Dawn (Warriors)

Dawn

First edition cover
Author	Erin Hunter (Pen name of Kate Cary)
Cover artist	Wayne McLoughlin
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Warriors: The New Prophecy
Genre	Children's literature Fantasy novel
Publisher	HarperTrophy
Publication date	December 27, 2005
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	368
ISBN
Preceded by	Moonrise
Followed by	Starlight

Dawn is a children's fantasy novel, the third book in the Warriors: The New Prophecy series. Dawn was written by Kate Cary under the pen name of Erin Hunter. It was published on December 27, 2005 by HarperCollins. The book follows the adventures of the four warrior cat Clans after five questing cats return to the forest with a grave message to find a new home. Together, the Clans cross a mountain range and meet another group of cats, the Tribe of Rushing Water. At the end, a new territory is found beside a lake.

The book was first published as a hardcover in the US and Australia on December 27, 2005. The book was then released in paperback and e-book formats. Dawn has also been published in the UK, Canada, and China. Themes in the book include religion, conflicting loyalties, and cooperation. The book received mainly positive reviews, but some reviewers criticized the limited prose and number of characters.

Dawn takes place in three places: the Clans' original forest territory, the mountain range inhabited by the Tribe of Rushing Water, and the lake territory located at the very end of the book. The forest in the beginning is divided into four territories for the four Clans: ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan and ShadowClan. The forest is based on New Forest, which is in Southern England. Later, the Clans wander into the mountains in search of their new territory. There, they meet the Tribe of Rushing Water who give the Clans shelter and food. While with the Tribe, the Clans realize that the Tribe's spiritual ancestors are the Tribe of Endless Hunting, not StarClan: through this difference, the theme of religion is explored. After the Clans leave the Tribe, they arrive at the lake territory which the Clans decide will be their new home.

Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, Crowpaw, Stormfur and Tawnypelt have returned to the Clans from a quest with a message: the Clans must move to a new home, or risk death. The destruction of the forest has already begun, with the Clans starving as the food supply has been cut off and their habitat destroyed by the humans building a new road. At the same time, cats are being taken away by humans, including a ThunderClan apprentice, Leafpaw. A patrol is sent to rescue the captured cats, but Graystripe is captured after he succeeds in rescuing Leafpaw and other cats from RiverClan and WindClan, as well as many non-Clan cats.

It is difficult for Firestar, ThunderClan's leader, to convince ShadowClan and RiverClan to leave. Finally, RiverClan decides to leave when their river becomes poisoned by humans. ShadowClan also agrees to leave when a tree cut down by humans falls in their camp. While trying help ShadowClan, Firestar loses his second life when a tree falls on him. Midnight, an intelligent badger from the previous book, had told the questing cats that a dying warrior will show the Clans the way to their new home. The dying warrior turns out to be the spirit of Mudfur, the RiverClan medicine cat who died earlier. As the Clans' spiritual ancestors are represented by the star, Mudfur runs though the night sky as a shooting star and drops behind the mountains, showing the new territory will be beyond the mountains. The Clans travel together through the mountains, guided by Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, Crowpaw, Tawnypelt, and Stormfur.