Sharing The Warriors Books with the Next Generation

[Mrs.Shiro.Tora]

When did you first discover Erin Hunter's The Warriors Series?

Was it recently? Are you new to the world of Warrior Cats and Clans?

Were you already an adult when you started the series? Highschool?

Or were you like me? 20 years ago, just trying to survive middle school, and looking for an escape from reality when you stumbled across "Into The Wild" on the shelf at your school's quarterly scholastic book fair. There it was displayed alongside Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, A Series of Unfortunate Events Carnivorous Carnival, Hoot, and Redwall. The bright green cover stood out to you amongst the dull browns of the surrounding books and as you stop to get a better look you are captivated by a fiery orange tabby sitting regally in the center. He stares at you with his calm but piercing gaze. You pick up the book and turn it around in your hand, feeling the smooth surface of the cover and running your fingers over the glossy image of the cat, and curiosity strikes you as you study the scene below it. Two cats face off in the underbrush, a shadowy one with it's back to you looks like it's ready to shred the grey tabby approaching from the tall grass.

Warriors? You read the title to yourself and ponder the possibilities of the contents and consider if it would be worth spending the $15 allowance your parents gave you or if you should just go back and get that cool Pokemon field guide with the free Pikachu pencil topper you saw at the front counter when you walked in. You take one last look at the cat on the front, gazing into your soul, calling to you with promises of adventure and wonder.

Alright, why not? You finally concede and take the book to the counter to pay for it. And so began what would turn out to be your greatest obsession for the next 10 years. With every new release you watch your local library's shelves eagerly waiting for them to add the next volume to their catalog in hopes you can be the first to check it out before there is a 2 month waiting list. Or you save your hard earned allowance to pick up the fresh hard cover edition from your town's Barnes and Nobles the day it hits the shelves. You join a Chickensmoothie role play forum and start a clan of your own. You study the medicine cat field guide and read and reread the history of the clans so that you can be sure you're well equipped with the knowledge of Starclan to lead your cat or cats in their lives as an Apprentice, Warrior, Medicine Cat, or Leader.

And then, you become an adult. Life takes a million turns and things like The Warriors Series slowly become a comforting memory of your childhood. Maybe you go to college to get a degree, maybe you start your own business, maybe you get married, maybe you don't. Before you know it another 10 years has gone by and you can't even remember the last time you picked up a book to read just for fun, let alone given thought to your old beloved favorites.

Then it happens. You're in your 30s. You have a kid of your own now, maybe two or three. You're browsing a used book store, skimming through a scholastic book catalog from your kid's school, or scanning a table of free books for children being offered as Christmas gifts for struggling families, and there it is. You freeze in your tracks and stare at the book in disbelief. The cover is still green, but much darker now. Half of the orange tabby's face takes up two thirds of the cover as it peers at you from behind some tall grass. His piercing green eye makes your breath catch, the look of fierce determination takes you instantly back to the moment Fireheart recieved his nine lives from Starclan and every moment leading up to it and every moment after. Every triumph, every battle, every betrayal, every heartbreak. Your whole body swims with emotions as a wave of nostalgia sweeps over you and consumes you with an irresistible desire to rediscover the world of mystery and excitement you had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Yeah, that's how it happened to me. I looked down at my 3 year old holding my hand and bouncing on his toes reaching for the Pokemon story book with colorful pictures of Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle, then back at the beautiful chapter book that had somehow jumped into my hand.

Alright, why not? And with Pikachu's Island Adventure and Warriors Into the Wild in tow we head for home. That night, lying in bed with our son between us after having read his new picture book to him, I looked over at my husband and say.

"I want to try reading one of my favorite books to you guys." And pull out "Into the Wild". After just a couple chapters my son is begging me not to stop reading and my husband asks me "Why haven't I ever heard of these books before? They seem like would have been right up my alley as a kid." (He is a huge Redwall fan).

Every night we would read a chapter, and as the plot started to get more exciting sometimes we would even read two chapters. Now my toddler was laughing at Greypaw's snarky comments, scolding Tigerclaw for being so mean to Reavenpaw, and yelling at the book "Yellowfang didn't steal the babies!" and at the very end he tells me. "Mommy, I'm glad he got a new name cause I not like the name Firepaw. I like Fireheart better." 😂

For Christmas my husband got a Barnes and Noble gift card from a coworker and next thing I knew I was being pulled by an excited 3 year old into our local mall rushing to the book store desperate to pick up the next two books of his "Warrior Kitties" series. I grinned from ear to ear, a tear in my eye, as he yanked them from my hands and hugged them close to his chest like his precious favorite stuffy, cheering "Mommy I'm so excited to read the new books!"

Tonight we will be reading chapters 6 and 7 of Fire and Ice and finding out if Fireheart and Graystripe are successful in bringing Windclan home!

So what about you? Do you have kids? Or are you wanting kids? Are you going to introduce them to the Warriors Series? Have you already? The Warriors books will be 21 years old at the end of this month, it's time for a whole new generation to discover and enjoy the amazing world of the Four Clans!

[FizzyConfettii]

Don’t (can’t) have kids. But have nieces and nephews. One niece in particular is very much like me when I was her age. So I gave her the first book. That really started her into reading animal books. She’s up to the new prophecy in warriors and has branched into wings of fire and a few others. Makes my heart happy!

[Mrs.Shiro.Tora]

Don’t (can’t) have kids. But have nieces and nephews. One niece in particular is very much like me when I was her age. So I gave her the first book. That really started her into reading animal books. She’s up to the new prophecy in warriors and has branched into wings of fire and a few others. Makes my heart happy!

Right!? Gotta share it while they are still young and interested in what you find interesting. Once they hit those teenage years we suddenly become old and weird. 😂

[winx]

I only just started reading them! A friend of mine recommended them and books from a cat POV are my favourite genre of book, and I'm only a little into Into the Wild, but I'm loving it so far! No kiddos planned for me, due to some medical issues that I cannot in good conscience pass onto another human.

[honeycat;]

this is a very similar story to my own. you wrote it beautifully 💛
i just recently got back into Warrior Cats. i used to have the series until eventually it got forgotten about and was left in the shed at my parents house. i went to collect them recently and they are old and definitely were used lol. i started rereading it and i'm in it all over again!
my husband bought me a new series set for Christmas, it's so shiny and new.
i have two little ones, 2 and 1 years old. it would be so amazing if they got into Warriors too eventually. i hope to share it with them someday soon.