.” “And there we had the first component of the equation: children turning into animals as we lapped by the garbage. Then we understood that we needed some danger.
When Grant got the thought to include an extraterrestrial invasion, they were walking by the complex’s garbage. From there, the plot developed. “So, Animorphs was created on a hot summer night near a trash in Florida,” wrote Applegate.
5. The series was meant to be a trilogy.
Although the authors originally had a more manageable number of novels in mind, the tale that became Animorphs was always intended to be a series. The story was initially intended to be a trilogy called “The Changelings.”
Animorphs was the recommended name from Scholastic, and the writers agreed it was a better match.
6. The main cast of characters nearly looked different.
The series name wasn’t the only thing that changed as it was being created. K.A. Applegate didn’t instantly think of the group of protagonists readers are familiar with while she was writing the first novel. Jake (then called Matt) had a younger sibling in the early manuscripts, and Cassie wasn’t introduced until later editions.
7. The authors did their animal research.
Animorphs’ creators strived to be as scientifically accurate as possible, even though the plot revolves around shape-shifting kids and an extraterrestrial invasion.
When presenting the world through the perspective of various animals, Katherine Applegate told KidsRead.com that she tried to be as genuine as possible. She said, “When Tobias turns into a hawk, I want the reader to experience the world as a hawk could see it—to fly on the gentle winds and swoop down to make a kill.
“When Marco transforms into an ant, I want to emphasize the ant’s lack of uniqueness and his blind perception of touch and smell. I want the reader to feel the water rushing by as Cassie transforms into a dolphin so they can understand what it must be like to jump from a chilly ocean into a warm sky.
Katherine did her research to make these events come to life. She used her books and spoke with zoo curators and zoologists in addition to doing so.
She sometimes had to interact in person with the creatures she was writing about because of her job. She went to a raptor rehabilitation facility and spent time with wounded birds to prepare for scripting Tobias’s transition into a hawk.
8. Certain alien words have surprising origins.
Parts of the alien language in Animorphs were inspired by a shockingly commonplace location: the street outside the writers’ window. All science fiction and fantasy authors have unique techniques for creating imaginary words.
“How can I invent names for aliens and other things? In a Q&A for Scholastic, K.A. Applegate said that she sometimes plays around with letters and sounds until she finds something she likes. “Occasionally, I’ll change or reverse a word I hear around me.
For instance, I just so happened to glimpse the word “Hilton” through my window, which is how the Andalite term “Nothlit” came to be. I just continued rearranging letters till I came up with “Nothlit.”
9. The covers borrowed a Hollywood SFX trick.
Many teenagers from the 1990s who never read Animorphs are nonetheless familiar with the novels because their captivating book covers feature a new character from the series slowly changing into an animal.
The surreal transitions took advantage of morphing, which involves digitally combining two images into a single form. Although the picture may seem kitschy by modern standards, it was relatively avant-garde for the period. David Mattingly, the artist who designed the covers for Animorphs volumes No. 4 through No. 54, claims that Hollywood visual effects professionals invented the technique before he used it to book design. According to him, the first morphing appeared in the second Terminator movie.
I recall it being one of the rare times I had seen anything at the cinema that I had never seen at all before. (Mattingly was hired because Dave Tomasino, the art director at Scholastic, saw him as “one of the first artists to move to the computer.”
“We heard that you knew how to perform morphing, so Dave phoned me and said, ‘We knew that they needed someone to do morphing.’ I was new to morphing and wondered, “What the hell?”
10. Most cover models didn’t return for later books.
Mattingly not only created the morphing technique but also took photographs of the children and animals that were featured on his covers.
The 54-part series’ five major characters, each of whom appeared as the lead in many novels, weren’t always represented on the covers by the same models. Vice was informed by Mattingly that “the youngsters age too soon.” They appear entirely different when they return since they have gone through puberty.
One thing was different. The cover images for all of Cassie’s novels had the same model. According to Mattingly, if I met her now, she’d probably look about the same. She never aged, was a fantastic model and was quite accommodating.
11. The authors weren’t fans of the TV show.
Animorphs was adapted for Nickelodeon by Scholastic after the popularity of the book series. The program, which aired from 1998 to 1999, featured Shawn Ashmore before he appeared in X-Men (2000) and some dubious special effects.
Fans of the show exist, but the Animorphs creators are not among them. Oh, we detested the TV show. In a 2016 Reddit AMA, Michael Grant said, “We thought it offended the hundreds of thousands of youngsters who read the books. Animorphs, the program would have been animated if the writers had their way.
Given that using animals, young performers, and special effects are the three most costly options available in Hollywood, short of employing Tom Cruise, Grant remarked, “We told Scholastic we believed it was a horrible idea to do ‘live action.”
12. A new Animorphs movie was announced in 2020.
The Animorphs series is being adapted for the big screen, according to press reports from 2020. Scholastic and producer Erik Feig’s media business Picturestart, which assisted in adapting well-known YA novels, including Twilight, Divergent, and The Hunger Games, collaborated on the new movie.
Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate had initially agreed to work together on the series but subsequently abandoned the project owing to “creative disagreements,” according to Grant, who later added in a tweet, “Decisions we had wanted to be part in were made without us…
However, we have a rule that states we don’t take credit for something we didn’t accomplish. Fans are still waiting for additional information regarding the movie, including the cast and release date, since we weren’t doing or contributing anything.
FAQs
How did Animorphs end?
The One threatens to consume the Animorphs, as it had done to Ax. Jake remarks on Marco’s previous call to be mad, reckless and callous and, with a grin that Marco notes makes him seem like Rachel, orders them to ram the Blade Ship. The show finishes with Jake, Marco, Tobias, and Ax’s ultimate fates left unidentified.
Where can I read Animorphs books?
All of the 54 books in the Animorphs series are currently available to download at no cost, in the two ePub and PDF format, even for individuals needing entertaining books to see while still in quarantine, due to this Reddit Animorphs forum.
Does Tobias ever become human again?
Regaining the Morphing Skill
Tobias subsequently finds himself in a different airplane and sees himself as a cross between individual and hawk. At the instant, the Ellimist restores Tobias’s capacity to morph but doesn’t return him to humankind.
Do any of the Animorphs die?
From the penultimate book, Jake, arguably the principal part of this show, orders many secondary Animorphs for their deaths (all the Animorphs are kids, incidentally), then commits an act of genocide by flushing countless Deadly Yeerks to the cold vacuum of space.
Does David die in Animorphs?
David was a person who discovered the morphing block and became the seventh Animorph. But he soon proved to be reckless and sociopathic, trying to betray and afterward murder the Animorphs, deriving enjoyment out of his activities, and moving up to killing Saddler to morph to him and live his lifestyle.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Animorphs series is a beloved science fiction series of young adult books that has captivated readers since its publication in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With its unique premise of a group of teenagers who gain the ability to transform into any animal they touch to fight parasitic alien invaders, the series explores themes of loyalty, courage, sacrifice, and the moral complexities of war.
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