The Quest Begins (Seekers, Book 1) [Hardcover]

Erin Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Three bears . . . one destiny

From the author of the nationally bestselling Warriors books comes a brand-new animal fantasy series. Three young bears from different species—black, polar, and grizzly—are separated from their families when they are just young cubs. They find themselves brought together on a perilous journey. Fate is about to change all these bears lives forever, setting their paws on a path toward a future they cannot yet imagine . . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–9—In this new series, readers meet three bear cubs: Kallik, a polar bear; Lusa, a black bear; and Toklo, a brown bear. The story follows their adventures, narrated in alternating chapters. Kallik loses her mother in a killer-whale attack and is separated from her brother. She has never lived on her own before, and never been anywhere but on the ice. Lusa hears stories about life in the wild that eventually cause her to leave the safety of the zoo. Toklo is abandoned by his mother, who flees into the woods in grief when his brother dies. All three cubs are now learning to survive in the woods with minimal knowledge and ability and with no adult allies. From the first page, this story is exciting and refreshing. The bears' declining habitat is evident, and often throughout their journey the animals have to dodge cars and humans with guns. The plot is fast paced, and the author is apt at creating and sustaining the adrenaline-charged mood of these youngsters on their own.—Jennifer-Lynn Draper, Children's Literature Consultant, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
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From Booklist

The author of the Warriors series turns her attention from cats to bears in this first book in the Seekers series. Despite the change in species, much will be familiar to readers. Alternating narratives tell the tales of three young bear cubs, who will be brought together in future installments: Kallik, a female polar bear cub who witnesses her mother’s death by orca pod; Lusa, a black bear cub in a zoo; and Toklo, a grizzly bear cub abandoned by a mother. As befits the first title in a series, the bears’ tales are given ample time to develop and include details that may be painful to animal lovers and could disturb more sensitive readers. Each tale touches on environmental issues, and Toklo’s story provides the first glimpse of a fantasy element. Told with an interesting balance of cute anthropomorphic characterization and realistic attention to bear behaviors and the brutalities of life in the wild, these stories will be welcomed by the Warriors series’ many fans. Grades 5-8. --Holly Koelling

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1ST edition (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060871229
• ISBN-13: 978-0060871222
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Erin Hunter is the author of the bestselling Warriors and Seekers series. She is inspired by a love of animals and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seekers, the new series by Erin, June 9, 2008

By 

Melissa L. Brooks (Finley, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quest Begins (Seekers, Book 1) (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed reading this book. I've been reading Warriors since I was barely eight years old, and long since have the Erins been my favorite authors. I had mixed feelings when I heard about Seekers, though. Bears? Seekers? What is it about? Will it affect Warriors? And a *fourth* Erin?
But I wasn't disappointed with this! The characters are richly drawn out, first with Kallik, a gentle, playful polarbear cub surviving the harsh arctic with her mother and brother. Then Lusa, a young and loving black bear cub living where she was born, in a zoo's Bear Bowl (she longs for the wild). Finally there's Toklo, a grizzly bear cub (who reminds me alot of Jaypaw from Warriors)who just wishes his mother, Oka, would pay more attention to him and less to his sickly brother Tobi.
I liked how the chapters would switch from Kallik, Lusa, and Toklo, leaving you always wondering what's going to happen next to each of them. And Tui Sutherland does a good job of making it sound 'Erin.'
This was a good beginning for the start of an epic quest, not to disappoint it's fans in the future!
The plot was good with not alot of filler (hardly any), and like I said before all the characters are wonderful. My only regret is how sad the book was. Kallik loses her mother and brother, then gets taken in by another she-bear, Nanuk, only to lose her, too. Lusa almost loses her mother Ashia. And, just as sad as Kallik's loss, Toklo's sickly brother dies and his mother abandons him, soon to regret it and to be only reunited in death.
So it was sad, but with its better parts. If you love Warriors like me then you will love Seekers, too. Even if you aren't one of Erin's fans (yet), you should try it!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A promising start..., June 15, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Quest Begins (Seekers, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Erin Hunter has done it again.

I am a huge fan of her Warriors series, pre-ordering most of them, etc. She (or they!) is an exceptional writer. I had high hopes for her new series, Seekers, though I wasn't sure what to expect when I started to read the first book.

Many people who have read this book note the losses and the pain of the main characters. I agree, the losses are intense and can be a bit harsh, but they are balanced out by the excitement that they bring. I turned the pages eagerly as I read, drinking in the emotions and fear.

This book was not up-to-par with Warriors. I could not relate to many of the bears, the storyline was not as fantastic, and the author(s) is apparently so used to writing about cats that she makes a few mistakes, such as when one of the bears gets angry, it "bristles" as cats do (this made me laugh); as far as I know, bears don't really bristle. But she had obviously researched bears decently, and the book, for the most part, was very well-written.

If you are a fan of the Warriors series, I recommend this book and applaud Erin Hunter on her new idea. "The Quest Begins" marks a very promising start, and let's hope that she can keep it up!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Savage Nature, September 19, 2008

By 

Windstorm (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Quest Begins (Seekers, Book 1) (Hardcover)

The Quest Be (Seekers, Book 1)

The first book in the Seekers series is rich and beautiful. It can seem a little preachy when it comes to the environmental impact of humans, but regardless of being a little heavy handed in that regard, I still think this is a wondeful and worthy book.

Three different bears face hardship and struggles of their own, and the book shows in great detail the world from the bear's perspectives, which is often interesting considering that we're so used to seeing it from our own view as humans.

This book does contain some harsh elements, but this is necessary to show the reality of how nature really is. Nature is both beautiful and harsh, and so is this book.

I get the sense that these bears share a destiny not unlike the destiny shared by Jaypaw, Lionpaw, and Hollypaw in the Power of Three series.