Midnight (Hunter novel) facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Erin Hunter |
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| Cover artist | Wayne McLoughlin |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Warriors: The New Prophecy |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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10 May 2005 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 336 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-074451-9 |
| OCLC | 66296992 |
| Preceded by | The Darkest Hour Firestar's Quest |
| Followed by | Moonrise |
Midnight is an exciting fantasy novel. It's the first book in the Warriors: The New Prophecy series by Erin Hunter. This book came out on May 10, 2005. It continues the story after The Darkest Hour and Firestar's Quest. It also sets the stage for the next book, Moonrise. The story is all about wild cats. They live in four special groups called Clans: ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan.
Contents
The Journey Begins: A New Prophecy
This book takes place more than a year after The Darkest Hour. Bramblepaw, who is the son of the fierce cat Tigerstar, has now become a warrior named Brambleclaw.
His leader, Firestar, has two new kits (baby cats) with Sandstorm. Their names are Squirrelkit and Leafkit. Squirrelkit, now called Squirrelpaw, starts training with Dustpelt. Leafkit, now Leafpaw, begins training with Cinderpelt. Leafpaw is learning to become the next medicine cat for ThunderClan.
A Mysterious Warning
One day, while Leafpaw and Cinderpelt are looking for herbs, they get a scary message. StarClan, who are the cats' ancestors, sends a warning. They see a picture of a tiger running through fire in some burning plants. Cinderpelt believes this means that fire and a tiger will destroy the forest.
She thinks the warning is about Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw. Squirrelpaw is Firestar's daughter, and Brambleclaw is Tigerstar's son. They tell Firestar about the warning. Because of this, Firestar decides to keep Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw apart.
The Chosen Cats and Their Quest
Later, Brambleclaw has a dream. In this dream, StarClan tells him and three other cats to listen to what "midnight" has to say. The other cats are Feathertail (who is Graystripe's daughter), Crowpaw, and Tawnypelt. Tawnypelt used to be Tawnypaw and is Brambleclaw's sister.
These four cats start a long journey towards where the sun sets. Squirrelpaw decides to go with them. Stormfur also joins to protect his sister, Feathertail. So, six cats travel into an unknown world.
Meeting Midnight
On their adventure, they meet an old loner cat named Purdy. He helps the Clan cats find their way to the "sun-drown place," which is actually the Atlantic Ocean.
Finally, they reach the ocean and find a cave. Inside the cave lives a very smart badger named Midnight. This badger can speak the languages of cats, foxes, and even other badgers! Midnight tells them important news: humans are going to destroy their forest. The cats must either leave their home or face danger. She also says that a dying warrior will guide the Clans to a new home.
The book ends with a short scene back in the forest. Humans have already started to destroy ThunderClan's territory.
About the Book's Setting
The forest where the cats live in the book is inspired by a real place. It's based on the New Forest, which is a large forest in southern England. The special herbs that the cats use for healing are based on information from an old book called Culpeper's Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper.
