A quick note to the OP: it might be a good idea to change the link in the original post to a hard-link to the article you are referring to, like
http://www.hiracdelest.com/blog/?p=543. Hirac Delest isn't updated terribly often, but over time it might get difficult to find the post announcing the re-release if it gets buried among other posts.
Is it gonna have new, back, extra stories or anything, or is it just everything we had 10 years ago re-done?
Honestly, I hope that it doesn't. Even if it is done through all the proper legal channels, I feel like it is a misuse of the series to add to it and change it without the original author's approval and a fair amount of involvement on her part. If the publisher controls the rights to the series enough to do it without the author's approval then it is unfair to the author who created the series in the first place (even if it is done legally) and if it is done with the creator's approval but no involvement then it often becomes a form of selling out on the author's part for more royalties without actually caring about the series itself; which ends up unfair to the fans who love the author's creation but don't want to see it turn into something mass produced without the heart of the original series. If you just want more Animorphs for the fun of it and not to appreciate the artistic work of the series as a whole, that's what fan fiction is for.
Sorry Myitt, I don't buy the 'wars don't end cut-and-dried' argument, because that doesn't apply to this case; they might not end cut and dried, but they do end. That is, while we shouldn't expect every loose end of 'what ever happened to that guy who left to do that thing and we never heard from him again' or 'why did that thing turn up to save the day when it was unlikely that such a thing could happen' to be perfectly explained in the end; it doesn't say that a question like "What side won the war and answered the question of the fate of the galaxy" would be unanswered after the final battle. Terenia is correct that the cliffhanger is intentional, not within the context of the story as a "We'll never know" but as a story-telling device to leave it up to the reader. But as much as I am dissatisfied as you JohnBlaze, because it feels less like a clever way to end it and more like a "I can't come up with a satisfying ending" cop-out, I think it is still unfair to dictate to the author how they are to create their work.
In any case, until more info is available, I think it's safe to assume that the re-release is just that: shiny new covers, shameless plugs for other upcoming Animorphs media (movie anyone?), maybe a new introduction from the author; but same stories themselves are the same.
As far as the resounding echo of "I'm going to make sure I've bought the entire original series, then buy every new one. You know, to support them" goes, I think that is kinda silly. Be honest with yourselves, does it make any sense? What exactly are you supporting? The only universal reason that every company exists is to make money, and the only universal reason that a person becomes an employee for such a company is to make money. Are you just in support of other people making money at your expense? Methinks no.
Now a reason to support Scholastic specifically (and the main reason that I support Scholastic) is that it, more than many other publishers, goes out of its way to make books available to young readers at
very inexpensive prices, and in this manner encourages reading and developing imaginations in as positive a manner as possible, but it is still a company, it still needs to have the goal of making money and if sales reports consistently show that it is easier to sell less copies for higher profit margins with more expensive and fancy copies in book stores then more copies with lower profit margins in school book sales then the potential becomes too much for them to ignore; that would be an unfortunate way to allow them to stagnate from what is so great about them.
A reason to support an Animorphs re-release is because it, as opposed to less successful previous series, must have something about it that makes its particular story more imaginative and engaging, it may even have taken a part in developing your love for reading and you want to share it with a younger generation, but again does your buying a copy really support that? Again, if sales figures show that it is highly profitable to market inexpensively market re-releases to a loyal fan-base (who will, take care of most of the marketing themselves among the various fan websites) rather than the more expensive work of marketing to new audiences who aren't explicitly looking for the series. Again, showing symbolic and sentimental support will only hurt the best things about it (I think that this is really behind what goes far too wrong in the movie and music industries these days).
I'm not trying to be insulting to those who love Animorphs, because I certainly do myself, and I'm not trying to say that spending money on something in a sentimental way is a bad thing because hey, we're only human. I certainly enjoy having complete, matching collections of books. I have had complete sereies' that were from various different editions, some hardbound and some paperback then gone through and bought a complete set of matching copies because I like my library to be cleaner and better put together, but then I donated the odds and ends to the library. So I'd like to encourage you to step away from the "I'm going to buy the whole
Original series and
then buy the whole new series to support it!" because then what you are isn't the best fan, but someone who wants to
seem like the best fan. If you want to truly be the best fan, take some of the suggestions others have mentioned in this thread, who have already figured out great ways that a loyal fan can support the series. There are several ways already suggested that a good fan can support the re-release in a positive way:
Pink Ranger Patty's plan of keeping her series and buying an entire new collection for her son is an excellent one (I assume that Jack is her son, sorry if I'm incorrect there, but you get the idea).
If your original collection is incomplete and you want to buy the entire new series for the purpose of having a compete collection, as some have mentioned, then do so but find a good public library to donate them to.
If you have the complete original series, keep and treasure them, they are the ones you grew up with and loved. Buy the new ones, but don't feel like you're buy the whole series to be a good fan, buy the first two or three at the bookstore and donate them. Kids can get into the series this way, then buy the rest through much more inexpensive channels that Scholastic makes for them through public schools. Instead of telling Scholastic that they can't afford to ignore selling you a single complete set of stories at a high profit-margin, show them that they are going to make the most profit by doing the most good: instead of one new complete collection for you you've bought only a couple of books but shared them with potential dozens who might all buy them through inexpensive channels that support making them available to children.
A neat spin-off of the donating them to the library: call around the local elementary schools and find a teacher with a class library (these are most common in 3rd-5th grade, while the kids spend most of their time in a single class) or a school librarian (for the higher middle school grade levels, when the kids often have a 'homeroom' but go from classroom to classroom like in high schools). I don't know if it is like this in every school district, but in the ones within my experience it isn't hard to find a teacher just as enthusiastic as you are about reading, especially when you're offering to donate them. I've done this a couple of times with other books I love and if opportunity allows me to many teachers are happy to allow me to come for fifteen minutes or so and introduce the books myself. I tend to target 3rd and 4th grade simply for the sentimental reason that that happens to be about the age I was when a great teacher introduced me to The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit, which became my gateways to these and soon many other fantastic adventures (including the Animorphs), but in this case I might aim a little older (5th-6th grade) because though the series isn't so bad to begin with it quickly does get a little violent for younger audiences and if a kid like I was gets a hold of Animorphs then he won't wait around for the new series to come out while growing up over a few years, he'll hunt down the old series and devour them like mad whether he's ready for them or not.
A last suggestion for a die-hard fan who won't be satisfied getting ahold of the books then giving them away to kids without being able to see the fruit of this in person: Here in Oregon we have a program called Start Making A Reader Today (SMART) the, among other things, allows you to come in and read with children. I understand that there are many similar grassroots organizations throughout the US, and they are a wonderful way to take an opportunity to connect with a youngster and and really get them into reading; this is a wonderful way for an Ani-fan to celebrate the re-releases.
Anyways, sorry if my rant ended up more verbose than you liked, but I tend to do that when I'm passionate about something. A couple of years from now the news is never going to say "Dozens of fans of an obscure '90s children's book series has shown their support by buying a 2nd complete set!" But I can imagine and would love to read news articles about about those 'Dozens of fans' making a difference in the lives of hundreds of young readers by showing up to classrooms in droves to show their support for Animorphs by taking the time to pass them on to the next generation.
