The Quest Begins
Cherith Baldry
 The novel follows the adventure of four bears, Kallik (a polar bear), Lusa (a black bear), Toklo (a brown bear) and Ujurak (a shapeshifter who is usually a brown bear). The novel first follows Kallik who lives with her mother and brother. However, they are separated on ice when a group of killer whales attacks them and Kallik must survive by herself. On her own, Kallik decides to go to a gathering place for polar bears that her mom told her about. At the gathering, Kallik asks other polar bears if they have seen her brother, but no one has. Alone, Kallik meets a female bear Nanuk who helps Kallik around the area. However, Nanuk is killed by a helicopter crash shipping her and Kallik back to the wild and Nanuk tells Kallik about a place where the ice never melts. Hearing this, Kallik sets off to this place. Somewhere is the Rocky Mountains in southern Canada, Toklo's mom is bringing Toklo and his sickly brother to a river to teach them how to catch salmon. However, in insanity, Toklo's mom abandons Toklo after a mental break because his brother died. Now Toklo must survive on his own, just like Kallik. Wandering randomly, Toklo meets an injured human who requests Toklo to retrieve certain herbs, which he does. The human introduces himself as a Shapeshifter named Ujurak and the two travel together. Lusa is a pampered black bear living in the Bear Bowl, a zoo in Canada. Despite knowing that the wilderness is harsh, Lusa has dreams about one day escaping and living outside. Her father, King, once lived in the wild and is strongly against Lusa's idea. One day, Toklo's mom is brought into the Bear Bowl. She talks with Lusa about how much she regretted abandoning her cubs, but that it was too late and that she couldn't find them. Hearing this, Lusa decides to bring a message to Toklo about how sorry his mother is. Although Lusa succeeds in escaping, she realises the dangers of the wild. At the end of the story, Ujurak and Toklo meet up with Lusa.