The Quest Begins (Seekers #1)

This book was one of the best Seekers books because it starts the series.Every bear has a tragedy that happens to them but it's still heart warming at the end! I already read the series and I suggest you start!But go in
order? Enjoy!

This book was as familiar, stylistically, as the Warriors books, which isn't surprising but certainly was welcome. I know sometimes authors use a new series as an excuse to go in completely different stylistic directions, and I was glad to see that this wasn't the case.

The story itself is fairly simple. Three bears, Kallik, Lusa, and Toklo, all have no parents with them for one reason or another, and all are on a quest to follow the north star to some place that they've heard is good for them. None of them have met yet, though undoubtedly they will at some point. All have their own stories, their own personalities and clearly definied characters. Unsurprising, there.

What did surprise and impress me most of all was Toklo's story. Books by Erin Hunter have a habit of dealing with some very hard issues, like violence, death, and loss, and this is no exception, except that Toklo ended up dealing with a distant mother who was mentally unbalanced and depressive due to the loss of one of her cubs. Enjoy, kiddies. But that wasn't what interested me. No, what interested me most was the introduction of Ujurak, the shapeshifter with a nebulous past, a childlike personality, and no idea of why he can shapeshift into just about any animal he comes across. Erin Hunter has dealt with animal spirituality before, usually with acceptance that the spiritual world is a real one that can be interacted with, but Ujurak was new and interesting to me, bridging worlds and ideas, and I'm most interested to see more of his character and how his part in the story plays out.

Though Hunter's books are for children, they can certainly be enjoyed by an older crowd without much difficulty, which I think is a mark of a good author. (Or in this case, group of authors.) I definitely want to check out the rest of the Seekers series when I can, and hopefully they'll all be as interesting as this introduction.

Kallik is a young polar bear living in the frigid north with her mother and brother. She knows she has a lot to learn before she will be able to survive on her own. Her mom teaches them to hunt seal on the ice and avoid the few predators polar bears have, and keeps them warm during the bitter wind storms. Kallik's mom also sadly informs them of how the ice masses are shrinking more and more each year, and how she's concerned about hunting if the ice runs out altogether. However, Kallik isn't too worried as long as she has her mother to keep her safe and fed. But then comes the accident, and Kallik no longer has her mom to depend on. Suddenly on her own, Kallik struggles to survive.

Lusa is a young black bear living in a zoo. She has lived her entire life there and has been very happy playing with the other bears, listening to their stories and dancing for the zookeepers in hopes of getting an extra piece of fruit. She hasn't had too many worries, as the fences keep her safe from predators and the zookeepers feed her every day. But one day she learns how to climb up to the top of the tree in her enclosure. She catches a peek of an entire world beyond the zoo fences and longs to explore the wild. And then she makes a promise to a dying friend, a risky promise that requires her to escape the fences. Lusa cleverly manages to do just that. Suddenly on her own, Lusa struggles to survive.

Toklo is a young grizzly bear living near the mountains with his mother and sickly brother. He longs to wrestle with his brother, but Tobi is too weak to play. Toklo desperately wants to learn how to hunt and search for food, but his mom is always too busy fussing over Tobi to pay much attention to him. And then Tobi dies. Toklo's mom is overcome with grief at losing another cub. She is so completely ravaged by guilt and misery that she chases Toklo away from her. Suddenly on his own, Toklo struggles to survive.

Three young bear cubs step out into the dangerous wilderness, unprepared and afraid. Each has a quest, and each struggles to endure. Their paths will cross. Will they survive?

Erin Hunter is well known for her Warriors titles, and now fans have a new adventure series to dive into with enthusiasm. They will not be disappointed. Filled with an unending excitement that turns pages in a whirlwind, and inspiring characters who are quick to earn the reader's affections, this wonderful book is set against a vivid wilderness background, rich with color and filled with life. Hunter's love and respect of nature shines through each glowing word. SEEKERS is an incredible novel for people of all ages, and I can't wait for the next installment --- GREAT BEAR LAKE --- to be released.

