In the long list of children's series featuring animals, this series whose characters are cats (mostly wild) has first place in the heart of the 3 family members reading children's novels and, by imitation, even in the hearts of those who do not read (yet).
And not just because the cat is the favorite animal of the 3 players in question.
First, because, true or not because we are not experts in ethology, Erin Hunter gives the impression of knowing perfectly the habits and instincts of the cats, not yielding to anthropomorphism than union minimum mandatory when we do talk about animals.
was a real sense of realism animal, as in a BBC documentary, to see life from inside the Wildcats.
You feel the Thunder Clan cats for 6 volumes, caught in the frenzy of intrigue and, as much as in the novels of Hugo rivers, one feels alternately full range of emotions, we discovers love, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, tragedy, courage, sacrifice, madness, ambition, wisdom, plots, alliances, wars, deaths, injuries, disasters, reconstruction, honor, victory, defeat, all in a few acres more or less forgotten the two-legged.
What I thought was a problem for my children was probably not, or rather was for me: there are about 70 characters (cats only) and is less easy to memorize characteristics when they are like "male peel anthrax" or " cat with blue eyes dark and light gray fur flecked darker " (but finally I had the same problem with the long and a little tedious descriptions of the characters of Balzac) , problems increased by the fact that cats change their name when they change their status within the clan, highly hierarchical structure.
For example, the main hero of the series has the good taste to change 3 times within the last 6 volumes.
After my survey reject it appears that I had forgotten that children have a much better memory than adults, aided more by their habit of constant rereading of the volumes of their favorite series, and they had no trouble navigating.
It seems that Erin Hunter does not exist and that This is a pseudonym for two writers who take turns to British writing volumes of the series.
Personally I am unable to distinguish differences between the volumes, there is a real unity of writing and story, narrative type of initiation, initially taking home a young kitten who dreams of adventure and fled in the forest, passed by one of the 4 existing clans, struggling at first to affirm its value against cats stronger and seasoned, and often imbued with prejudice against cats, to be accepted by all, learn all what will be needed to survive in the forest and within the clan, earn his stripes as a warrior, survive the machinations of the chief lieutenant of his clan, he became a mortal enemy and discover his duplicity, becoming a lieutenant in turn, assailed the responsibilities of periods of mortal danger, then one day the clan leader, wise and authoritative.
