''The Shapeshifter'' is a series of books by

Ali Sparkes Ali Sparkes (born 1966) is a British children's author. Books Her books include ''The Shapeshifter'' series of 6 books, ''Out of this World'' (a prequel to ''The Shapeshifter'' and first released as ''Miganium''), ''Unleashed,'' a series of ...

. The series follows the life of a boy named Dax Jones and is primarily set in England, firstly in the

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

area and later in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. During the first book,

Finding the Fox ''Finding the Fox'' is a fantasy novel, fantasy/science fiction novel by Ali Sparkes. It is the first book in The Shapeshifter series, and was first published in 2006 by Oxford University Press. Themes and topics The book explores such theme ...

, Dax discovers his ability to shapeshift into a fox, and is whisked away from his hated stepfamily by the government. Dax is one of a number of Colas (Children of Limitless Ability), young people who possess amazing supernatural powers. Some of his classmates are able to heal, move objects with their mind, communicate with the dead, or see into the future. These children attend a school called Tregarren College in Cornwall, which is later destroyed by a tidal wave, and the children move to Fenton Lodge, in the Lake District.

Series

The series includes

, Running the Risk, Going to Ground, Dowsing the Dead, Stirring the Storm, and Feather and Fang.

Awards

''Finding the Fox'' was nominated for the

Bolton Children's Book Award The Bolton Children's Book Award is an annual award given to works of children's literature published in paperback during the previous year. The award is sponsored by Bolton Literacy Trust, The University of Bolton and Page Nation. List of prize w ...

References

https://web.archive.org/web/20160313045056/http://alisparkes.com/shapeshifter.asp

External links

Oxford University Press description page for ''Finding the Fox''

Ali Sparkes at OUP

Ali Sparkes's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapeshifter, The Fiction about shapeshifting British fantasy novels British thriller novels Novels set in Cornwall Novels set in the Lake District Children's books set in Cumbria Children's books set in Cornwall British fantasy novel series Children's fantasy novels 2000s children's books Children's books set in schools