I began reading the Seekers series to my children before their reading level was high enough to read it on their own. My daughter, now almost 9 could definitely read it independently at this point but I'm too invested in the series! I continue to read aloud each night looking forward to MY dose of this great story! We are on book 3 of the 2nd series "Return to the Wild" so my review may be more holistic than book specific but please know that we LOVE every book in this series.
Not only is the story engaging and adventure filled, but the author weaves thoughtful environmental messages into the plot in a way that makes sense to young and old readers alike. In the Seekers series, the author covers deforestation, oil drilling, piping and pollution, melting ice caps, the continued encroachment of suburbia on once wild areas and the resulting reduction of habitat affecting all animals, just to name a few. She also does a terrific job of personalizing the animals in a way that the reader can really understand the hardships that they must endure as a result of sharing this world with "flat faces" (humans). I haven't found a book that subtly but so thoroughly covers meaningful environmental concerns, indigenous people and traditions, and general animal welfare in an adventure packed, highly entertaining story. We enthusiastically recommend this book as well as the entire series. You won't be able to stop once you start!

"Seekers - The Quest Begins" is the story of three very different bear cubs. All of the bears are searching for something. Kallik, a female polar bear, is searching for the brother she was separated from when their mother was killed. Lusa, a female black bear, is searching for a friend's cub (Toklo) to deliver an important message. Toklo, a tough brown bear, has been ditched by his mother and is searching for a way to survive and get over it. There is plenty of action. Kallik survives being hunted by killer whales, captured by people and even a helicopter crash. Lusa escapes from a zoo to start her journey. She longs to live in the "wild", but she really doesn't understand it. All she knows are the stories she's heard from the other bears in the zoo, which may not even be true. She must learn to hunt for food and stay away from other bears' territories. Toklo learns to catch salmon, and to avoid cars, bigger bears and people. He also learns to make friends. All of the bears' stories begin in Canada. Although the book doesn't say it, there is map in the book that helps us. It is fun to try and figure out where the cubs are on their journeys, especially if you've ever traveled to Canada before (I have). Most of the story takes place in the forest or "wild", but some events happen in places where people (or flat-faces as the bears call us) live. In the end, only part of the conflict is resolved. Lusa finds Toklo and delivers the message from his mother. However, Kallik's story is left unfinished. The book is the first in a series. I enjoyed seeing the world from the bears' side. It was funny to read their descriptions and try and figure out what they were talking about in human words. For example, they call cars "firebeasts". The book did have a lot of sad parts though: animals dying, animals starving and being hunted. If reading about animals being hurt upsets you, you won't want to read this book. Submitted by Julia B.

This book was as familiar, stylistically, as the Warriors books, which isn't surprising but certainly was welcome. I know sometimes authors use a new series as an excuse to go in completely different stylistic directions, and I was glad to see that this wasn't the case.

The story itself is fairly simple. Three bears, Kallik, Lusa, and Toklo, all have no parents with them for one reason or another, and all are on a quest to follow the north star to some place that they've heard is good for them. None of them have met yet, though undoubtedly they will at some point. All have their own stories, their own personalities and clearly definied characters. Unsurprising, there.

What did surprise and impress me most of all was Toklo's story. Books by Erin Hunter have a habit of dealing with some very hard issues, like violence, death, and loss, and this is no exception, except that Toklo ended up dealing with a distant mother who was mentally unbalanced and depressive due to the loss of one of her cubs. Enjoy, kiddies. But that wasn't what interested me. No, what interested me most was the introduction of Ujurak, the shapeshifter with a nebulous past, a childlike personality, and no idea of why he can shapeshift into just about any animal he comes across. Erin Hunter has dealt with animal spirituality before, usually with acceptance that the spiritual world is a real one that can be interacted with, but Ujurak was new and interesting to me, bridging worlds and ideas, and I'm most interested to see more of his character and how his part in the story plays out.

