Earlier this year (I think it was sometime in April) I borrowed the first Warrior Cats book for our local library thinking it might appeal to my daughter (she was ten at the time) but before she even had a chance to try it her younger brother started reading it and did not want to put it down. I think he read the first one in two days and then was begging for the second. He convinced her she needed to read and that was the start of our Warrior Cat obsession.
Both of mine love these books and used to stash them in my bag whenever we were going somewhere (because you never know when you might have 5 minutes while you wait for your mom to finish her coffee).
They have read them cover to cover.
The story is about a pet cat who goes into the wild and discovers a whole new world of wild cats, where entire clans exist and the kits train up to become warriors. There are multiple clans with lots of different cats in each clan – I must admit I find the who’s who of each clan a bit confusing but my kids totally get it and have long involved discussions about the different goings on in the clans.
The storyline has totally gripped my two kids and has captivated their imagination.
One of my son’s favourite bits is that the cats call humans “2 legs” – and yes he does from time to time refer to us as “2 legs”.
Both of them have started creating their own clans – with written descriptions and drawings of the different characters and they have even mapped out which of their new clans are friends and who their ancestors are (apparently there is a link between their made up clans and the ones from the books).
I have been blown away by how captivating this series has been. (For sensitive kids the cats do get into fight – nothing too gory and some do die). I think the big attraction has been how these everyday cats created their own world, and the way this world works where everything is based around the clans, where allegiances are made and broken – it fascinates the kids. And the way the cats see themselves – really not as pet cats but as fighters (I think the book cover below sums it up nicely with the cat and lion image).
The way the cat characters are written is brilliant – they really came to life and you feel like you get to know the individual cats.
Just one warning – if your kids start this series they may not want to put the books down. Also we managed to borrow a few from our local library but the waiting time can be quite long and I did end up ordering some from Amazon just because my kids could not wait 3 weeks for the next book to be available.
And we do strongly recommend that you read the books in order because the events and characters do build on what has happened in the earlier books.
Series 1 goes in this order.
Warrior Cats (1) Into the Wild
Forest of Secrets (Warrior Cats)
The Darkest Hour (Warrior Cats)
Both my kids highly recommend these books. And from a mom point of view these are gems.
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