Common Sense Media Review
Slow start to series about talking bears on quest.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 4 parent reviews
Based on 33 kid reviews
Kids say this book is a mixed bag of opinions, with many praising its creative storytelling and engaging themes about nature, while others criticize its slow pacing compared to the author's better-known works. Most reviewers agree that it contains some violence, which might not be suitable for younger readers, but the overall message and character development resonate well with those who appreciate the narrative depth.
- mixed reviews
- creative storytelling
- slow pacing
- violence concerns
- nature themes
- character development
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
A polar bear cub in an era of disappearing ice loses her mother to orca whales. A grizzly cub's mother abandons him after his sickly brother dies. And a black bear cub, who lives in a zoo, escapes to find the grizzly after meeting his captured mother. All three must learn to survive in the wild on their own, and all three are drawn by the North Star toward a mysterious fate. Includes maps of the bears' journeys.
Is It Any Good?
Erin Hunter, the pseudonym for a group of writers who created the various Warriors fantasy series about feral cats, takes her time getting this new series about bears started. By the end not all of the characters have even met, the quest referred to in the title is undefined, the fantasy element only starts to come out, and a real plot has not yet emerged, though it is hinted at. What you get instead is a vivid and realistic portrayal of the lives of different types of bears in a time of global warming, shrinking habitat, and human intrusion, from the points of view of bear cubs who think and communicate with each other like humans, even as they act like bears.
The chapters rotate among the three main characters as their stories gradually begin to converge. Though there's much wandering and only hints of the story to come, readers will be gripped by the fascinating and often cruel lives of the bears, and by the vivid settings. A cliffhanger ending, along with the mysterious hints about what is to come will leave young readers hungry for more. Warriors fans looking for more of the same will be disappointed, but animal lovers will find this story's mix of anthropomorphism and realism appealing, and Hunter may find an entirely new audience.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the bears' lives in the zoo and in the wild. Are the zoo bears better off? Can bears thrive in what's left of the wilderness? What about other animals?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Animals
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Children's Books
- Publication date : May 27, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 10
- Number of pages : 293
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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