 Jake morphing into a Carolina anole. | |
| Author | K. A. Applegate |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Peter Bollinger |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Animorphs #1 |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
Publication date | June 1996 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 184 |
| ISBN | 0-545-29151-8 |
| OCLC | 34726816 |
| Followed by | The Visitor |
The Invasion, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the first book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Jake.
Young teenagers Jake and Marco leave the mall one evening. On the way out, they meet Rachel and Cassie, who are together, and Tobias—all children from their school—and decide to walk home together. While taking a shortcut through an abandoned construction site, an alien spacecraft lands nearby. The badly injured alien pilot, an Andalite named Prince Elfangor, emerges from the ship and explains to the children that the Earth is being invaded in secret by a race of aliens called the Yeerks, a slug-like parasitic species who infest humans through their ear canals and take complete control of the human's body, turning them into what is called a Controller. The human controllers are still self-aware but the Yeerk in their head has complete control over their body and what they say. Elfangor tells them that the Andalite fleet has been defeated and more Andalites will not come to Earth for a year or more, and by then, Earth will already be completely taken over. To combat the Yeerks, he gives the humans morphing ability: the power to become any creature they touch by absorbing the creature's DNA. Elfangor warns them to never stay beyond two hours in a morph, or they will be trapped in that form forever. The Yeerks, led by Visser Three, arrive to kill Elfangor and eliminate all traces of him and his ship. The humans hide and watch, but are discovered and chased by the Yeerks. The group escapes shaken, but more or less unhurt.
The next morning, Tobias visits Jake and informs him that the previous night was not just a dream; he had already morphed into his pet cat. Jake is skeptical, but then acquires and morphs his dog Homer. The five kids meet at Cassie's farm, where a police officer arrives and informs them that a group of teenagers were sighted setting off fireworks in the abandoned construction site the previous night. He asks if they know anything about it, and the five of them realize that the police officer is a Controller. Later that day, Jake's older brother Tom expresses a similar interest in the teenagers at the construction site and presses Jake for information. Marco realizes—much to Jake's anger—that Tom is also a Controller. Tom invites Jake and Marco to a meeting of a local community club called The Sharing, which the teens quickly determine is a front for the Yeerks to acquire new hosts. They also discover that their assistant principal Mr. Chapman is the leader of The Sharing and a human-Controller.
The next day, Jake morphs into a green anole lizard to spy on Chapman, and discovers that there is an entrance to the Yeerk Pool—a large, underground control center where the Yeerks can feed and recuperate—in their school. The teenagers, newly christened as Animorphs ("animal morphers") by Marco, head to The Gardens, a large zoo and amusement park, to acquire some new, battle-capable morphs. That evening, they decide to infiltrate the Yeerk Pool in order to rescue Tom, but find that Cassie has been kidnapped by the policeman-Controller. With no time to plan a strategy, the four remaining Animorphs head into the Yeerk Pool. They manage to rescue Cassie, but find themselves outnumbered and outgunned by Visser Three and his Yeerks. Jake, Rachel, Marco, and Cassie barely escape along with a woman who is free. During the escape, the policeman-Controller is killed. Tobias is able to escape later, but has stayed in morph too long and gets stuck in morph as a red-tailed hawk. The Animorphs fail to rescue Tom, and Jake promises to keep fighting the Yeerks until the Andalites arrive.
| Morpher | Morphs acquired | Morphs used |
|---|---|---|
| Jake | Golden Retriever, green anole, Siberian tiger | Golden Retriever, green anole, Siberian tiger |
| Rachel | African elephant | African elephant |
| Tobias | Cat, red-tailed hawk | Cat, red-tailed hawk |
| Cassie | Horse | Horse |
| Marco | Silverback gorilla | Silverback gorilla |
| Visser Three | Antarean Bogg, unnamed "Fire Creature" |
The Invasion was adapted as part of the Animorphs TV series, which aired on Nickelodeon and YTV. The first book in the series was covered by the first three episodes, "My Name is Jake" (Parts 1 & 2)", and "Underground".
On May 1, 2011, Scholastic re-released The Invasion with a new lenticular cover that changes as the person holding it turns the book back and forth. [1]
In October 2020, a graphic novel adaptation by Chris Grine was published by Graphix. [2] [3] Grine is currently contracted to adapt book 2, The Visitor , and book 3, The Encounter . [4]
The Andalite Chronicles is a science-fiction novel and is the first companion book to the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. Within the timeline of the series, this book takes place before the first book in the series, The Invasion. The book was published in November 1997 and was followed the next year by the second companion book in the Chronicles series, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles. Before its wide release, however, the story was offered in the form of 3 separate volumes to school book clubs, which some considered a "typically savvy" marketing move.
The Visitor, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the second book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Rachel.
The Answer is the 53rd and penultimate book in the Animorphs series. It is the final book (fully) narrated by Jake and is the final book to fully be narrated by only one character.
The Message, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the fourth book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Cassie.
The Predator, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the fifth book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Marco.
The Stranger is the seventh book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel.
The Alien is the eighth book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is the first book narrated by Ax.
<Megamorphs #1> The Andalite's Gift is the first book in the <Megamorphs> series, a set of companion books to the Animorphs series. With respect to continuity, it takes place between Book #7: The Stranger and Book #8: The Alien. The Andalite's Gift was originally published as two parts and later put together as one book as #2 of Megamorphs came out.
Megamorphs #4: Back to Before is the fourth and final book in the Megamorphs series, a spinoff of the Animorphs series. With respect to the continuity in the Animorphs books, it takes place between The Other (#40) and The Familiar (#41).
The Change is the 13th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Tobias.
The Unknown is the fourteenth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Cassie.
The Underground is the 17th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel.
The Decision is the 18th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Ax.
The Sickness is the 29th book in the Animorphs series, authored by K. A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Melinda Metz. It is narrated by a character named Cassie.
The Sacrifice is the 52nd book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Kim Morris. It is the final book to be (fully) narrated by Ax.
The Familiar is the 41st book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux. It is narrated by Jake.
The Diversion, published in 2001 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the 49th book in the Animorphs series. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Lisa Harkrader. It is the final book (fully) narrated by Tobias.
The Weakness is the 37th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Elise Smith. It is narrated by Rachel.
Animorphs is a science fantasy series of children's books written by Katherine Applegate and her husband Michael Grant, writing together under the name K. A. Applegate, and published by Scholastic. It is told in first person, with all six main characters taking turns narrating the books through their own perspectives. Horror, war, dehumanization, sanity, morality, innocence, leadership, freedom, family, and growing up are the core themes of the series.
The Pretender is the 23rd book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate, first published in November 1998. The book is narrated by Tobias.
