The Bark of the Bog Owl
-Jonothan Rogers
Middle Grade Kingdom Fantasy/Biblical Inspired
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Twelve-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. Written in the same fashion as The Lord of the Rings or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Bark of the Bog Owl, as the author says, will help “direct a God-fearing boy’s sense of adventure and warrior spirit – his God-given wildness.”
This book is one I've been meaning to read for a while now. The concept just sounded so cool! Well, suffice it to say, this turned into one of those "Why didn't read this sooner?" books. It was so much fun! The plot, the humor, the message and adventure thoroughly grounded in the Lord—this ended way too fast and I'm already raring to get books 2 and 3!
While mainly being geared towards middle-grade readers, don't let that keep you from reading this book! I found it quite enjoyable, even as a reader outside its target market. Let's dive into the specs, shall we?
Plot
This is what I would classify as a Biblically inspired book, with the main plot relating closely to the story of David in the Bible. We see many elements that relate to him, such as Aidan being a shepherd boy, the youngest of many brothers, and him slaying large beast while attending to his sheep (that part was actually quite fun!). I found this aspect very interesting to read, especially through the eyes of a twelve-year-old. The plot kept up a nice pace, with plenty of surprises to keep things hopping. 😁
One thing that did stand out to me was the overall theme, or the message as spoken by the Truthspeaker: "Live the life that unfolds before you." I thought that was such a wonderful reminder, not only to the characters, but to us. It's hard sometimes to see the big picture in our everyday lives. But if live the life that unfolds before us, we will be right where God wants us. That's a message not too many middle-grade books these days have.
Characters
Aidan Errolson, our twelve-year-old adventurer, is quite the entertaining little fellow! He's got a steady supply of humor, which kept me laughing and grinning from beginning to end. His antics and imagination coupled with Rogers's writing style are sure to please any young reader as well as the older ones. I liked his relationship with his family, as most books lately are becoming more and more negative towards the home and family. That was certainly not the case in this book, for which I am glad!
Dobro, Aidan's feechie friend, was some very welcome comic relief! Well, some of the things they got into were far from comedic, but his attitude and manner sure was! Rogers fully captured the mind and emotions of 10–12-year-old boys in this book.
Errol, Aidan's father, was a strong character, and each of his four sons (not counting Aidan) had their own quirks and personalities, something I appreciated as sometimes the more characters you have, the harder it is to tell them apart. 😉
I loved Bayard the Truthspeaker and his goats. The goats' antics wherever they went were such a fun element to the story. And Bayard's whole role in the story added yet another King David-like feel to the book.
Romance
Absolutely nothing in this category. 😉
Content Labels
This was a very clean book, with no red flags (for me at least. We all have our preferences/standards). I would, however, like to point out two instances that might be a bit frightening to particularly young readers though. There's a mention of a "strange creature" that is not a creature at all—SPOILER (Which turns out to be Dobro in an alligator-skin cloak😉). (Highlight the blacked-out area to see the spoiler.) There is also the instance where Aidan slays the Goliath figure, but it is not graphic or descriptive in any way.
Final Note
I loved this book so much! My little brother read it first and talked about it all the time, so when I finally read it, there were many comments like "Where are you at?" or "Oooh, that was a good part," or even him quoting lines from the book way ahead of where I was at! I would definitely recommend this to boy and girl alike.
Have you heard of this book? Did I make you want to give it a try? (You're welcome. 😉) Let me know in the comments down below!
Catch on the flip side!
_Mac