The Quest Begins

Tui T. Sutherland

Book 1 of Seekers

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Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: Jun 2, 2008

Description:

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 . . .

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