5 Great Animal Fantasy Series For Fans of the Warriors Books

Varjak Paw, by S.F. Said
For Warriors fans who really like fierce warrior cats, try Varjak Paw. Varjak has spent his kittenhood as a pampered house pet in a family proud of their heritage as Mesopotamian Blues, an ancient cat lineage. He’s never been allowed to play outside or learn to hunt and climb like a regular cat. But when his owner dies, their house is occupied by a strange man and his two sinister black cats. And so Varjak sets out to follow his grandfather’s instructions to find a dog to chase the intruders away. Out in the city, Varjak struggles to find a pawhold. Rival gangs of cats control its streets, and they don’t welcome a naïve young stranger. But in his dreams, he visits an ancient Mesopotamian ancestor, who teaches him the mystical martial arts of catkind. And in the real world, he makes a great friend—Holly, a streetwise cat who teaches him how to survive the city. With her help, he not only saves his family, but also the street cats who have been mysteriously vanishing. In the second book, The Outlaw Varjak Paw, he must pit his fighting skills against the cat who’s the most formidable gang leader of them all, who also knows the ways of the warrior cat. Cat fans will love these books!

Foxcraft: The Taken, by Inbali Iserles
These books are perfect for readers who like their animal stories to include struggles against dark magic. Isla’s happy life with her fox family in a patch of urban greenery is destroyed when her den is attacked by strange, savage foxes and she is left all alone. But she doesn’t give up hope that her brother is alive. She sets out to find him, though she is still so young that she barely knows how to hunt. An older fox finds her, and begins to teach her the magic of foxcraft. These skills will prove essential; the foxes who attacked her family are part of something much larger and much darker than she could have imagined. They are part of an evil that threatens all of fox kind, and that is now hunting specifically for her! Isla is a heroine to cheer for, as she bravely continues along her difficult path, not sure who to trust but never giving up hope, and her growing mastery of foxcraft is enthralling.  The second book, Foxcraft: The Elders, comes out at the end of September, and will leave readers eager to follow Isla on to her next fur-raising adventure.

The Wild Ones, by C. Alexander London
For those who enjoy the tension between wild and domesticated animals (Warrior cats vs “kitty pets”), try these books about a young orphaned raccoon who makes his way to Ankle Snap Alley, refugee of the wild free animals in the great city. Kit is unprepared for the rough ways of the wild city animals—the alley is home to thieves and tricksters of many different species, locked in a battle against the Flealess, as the wild ones call the human pets, who want to drive them away. But Kit, being a raccoon after all, and thus cunning in his own right, proves a match for both the hostile Flealess, and in the second book, Moonlight Brigade, he outsmarts a villainous coyote with a trick worthy of legend. He has found a true home and loyal friends in the alley that had seemed at first so scary and alien, and ended up its hero. These animals live more like human beings than wild creatures, and many characters aren’t exactly honest and upstanding, but they make for fun reading, and will leave readers wanting more.

Swordbird, by Nancy Yi Fan
Warriors fans who like the idea of a whole civilization of animals, with stories of ancient heroes coming back to save the day, will want to fly with these sword—wielding birds fighting for their lives. Swordbird tells how an evil hawk takes control of a forest land, enslaving its songbirds and torturing and killing all who oppose him. When one slave escapes, he incites the free birds to unite against their oppressor and to call forth the legendary Swordbird to help them in their time of need. Swordquest tells the story of how, centuries earlier, a young bird became the Swordbird of legend, racing against legions of bloodthirsty archaeopteryxes to claim the magical sword that would save bird kind from their reign of terror. The third book, Sword Mountain, continues on from the events of Swordquest, with Dandelion, an orphaned eagle fledgling, pitted against a new formidable foe. Though there’s considerable violence in these books, the value placed on peace and friendship makes the darkness bearable. Swordbird was written when Nancy Yi Fan was only ten, and is an inspiration to all young writers.

The Wings of Fire series, by Tui T. Sutherland
A series about dragons might not seem an obvious choice to give to a cat fan, but the adventures of the dragons in the Wings of Fire series, which begins with The Dragonet Prophecy, are guaranteed to appeal to those who love the Warriors books. The world of the dragons is at war, and five young dragonets from different clans have been identified by a prophecy as the ones who will bring peace. Raised together by dragons who want to use them to make the prophecy come true, they set out on a series of grand adventures to find their own destinies and to do what they can, on their own terms, to end the war. Some of the draconic violence is very fierce and brutal indeed, but there’s considerable humor, and some great friendships that transcend clan loyalties. These are truly addicting books, with both male and female dragon protagonists to love, and fortunately there are a lot of them (the adventures continue in two more ongoing series), so your young reader will be kept happy for a nice long while!
What series would you recommend to fans of the Warriors books?