Post by Star Clan on Aug 16, 2014 15:52:41 GMT
Seekers follows the adventures of four bear cubs: Kallik (a polar bear), Lusa (a black bear), Ujurak (a small grizzly bear who can shape-shift into any animal), and Toklo (a grizzly bear). Led by Ujurak, the four bears search for a place where they can live in peace without human interference and harassment.
Similarly to the Warriors series, Seekers began as a request from HarperCollins to Victoria Holmes to develop another series about a group of animals, but not cats. Dogs were considered, but rejected because they were too close to cats in their hierarchical social organization, pack and hunting lifestyles, and territoriality. This was expressed by Victoria Holmes later in an online chat, where she stated that she "was reluctant to create stories that... would be quite similar to Warriors. Dogs live in packs, they hunt for their food, they have a strict hierarchy within their communities, they guard their territories". Horses, otters and dolphins were considered, but were dismissed: Holmes felt that horses tended to run away rather than stay and fight, and that dolphin battles would be slow without "the all-action excitement that Erin loves so much". In the end, the company left the decision to Holmes and she opted for bears; in the later author chat she notes that bears "live much more solitary lifestyles than cats, they are wild through and through with no history of domestication whatsoever (performing bears don't count), and they are much bigger animals, with a whole lot more potential for fighting". The series took inspiration from Inuit beliefs and Native American languages. Holmes found that Native Americans and bears are very closely linked to the natural environment. The names of the bears are taken from several different Indian languages. Lusa, for example, means "black" in Choctaw.
Holmes drew inspiration from Inuit beliefs and the Native American languages which are spoken in the area which the bears live. Holmes developed Ujuark's shape-shifting powers after reading up on shamans, who are supposed to be able to transform into other animals. Holmes liked the idea and decided to have one of the bears have the same ability, which allowed him to "infiltrate a human community without them guessing the truth."
Later, Holmes "needed to establish what sort of beliefs each bear would have," so after finding that bears are closely linked to their environment just like Native Americans, Holmes centered her research around the Natives. The names of the bears are from Native American languages; Lusa means midnight or black in Choctaw, while Kallik means lightning in Inuktitut, Silaluk means storm in Inuktitut, Taqqiq means moon, Toklo means two in Chicksaw, and Ujurak means rock.
Similarly to the Warriors series, Seekers began as a request from HarperCollins to Victoria Holmes to develop another series about a group of animals, but not cats. Dogs were considered, but rejected because they were too close to cats in their hierarchical social organization, pack and hunting lifestyles, and territoriality. This was expressed by Victoria Holmes later in an online chat, where she stated that she "was reluctant to create stories that... would be quite similar to Warriors. Dogs live in packs, they hunt for their food, they have a strict hierarchy within their communities, they guard their territories". Horses, otters and dolphins were considered, but were dismissed: Holmes felt that horses tended to run away rather than stay and fight, and that dolphin battles would be slow without "the all-action excitement that Erin loves so much". In the end, the company left the decision to Holmes and she opted for bears; in the later author chat she notes that bears "live much more solitary lifestyles than cats, they are wild through and through with no history of domestication whatsoever (performing bears don't count), and they are much bigger animals, with a whole lot more potential for fighting". The series took inspiration from Inuit beliefs and Native American languages. Holmes found that Native Americans and bears are very closely linked to the natural environment. The names of the bears are taken from several different Indian languages. Lusa, for example, means "black" in Choctaw.
Holmes drew inspiration from Inuit beliefs and the Native American languages which are spoken in the area which the bears live. Holmes developed Ujuark's shape-shifting powers after reading up on shamans, who are supposed to be able to transform into other animals. Holmes liked the idea and decided to have one of the bears have the same ability, which allowed him to "infiltrate a human community without them guessing the truth."
Later, Holmes "needed to establish what sort of beliefs each bear would have," so after finding that bears are closely linked to their environment just like Native Americans, Holmes centered her research around the Natives. The names of the bears are from Native American languages; Lusa means midnight or black in Choctaw, while Kallik means lightning in Inuktitut, Silaluk means storm in Inuktitut, Taqqiq means moon, Toklo means two in Chicksaw, and Ujurak means rock.