Seekers #1: The Quest Begins

I enjoyed what I read of the Warriors series, and so when I saw that the HarperCollins website had a free full preview, I couldn't resist checking out this new series.

It was as familiar, stylistically, as the Warriors books, which isn't surprising but certainly was welcome. I know sometimes authors use a new series as an excuse to go in completely different stylistic directions, and I was glad to see that this wasn't the case.

The story itself is fairly simple. Three bears, Kallik, Lusa, and Toklo, all have no parents with them for one reason or another, and all are on a quest to follow the north star to some place that they've heard is good for them. None of them have met yet, though undoubtedly they will at some point. All have their show more own stories, their own personalities and clearly definied characters. Unsurprising, there.

What did surprise and impress me most of all was Toklo's story. Books by Erin Hunter have a habit of dealing with some very hard issues, like violence, death, and loss, and this is no exception, except that Toklo ended up dealing with a distant mother who was mentally unbalanced and depressive due to the loss of one of her cubs. Enjoy, kiddies. But that wasn't what interested me. No, what interested me most was the introduction of Ujurak, the shapeshifter with a nebulous past, a childlike personality, and no idea of why he can shapeshift into just about any animal he comes across. Erin Hunter has dealt with animal spirituality before, usually with acceptance that the spiritual world is a real one that can be interacted with, but Ujurak was new and interesting to me, bridging worlds and ideas, and I'm most interested to see more of his character and how his part in the story plays out.

Though Hunter's books are for children, they can certainly be enjoyed by an older crowd without much difficulty, which I think is a mark of a good author. (Or in this case, group of authors.) I definitely want to check out the rest of the Seekers series when I can, and hopefully they'll all be as interesting as this introduction. show less

As a part of a deal with my niece, I agreed to read the first book of the Seekers series and she agreed to read Number the Stars. I didn't like the cover of the book, and was not thrilled to read about three bear cubs of different species going on some sort of quest. The book turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The author researched bear behavior and integrates this into the story. The way the bears view humans and human inventions is also somewhat clever. The book addresses the effects that climate change and human actions have on bear populations. The character development is better than I'd expected. It is probably more like a 3.5 star book, but I am rounding up because it was a pleasant surprise. It was good enough that I put the show more second book of the series on hold at the library. show less

Imagine having a chance to know what it's like to be a bear - out in the wild on the ice caps, or foraging in the woods for berries, or stuck in a zoo cared for by 'flat faces.' This series centers on an epic journey taken by three bears - each starting from a different point and all, eventually meeting up. In this first volume, we hear mainly about the bears' home starting point and the motivations that cause them to set out of their individual quests. Great read!

the first of a series by the four? Wirters known as erin hunter. I didnt like the worrier series but i thought id give this one a read and tbh i quite liked it.

In this book erin introduces us to three bears one polar, one black and a grizzly all of which have their own story to tell.

The quest begins tells of how the different types of bears live and of the hardships they come by but at the same time as teaching us about the characters they have also created a good story that doesnt get boring.

The only issue i had was that some of the writing seemed patronising to the reader but keep in mind it is a book for 9 and thus is written for that age group.

I intend on buying the second one next week the covers are lovely =)

I found the varied cultures of the bears quite interesting. Typically when you read a book about animals having a culture of their own all of the animals of the same species believe the same thing. What was fascinating here was watching the three bears (Polar, Black and Brown) have similar and yet different ways of looking at the stars, seeing death and even being grateful for their food. I can’t help but wonder what will happen as they start to encounter each other on their journey. Though the shape shifting cub seemed odd or out of place to me, I very much enjoyed the book, which reminded me quite a bit of books I’ve read by David Clement-Davies, only without the prophecies involved.

Seekers is a wonderful series for young readers. The story follows several young protagonists (bears) on an epic quest to save their way of life. The tale shows the earth from their point of view and points out all the harm people are causing to the environment without even realizing it. Because of this constant environmentalist theme throughout the story we see quite a few tragic turns in the tale but that just makes it all the more compelling to read on. I am confident that anyone who reads these books will come out of it with quite a different view on how important the environment is to other creatures and how we should respect it even more.

A polar bear, grizzly bear and a black bear journey into the wild in their quest for survival and adventure. Kallik is a young polar bear who travels with her family across the arctic ice before it melts. However, tragedy unfolds that leaves Kallik on her own as she struggles to survive. Violence is prevalent in the story as well as bloodshed and heartache. Toklo, the grizzly bear cub strives to win his mother’s attention from his brother cub Tobi, but when Tobi falls ill, together they must persevere. Written in alternating bear voices, the story provides an honest view of the hardships bears face in the wild. Lastly we meet, Lusa who is living in the ‘Bear Bowl’ of a zoo but longs for life in the forest. When opportunity arises show more for her to fulfill her dream, reality is not as sweet as she imagined. Small black and white drawings sit above each chapter heading and provide a good lead in to whose adventures we will encounter next. The Quest Begins is the first book of the Seekers series. Due to the graphic content, I would recommend this book for middle school readers, but not much younger. show less