Though Hunter's books are for children, they can certainly be enjoyed by an older crowd without much difficulty, which I think is a mark of a good author. (Or in this case, group of authors.) I definitely want to check out the rest of the Seekers series when I can, and hopefully they'll all be as interesting as this introduction.

Kallik is a young polar bear living in the frigid north with her mother and brother. She knows she has a lot to learn before she will be able to survive on her own. Her mom teaches them to hunt seal on the ice and avoid the few predators polar bears have, and keeps them warm during the bitter wind storms. Kallik's mom also sadly informs them of how the ice masses are shrinking more and more each year, and how she's concerned about hunting if the ice runs out altogether. However, Kallik isn't too worried as long as she has her mother to keep her safe and fed. But then comes the accident, and Kallik no longer has her mom to depend on. Suddenly on her own, Kallik struggles to survive.

Lusa is a young black bear living in a zoo. She has lived her entire life there and has been very happy playing with the other bears, listening to their stories and dancing for the zookeepers in hopes of getting an extra piece of fruit. She hasn't had too many worries, as the fences keep her safe from predators and the zookeepers feed her every day. But one day she learns how to climb up to the top of the tree in her enclosure. She catches a peek of an entire world beyond the zoo fences and longs to explore the wild. And then she makes a promise to a dying friend, a risky promise that requires her to escape the fences. Lusa cleverly manages to do just that. Suddenly on her own, Lusa struggles to survive.

Toklo is a young grizzly bear living near the mountains with his mother and sickly brother. He longs to wrestle with his brother, but Tobi is too weak to play. Toklo desperately wants to learn how to hunt and search for food, but his mom is always too busy fussing over Tobi to pay much attention to him. And then Tobi dies. Toklo's mom is overcome with grief at losing another cub. She is so completely ravaged by guilt and misery that she chases Toklo away from her. Suddenly on his own, Toklo struggles to survive.

Three young bear cubs step out into the dangerous wilderness, unprepared and afraid. Each has a quest, and each struggles to endure. Their paths will cross. Will they survive?

Erin Hunter is well known for her Warriors titles, and now fans have a new adventure series to dive into with enthusiasm. They will not be disappointed. Filled with an unending excitement that turns pages in a whirlwind, and inspiring characters who are quick to earn the reader's affections, this wonderful book is set against a vivid wilderness background, rich with color and filled with life. Hunter's love and respect of nature shines through each glowing word. SEEKERS is an incredible novel for people of all ages, and I can't wait for the next installment --- GREAT BEAR LAKE --- to be released.

I began reading the Seekers series to my children before their reading level was high enough to read it on their own. My daughter, now almost 9 could definitely read it independently at this point but I'm too invested in the series! I continue to read aloud each night looking forward to MY dose of this great story! We are on book 3 of the 2nd series "Return to the Wild" so my review may be more holistic than book specific but please know that we LOVE every book in this series.
Not only is the story engaging and adventure filled, but the author weaves thoughtful environmental messages into the plot in a way that makes sense to young and old readers alike. In the Seekers series, the author covers deforestation, oil drilling, piping and pollution, melting ice caps, the continued encroachment of suburbia on once wild areas and the resulting reduction of habitat affecting all animals, just to name a few. She also does a terrific job of personalizing the animals in a way that the reader can really understand the hardships that they must endure as a result of sharing this world with "flat faces" (humans). I haven't found a book that subtly but so thoroughly covers meaningful environmental concerns, indigenous people and traditions, and general animal welfare in an adventure packed, highly entertaining story. We enthusiastically recommend this book as well as the entire series. You won't be able to stop once you start!

