Parents' Guide to

The Quest Begins: Seekers, Book 1

By Matt Berman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Slow start to series about talking bears on quest.

Book Erin Hunter Animals 2008
The Quest Begins: Seekers, Book 1 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 6 parent reviews

burgundydog
burgundydog Parent of 9-year-old
May 12, 2019
age 9+

Traveling Bears on an Adventure

This series is not as action packed as the other series (Warriors & Survivors). But, there is some unexpected twists and scares in a few books. However, most of the time it is a pretty calm series. My daughter liked to read it because it had twists and turns in it and it involved animals. Perfect for the animal lover!

This title has:

Educational value
Tinkerbell345
Tinkerbell345 Adult
May 25, 2015
age 10+

Great

I thought this was a good book for anyone looking for a series for the summer,or a school year.I would recommend this for 5th graders and up.

This title has:

Great role models
See all 6 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (33 ):

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

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