Source: Amazon |
When Ryan visited me for three weeks this summer, he told me about this book series he was reading. He had been a part of the Summer Reading Program at his local library in Iowa and wanted to continue with the next book in the series, so the first day of his visit we went to the library. Not being familiar with WARRIORS, and knowing that teens like adventure and Science Fiction things, I asked him if Warriors was a Sci-Fi story. With a big smile, he said "no, grandma, it's about cats ~ wild cats who live in clans in the forest and have adventures!"
Grandson Ryan Reading "Warriors" (c) Elf |
As Ryan described the story line to me, I thought what an interesting plot series, especially for a boy who loves cats, adventure video games, and books.
The Warriors Series of Books
The Warriors series follows the adventures of four Clans of wild cats—ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan—in their forest and lake homes named after and by the 4 cats ~ Shadow, River, Wind and Thunder ~ who began the clans and set up the 'warrior code'.Meet the Warrior Cats
To learn about the warrior cats and their clans, go to their website - Warrior Cats - and meet the Warriors!
The Warrior Cats Series
To date, there are six sub-series, each containing six books. Book 1 of the original series, "Into The Wild", was published in 2004 and series six has the first two books already published as of September 2016.
- The first 6 books in Warriors: The Prophecies Begin, introduces us to the clans and the cats within them.
- The second series, Warriors: The New Prophecy, follow the WarriorCat clans as they move to a new home.
- The third series, Warriors: Power of Three, tells us that the fate of the warrior code rests in the paws of three young cats, grandchildren of ThunderClan — Hollypaw, Jawpaw, and Lionpaw — as they become apprentices. They each possess unusual power and talent, but all of their strength will be needed for the Clans to survive.
- The fourth series, Warriors: Omen of the Stars, continues where the third series left off. A fourth cat must now join the three apprentice cats in order to save the Clans.
- The fifth series, Warriors: Dawn of the Clans, is a prequel that explains the origins of the Warrior Clans.
- The sixth series, Warriors: A Vision of Shadows, has just begun, with the first two books in the series having been published in March and September of 2016, with volume #3 due out in April 2017.
If you begin with book 1 of series one, by the time you get to the sixth series, books 3-6 may be ready for you to read.
All the Warriors books and box sets of each series are available on Amazon.
Author: Who is Erin Hunter?
Erin Hunter is actually six people! She is experienced children’s book writers Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Tui Sutherland, Gillian Philip, Inbali Iserles and Victoria Holmes. Together, they all have a love of animals (especially cats), are fascinated with the natural world and respect nature in all it's forms. 'Erin' enjoys creating mythical explanations for animal behavior. See their bios here.
An In-Depth Warrior Book Review
Bev Owens, a fellow reader and contributing writer here on Review This! reviewed Into The Wild, which is book 1 in "The Prophecies Begin" series. Her review will give you a more thorough understanding of what this series of WarriorCat books are about. Suggested for 8-12 year-olds, but greatly enjoyed by 14-year-old Ryan and, as Bev says, us older adults, The Warriors series of books will be a fun and interesting read for almost any age group.
For more book reviews, check out:
More about the Warrior Cats!
For the complete history of The Warriors book series, plus ways to 'explore their world' and a section on games and extra activities, check out their website at WarriorCats.
Ryan and his cat, Missy, think you will enjoy this Warrior Cats book series.
Ryan with his own cat, Missy (c) Wednesday Elf |
Review by Wednesday Elf
I remember reading Bev's review of the first book in the series, so it's really interesting to read your continuing review, Elf. Most of all, I love that your teenage grandson wanted to continue reading the series while he was visiting with you this summer. A series that will capture a young man's attention to the point that he wants to read every single book really speaks volumes. We all know that it's usually harder to convince a boy to read than it is to convince a girl and it definitely sounds like this series does the trick. I'm sure girls would like the books, too, and as you mentioned, us older folks might just enjoy it as well. Thanks for sharing your review, Ryan's interests, and the great photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your super comment, Susan. Ryan has always been a reader, which delights me since I love books so much. I agree that young boys are not always interested in books, but Ryan always has been. A few years ago Christmas & birthday gifts were easy as he was collecting (and reading) ALL the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books. :-) Ryan spent 3 weeks with me this past summer and since he couldn't be taken to the beach EVERY day, the books filled in the non-beach, non-pool times. Course, he had to spend a few hours beating Grandma at Monopoly too. :) Ryan is an only child, which perhaps explains why he found books a good companion.
DeleteI remember reading Bev's review of the first book in the series, so it's really interesting to read your continuing review, Elf. Most of all, I love that your teenage grandson wanted to continue reading the series while he was visiting with you this summer. A series that will capture a young man's attention to the point that he wants to read every single book really speaks volumes. We all know that it's usually harder to convince a boy to read than it is to convince a girl and it definitely sounds like this series does the trick. I'm sure girls would like the books, too, and as you mentioned, us older folks might just enjoy it as well. Thanks for sharing your review, Ryan's interests, and the great photos.
ReplyDeleteThese books sound like a great gift idea - I don't have anyone in that age group to gift those too right now, but I'll save your post as a gift idea reminder for when that changes
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barbara. Books DO make great gifts.
DeleteI love it when books are exciting and engaging enough that younger readers want to read. Bravo! Thanks for sharing about the series and about your grandson's excitement. That made my day.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dawn Rae. I always think it's wonderful when kids get excited about books.
DeleteI don't read much fantasy, and I don't have any relatives that are the right age at this time, but I may check it out anyway next time I visit the library. Might give me a break from the murder mysteries and romances I usually read.
ReplyDeleteGive the Warriors a try next library visit, Barbara. You might be surprised.
DeleteThis really sounds like a great book series for young and old alike. It is interesting that the author is actually 6 different people. I don't believe I have ever heard of that kind of collaboration on a book series before.
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate an excellent book review and certainly the recommendation, but what struck me most here is that your grandson reads! Bravo to him because he clearly "chooses" to read instead of simply doing what is required of him in school.
I'm truly delighted that Ryan is a 'reader', Mouse. Most unusual in this day and age of video games and instant entertainment that a teenager, most especially a boy, likes to read for pleasure. Of course he also spends a LOT of time with his video games! :)
DeleteMy Grandson told me about these delightful Cat books about 5 years ago. I just love them and I am well into my 60's. I think they are great books for children as well as Adults!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Sherry. And it's terrific that our grandsons enjoyed these books so much.
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