"Seekers - The Quest Begins" is the story of three very different bear cubs. All of the bears are searching for something. Kallik, a female polar bear, is searching for the brother she was separated from when their mother was killed. Lusa, a female black bear, is searching for a friend's cub (Toklo) to deliver an important message. Toklo, a tough brown bear, has been ditched by his mother and is searching for a way to survive and get over it. There is plenty of action. Kallik survives being hunted by killer whales, captured by people and even a helicopter crash. Lusa escapes from a zoo to start her journey. She longs to live in the "wild", but she really doesn't understand it. All she knows are the stories she's heard from the other bears in the zoo, which may not even be true. She must learn to hunt for food and stay away from other bears' territories. Toklo learns to catch salmon, and to avoid cars, bigger bears and people. He also learns to make friends. All of the bears' stories begin in Canada. Although the book doesn't say it, there is map in the book that helps us. It is fun to try and figure out where the cubs are on their journeys, especially if you've ever traveled to Canada before (I have). Most of the story takes place in the forest or "wild", but some events happen in places where people (or flat-faces as the bears call us) live. In the end, only part of the conflict is resolved. Lusa finds Toklo and delivers the message from his mother. However, Kallik's story is left unfinished. The book is the first in a series. I enjoyed seeing the world from the bears' side. It was funny to read their descriptions and try and figure out what they were talking about in human words. For example, they call cars "firebeasts". The book did have a lot of sad parts though: animals dying, animals starving and being hunted. If reading about animals being hurt upsets you, you won't want to read this book. Submitted by Julia B.

"Mom, this is your assignment: Two days per book because I have to return them to my class. It will take you on an emotional and spiritual journey and show you different slices of life." My nine-year old son told me in these actual words. So I read, finishing 3 books in 4 days. Now I am waiting for him to bring back the later 3 in this series.

The story is about 3 different bear cubs (white, brown and black) joining together in search of the last wilderness. The language is simple and beautiful. Perfect for my slightly advanced 4th grader. Perfect for me too because I don't care for big words either. But simplicity could be so powerful. It is the underlying emotions that made the stories so captivating. The battles for survival tugged at my nerves; the losses, misunderstanding, and loneliness made me sad and the tokens of reconsciliation, friendship and care for each other dispite the differences made my heart tender. Through the bear cubs' eyes, I saw how thoughtless and cruel human beings could be and I was ashamed...

I anxiously await for the next three books. Yes, I could buy them online right now. But my son wanted to take the lead of this journey and I let him.

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!

Three bears, one quest, one journey. I was looking through the books at my school library when I saw this. It instantly caught my attention.I started to read it, and loved it! In the book, there is so much emotion, filled with fear and excitement all at once.

There are so many intense things, that were a bit hard, throughout the book. Although this is true, are balanced out by the excitement that they have brought.

There were a few minor issues that I din't enjoy, such as how it was almost predictable what would happen next to Kallik, Lusa, and Tokyo, along with Ujurak, who made the book extremely hard to relate to.

Seekers: The Quest Begins, is overall a good book with new life around the corner, not just for the characters, but for the reader as well.

This is a nice series, with fleshed-out characters. With three points of view, it's easy to find a character you can relate to and "root for". I know a lot of people were disappointed with this book, and I can see why. It isn't Warriors, not even close. Warriors is fast-paced and exciting, with twist and turns at every chapter. Seekers isn't like that, with a relatively slow moving pace. But it is a good story about three young bears, trying to find their way in the big world. So don't start this book expecting Warriors, and I think you'll find it alright. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes bears, traveling, Erin Hunter, or if you just need a good book to pass the time. Happy reading!

I have read the Warriors books by Erin Hunter and I always assumed that the Seekers were about bears going on some quest...and I assumed it was quite boring. Until I got the first book from the library. It is about three bears-Toklo, a grizzly, Lusa, a black bear, and Kallik, a polar bear. They journey to find nature that is undisturbed by humans, finding themselves along the way. It is sort of moving, when you think about it, but not dull. Erin Hunter is never dull. I would reccommend these books to anyone who likes mystical questions, bears, or Erin Hunter.

