Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter and why the series is great for new readers and writers
Warrior Cats- The Series- By Erin Hunter
Why This Series is Great for New Readers and Writers
Review by Emily Shunk
With 39 books in the series, 27 stand alone extra books, 6 'field guides' to the series, and over a dozen manga, Warriors Cats might be one of the largest series I've come across. (88 books total- they even have a website! https://warriorcats.com/latest). The reading level is fairly young, I for instance read all the available books (yes- they're still producing books) in third grade- then continued reading the series as it was produced into 5th grade. The plot, as it spans over 39 books, is certainly quite long and complicated to go over in a single review- so I'll give you a brief overview of the general idea. Warrior Cats is a series which tells of the 4 clans and how they interact, as they fight over territory. The clans are Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Windclan, and Riverclan, and the ancestors reside in Starclan. In each clan, there's a leader, a medic, warriors, elders, apprentices, and kits- you name it. The clans hide from humans in a forest, bordering a small neighborhood where several kitty-pets reside. Overall, there are a lot of intricacies of the story that are hard to go into in a brief summary.
While I don't recommend it for more advanced readers, I do recommend that if you have a younger sibling (grade school age) who doesn't love reading, but is open to it- that you tell them to read this series. I was originally recommended the series by a friend of mine, and it started my love to read and write. I would read a new book practically every day- and I quickly irritated my mom with how many times I would go to the library to check out the next in the series. That friend and I both loved the series, and we would create our own clans and our own characters and our own worlds. We both started writing fanfiction (yes I know I'm cringe) about these stories that we created. In all honesty- I wouldn't have gotten into creative writing if not for this book series. There's an expansive community for the series, with countless people drawing fanart, writing their own stories, and even animating their own versions of the story.
The series is written in such a way that it flows from book to book, and keeps you wanting more. While this can be an annoying quality in that one netflix show you binge until 3 in the morning, I personally find it to be motivation to read the next book. Though- I will say it's incredibly annoying to finish the book at 2am on a school night on a massive cliffhanger and then be unable to check out the next book until the weekend- several days later. Additionally, the series creates room for new versions to be easily created, with a basic format for the clans that the reader can apply their own characters to. Overall- it's just a great series for someone with lots of imagination to stem their own stories off of.
I personally hold this series very close to my heart, as these were my favorite books for several years. It's a wonderful series for any grade-school kid out there, and I hope that it inspires many young readers and writers just as it inspired me.
Why This Series is Great for New Readers and Writers
Review by Emily Shunk
With 39 books in the series, 27 stand alone extra books, 6 'field guides' to the series, and over a dozen manga, Warriors Cats might be one of the largest series I've come across. (88 books total- they even have a website! https://warriorcats.com/latest). The reading level is fairly young, I for instance read all the available books (yes- they're still producing books) in third grade- then continued reading the series as it was produced into 5th grade. The plot, as it spans over 39 books, is certainly quite long and complicated to go over in a single review- so I'll give you a brief overview of the general idea. Warrior Cats is a series which tells of the 4 clans and how they interact, as they fight over territory. The clans are Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Windclan, and Riverclan, and the ancestors reside in Starclan. In each clan, there's a leader, a medic, warriors, elders, apprentices, and kits- you name it. The clans hide from humans in a forest, bordering a small neighborhood where several kitty-pets reside. Overall, there are a lot of intricacies of the story that are hard to go into in a brief summary.
While I don't recommend it for more advanced readers, I do recommend that if you have a younger sibling (grade school age) who doesn't love reading, but is open to it- that you tell them to read this series. I was originally recommended the series by a friend of mine, and it started my love to read and write. I would read a new book practically every day- and I quickly irritated my mom with how many times I would go to the library to check out the next in the series. That friend and I both loved the series, and we would create our own clans and our own characters and our own worlds. We both started writing fanfiction (yes I know I'm cringe) about these stories that we created. In all honesty- I wouldn't have gotten into creative writing if not for this book series. There's an expansive community for the series, with countless people drawing fanart, writing their own stories, and even animating their own versions of the story.
