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Written by K. A. Applegate and her husband Michael Grant, theAnimorphsbooks first hit shelves two decades ago.
We used the premise to talk about big things with kids and we think they appreciated that.
The series also seems like a great way to teach kids about animals.
The more philosophical or educational elements were in service to the story, not the other way around.
And way down around goal No.
4 was Hey, lets consider the nature of consciousness.
For the Andalites, we originally went more standard-issue, thinking we would need something accessible.
How about blue-furred, four-legged, two-armed, stalk-eyed, mouthless, scorpion-tailed psychic?
Seen one of those before?
No, we didnt think so.
Ax was introduced after a few books.
What inspired you to add a main character who was an Andalite?Well, he was useful.
He gave us a wider perspective on intergalactic geopolitics.
Also, we got a lot of laughs out of Ax.
One of the things that sticks out about the series, is its depiction of war.
We wanted that same tight-knit feel, that same grunts-eye-view.
We wanted to reflect the effects reported by actual soldiers…
Some profit from the experience, others are destroyed by it.
Cassie finds purpose in helping some of the displaced aliens.
Marco works the talk show circuit and gets a TV deal.
Tobias is shattered by the loss of Rachel.
Ax returns to his people a hero.
We also saw how some of the Yeerks felt about it.
What inspired you to explore that point of view?Basically honesty.
Its important to understand your enemies.
Visser Three was a very ruthless leader.
He was cool, mysterious, evil, but with some charm and a lot of charisma.
And over time we learned something about his motives.
We tried to do that with Visser Three.
You want the reader to feel the seduction of evil theres no virtue without temptation.
Wars dont end with a party.
We didnt want to lie to kids about that.
Youve mentioned that youre not exactly happy with how the series ended.
Why was that?Mostly were just unhappy with some of the fan reaction to the ending.
We didnt want to upset people, but within the context of the series we were striving for authenticity.
The ending we wrote felt right.
What was the fan response to the series when it first debuted?
Has it changed in the years since?It was amazing, right from the start.