I have been reading "Erin Hunter"'s series "warriors" sense I found out about them in seventh grade. When I found out about the new series hcoming out, I knew I had to read it. I bought the book on my the store kindle yesterday and finished it today. Overall, this was a wonderful book. My only negative thoughts were about the ending. The endhing gave enough of a closing on Toklo and Lusa, but left the ending for Lusa hanging in an eerie silence. I think this book was a liitle TOO sad for the age group it is supposed to target, and I hope the author changes this in the future.o ther than that, I enjoyed it. Another note, I teared up more than a few times during my reading.

My review is about Seekers "The Quest Begins" by: Erin Hunter. This book was the best book i have ever read, its also the only book I have ever finished reading. The book was very interesting! The book is about three bear cubs which are on their own. There was three cubs a grizzly, a black bear, and a polar bear. The polar bear's name is Kallik and she has a brother named Taqqiq and her mother Nisa. The 2 cubs and the mother lived on the frozen ice in the ocean. The polar cubs where with their mother for a little while but when they where going to land because of burn-sky which was when the ice they lived on started to melt. On the way to land they had to swim over to the other side of the ice because there was a gap of water because the ice melted there. Kallik and her brother didn't know how to swim so there mom helped them swim over. While Kallik was swimming they got attacked by orcas. The mom died and her brother got lost. Kallik looked for her brother all during the book she looked for her brother.
The next cub is Lusa, she lives in a zoo with her mom, dad, and her 2 friends. Her mom's name is Ashia, her dad's name is king, her first friends name is Yogi, and the second friends name is stella. Lusa was a black bear and her friends and family were to. Lusa has dreamed of going into the wild but her dad doesn't like the wild because thats were he was from. Lusa's mom got sick one day and the feeders took her away and they brought her back after five daysl. One day a grizzly bear is put in the the bowl next to her bowl. The bear's name was Oka. Oka is from the wild and she had two cubs, Tolko and Tobi, Tob i died and she abandoned Tolko. Oka almost killed a feeder and she was put to sleep for being so aggressive. Before she was put to sleep Lusa promised Oka that she would find her lost cub Tolko and tell him that his mom loved him. One day she pretends to be sick like her mother was so she can escape the bear bowl. Lusa escapes and goes on to find Tolko.
Tolko is the third cub the book is about. Tolko has a brother and a mother. his Brothers name was Tobi, and his Mother's name was Oka. Tobi is a cub thats always sick and weak. When Tolko and his family were going up a mountain to get to a stream that has salmon in it. On the way to the way to the mountain Tobi dies and the mother blames tolko for the death of Tobi. They kept moving on to the river on the mountain. When they get to the river Tolko gets attacked by an older grizzly but his mom saves him. Tolko wants to learn how to catch salmon but his mom dosnen't want to teach him. Oka yells at Tolko and tells him to leave her alone. Tolko runs away from his mom the next day. Tolko travels by himself for a while and he finds another grizzly cub. The cubs name is Ujurak, the cub changes into different animals and he changes into a human to. They travel together and they fight a couple of times because Ujurak keeps changing into different animals. After a while Tolko and Ujurak meet lusa and she tells him abou how she knows his mom and how she's sorry for abandoning him.

Being a Warrior fan I looked forward to reading Erin Hunters new adventure the Seekers. She did not disappoint with the journey of three bears making their way thru lifes struggles. It gives a good perspective of how harsh life can be in the real world of Mother Nature. The story is captivating and is well thought out. My daughters enjoyed it also, and they are big Warrior fans too. We highly recommend the book, and are looking forward to the rest of the journey.

I am in the process of reading the warriors series and this one to. I knew it must be good because I am a BIG fan of Erin Hunters books!
I really reccomend this to ANYONE. Erin Hunters books arent really vioent or graphoc in any way. In this series anyway.
Lots of parts realy touched me. I am a soft person, and even if you are too, I still hope you give the book a chance.
Thanks for taking the time to red my reveiw, and I hope you love this book as much as I do!