The series is written in such a way that it flows from book to book, and keeps you wanting more. While this can be an annoying quality in that one netflix show you binge until 3 in the morning, I personally find it to be motivation to read the next book. Though- I will say it's incredibly annoying to finish the book at 2am on a school night on a massive cliffhanger and then be unable to check out the next book until the weekend- several days later. Additionally, the series creates room for new versions to be easily created, with a basic format for the clans that the reader can apply their own characters to. Overall- it's just a great series for someone with lots of imagination to stem their own stories off of.
I personally hold this series very close to my heart, as these were my favorite books for several years. It's a wonderful series for any grade-school kid out there, and I hope that it inspires many young readers and writers just as it inspired me.
I also read the Warriors series in grade school and really enjoyed all of the books. I have a younger sister who is in 4th grade right now and is in the middle of reading the series for the first time, so I would definitely agree that the series is great for a younger audience. Overall, your review did a good job showing the basic aspects of the series without focusing on only one book. A lot of people do a review of only one book in a series, but your review gave a good overview of the general plot, which is sometimes better than focusing on just one book. Great review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I was a fan of the Warriors series for a long time and this reminded me of why I liked it so much. I agree that it is suited for younger audiences and that the older you get the less interesting it is to read. You also talk about how the series inspired you to go into creative writing, but I kind of was wondering what you liked about the series so much that sparked your inspiration, or which set of books were your favorite?
ReplyDeleteI have never read this series before, but I've read the Seekers series (about bears) which is also by Erin Hunter. I remember enjoying the Seekers series since it was still interesting even though it was about anthropomorophic bears in an otherwise "realistic" world. Warrior Cats sounds like it has a similar dynamic since the cats are hiding from humans, which I think is an interesting concept since it ties in fantasy with elements of realistic fiction (a unusual combination). I liked how you talked about how you have a personal connection with this series and you did a great job with this review!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate that you didn't go too much into the actual plot of the book and instead focused on the meta information since the series is so dense. Based on how you wrote about the series, I don't think it is for me, but I can now get a sense of why literally everyone was reading it in elementary school, and I'll be sure to recommend this to any (younger) person who asks for books to read. It is hard to review an entire series of books, but I think you pulled it off.
ReplyDeleteI too read the Warriors series when I was younger. I liked it quite a bit, and like you, became kind of addicted to it. There's just something about the books that makes them really entertaining to read and kept me wanting more. I definitely agree that the books are more suitable for younger kids and also your suggestion to recommend them to someone younger who isn't that enthusiastic about reading. Also, the part about them inspiring you to start writing creatively was a nice personal touch! Good review!
ReplyDeleteI read some of the books in this series when I was in grade school, and remember really enjoying them because of the maps at the front and the lists of all of the cats in the different clans (although the plot got confusing at some points since I started reading in the middle of the series). Nice job reviewing an entire series, and although I probably won't be rereading these I'll definitely recommend them to any younger readers. The author also has a couple of other series including Seekers and Survivors that are pretty good but not quite as extensive. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI remember everyone being obsessed with the series in third grade. I tried reading it, but it was kind of boring back then. The concept seems really cool, and I'm now kind of sad that I never continues reading the series. I would start reading it again, but as you said, it isn't really for advanced readers, and there are way to many books to keep up with. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI was an avid fan of this series when I was younger and I totally agree with your review! While I wouldn't read the series now, as I find it slightly childish, I can see why younger audiences would enjoy these books. Something that I particularly liked about your review was your comment on how this series allowed readers to write their own stories based off the original plot. Overall, great review!
ReplyDeleteThis series was a substantial part of my childhood. I remember being so obsessed with the books that I would go to the library and borrow at least five in a row every time, hogging the books. However, I didn't feel too guilty as I would finish them all in two or three days time (I read them during all my classes). The books were definitely annoying with their huge cliffhangers, but I mean, that's how they got kids like us to read so many of their books. After a while, I remember getting annoyed by the series-stretching the-kids-became-their-parents plot and dropped it pretty quickly. It is definitely aimed towards the younger kids and both my younger sisters went through a "Warriors" phase as well. I really liked how you brought back such a classic from our childhood and I can't wait to read more from you!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I remember being absolutely addicted to the Warriors series when I was younger. It was one of the series that really hooked me into reading. Reading it now, it is pretty childish and cliched, but I agree that it was a great story for beginners and introducing people to reading. Nice job!
ReplyDelete