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Earth’s Children is a series of historical novels that were written by renowned author, Jean M. Auel. The novel has been set more than 30 years before the present. During several interviews author, Jean M. Auel had mentioned that there would be the seventh novel, however, once the sixth installment was released, Auel confirmed that it was going to be the final book in the Earths Children book series.
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Order of Earth's Children Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Clan of the Cave Bear | 1980 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Valley of Horses | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Mammoth Hunters | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Plains of Passage | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Shelters of Stone | 2002 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | The Land of Painted Caves | 2011 | Description / Buy |
The Earth’s Children book series has been set in Europe during the late Stone Age. The novels in the Earths Children book series focus on the period of co-existence between the Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnons. The entire series is a narrative about personal discovery; invention, coming of age and cultural complexities.
The Earth’s Children book series tells the story of Ayla, who happens to be an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl who had been adopted and raised by the Neanderthals. Later on in the series, Ayla embarks on a journey to find her own. Along the way, she meets with Jondalar, her romantic interest, and a co-protagonist as well.
Earth’s Children Awards
None of the books in the Earths Children book series has been nominated for any major literary award.
Earth’s Children Books into Movies
The Clan of the Cave Bear was adapted into a feature film in the year 1986.
Earth’s Children Best Books
The Clan of the Cave Bear: The first installment in the Earths Children book series. This is the story of an exceedingly young girl, Ayla who was born more than 35,000 years ago during the Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal times. Ayla happens to be a Cro-Magnon girl who was adopted by a clan of Neanderthals. The clan had found Ayla stranded and abandoned after a huge earthquake and a heavy snowfall. Ayla had initially managed to get a cave.
However, she was chased out of the cave by a cave lion. A majority of the Neanderthal in this narrative believe in the signs from their totems as well as in the Gods. Once found, Ayla is taken by the clan to a new cave that is located far away from the place where the earthquake happened. Initially, the people who resided in the cave were afraid of Ayla since she had blue eyes as well as the water that she produces whenever she is sad.
As time goes by, Ayla becomes integrated into the Neanderthal community. The Clan of the Cave Bear is the story about Ayla’s culture meddling and clashing with that of the Neanderthal. With that said, the reader is going to love the clarity and the poise that the author, Jean M Auel has given these characters. It is evidently clear that there was a lot of research that went into all these characters.
The Valley of the Horses: In the Valley of the Horses, we meet once again with the protagonist Ayla, the orphaned Cro-Magnon girl. In this installment, Ayla has not only been cursed, but the new leader of the tribe has also exiled her. Ayla must give up baby Durc and go on to search for her species. Thus, Ayla heads to Eurasian North, on foot. Upon arrival in the Valley of the Horses, she should find a nice cave that she can stay, until winter passes.
To keep her company, Ayla decides to domesticate a horse that she had hunted for such a long time. Ayla decides to name the horse Whiney, and as time goes by she learns how to ride the horse. After taming the horse, Ayla the rescues an injured lion cub and decides to name the cub, baby. When the mating season approached, both the lion and the horse left.
The Mammoth Hunters: In Mammoth Hunters, we meet with Ayla once again. However, in this installment, we do not meet with Jondalar, who had accompanied her in the previous installments to integrate her with new types of clans and people. The interactions between the main character Ayla and the tension that was between Ayla and Jondalar was quite believable as well as quite frustrating as well.
In this installment, Ayla invents feminism and goes against the rules of her clan. In the process, she does things that are not supported by her clan like hunting and also speaking her mind as well. By doing this, Ayla pisses off the next in line clan leader.
Other Book Series That You May Like
The “First American” by William Sarabande is a powerfully dramatic and extraordinarily detailed book series. Beyond the Sea is the first installment in the First American book series, that introduces the readers to Torka, an exceedingly bold and young hunter, who not only lost his wife but also his children as well to a killer mammoth.
What Is The Next Book in The Earth's Children Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Earth's Children Series. The newest book is The Land of Painted Caves and was released on March, 29th 2011.