Someone gave my 10 year old son this for Christmas and he LOVES it! Reading has honestly been like pulling teeth with him. But this book has made him fall in love. He runs out to talk about the ups and downs of the book, to run back in and read more. Here I am buying him the next books in the series.. for his BIRTHDAY, it's what he asked for :) :) :) :)

This book details the very real problems bears face in the wild. Starvation, ice melting, other territorial bears; although it's filled with numerous losses, it's what goes on in the real world. Minus the fantasy parts, of course :) Tui Sutherland does a good job of sounding like Erin Hunter and the writing is great. It's a series I'll follow in the future.

Seekers is an amazing and captivating book. My daughter found it to be a very heart warming and touching life journey story about the lives of three very different bear cubs,who struggle to survive in the wilderness alone. She could not tear away from reading the book even though she was sleepy! She just can't wait to read the sequel. The book was great!

I really enjoyed this book! There were some sad parts but it was always full of adventure. There are three main charecters, Toklo, Lusa, and Kallik who go on a huge adventure together and have to reley on each other for survival.....I think it is very much like every day life. If I were you I would read it!!!!!!!!

my daughter absolutely loved warriors. while she was waiting for the next book to come out she decided to read seekers. she liked it but she enjoyed warriors so much more. there is also more tragedy in seekers. they also talk about eating seal fat that my daughter found a bit more disturbing than warriors birds and squirrels ect. its still a great book but i wouldnt recomed it to younger kids.

I think Seekers The Quest Begins is an amazing book and I enjoyed every moment of it. From Kallik in the snow den, to Kallik Crashing in tho metal bird. Toklo being abandoned from his mom, to finding a shape-shifting cub. Lusa sleeping in the zoo, to finding Toklo.

I think Erin Hunter "THINKS LIKE A BEAR."

Report by Brent Wilkerson, 11 years old

Reviewed by Avni Gupta (age 15) for Reader Views (6/08)

When I first saw the cover of "Seekers #1: The Quest Begins," I was extremely excited to start reading. Then I saw that it was by Erin Hunter, and that got me even more excited. I had read all of her books in the Warrior series and loved them, so I thought that this book would live up to the others. I could not have been more wrong.

In the first chapter, this book had already lost my attention. There was nothing interesting going on here! In the middle of the fifth chapter, I felt my eyes drooping. It was a first. A book had made me almost go to sleep. This didn't even happen when I read "Pride and Prejudice," a book that I found incredibly boring.

The only saving grace in this book is the cover. It is unbelievably cute, and has bears on it. What could be better? I guess that I have learnt my lesson about judging a book by its cover. I am never going to do that again!

If you really do want to read this book though (all of you "Pride and Prejudice" readers, listen up!), I have a few suggestions as to how to get through it without falling asleep like me. First of all, make sure that this is the only book that you are reading at the time. I was reading a few at the same time and my thoughts were always going out to my other books and how much more interesting they were than what I was reading. Another suggestion that I have is to not have any other thing that you could possibly do instead of reading. I had a few finals that I could study for, and so, for the first time in my life, I studied instead of reading a book.

All in all, I feel like "Seekers #1: The Quest Begins," by Erin Hunter is a waste of time and should not be read unless you know that you love bears and have to read everything written about them. If you just like the cover, however, I suggest printing out a picture of some bears and sticking it onto a notebook and writing your own story about bears. I learned one thing while reading this book and that was to never ever judge a book by its cover because that will end up biting you in the butt.

I hated this book!!! It was so confusing and depressing!!! I mean really. I think sticking with Warriors should be enough. At least they weren't so depressing. These books suck! Reading these after reading Warriors...Not a great outcome!!! Stick with the cats!!!!