The Land of Painted CavesJean M. Auel - The Land of Painted Caves
THE LAND OF THE PAINTED CAVES continues the story of Ayla, her mate Jondalar, and their little daughter, Jonayla, taking readers on a journey of discovery and adventure as Ayla struggles to find a balance between her duties as a new mother and her training to become a Zelandoni -- one of the Ninth Cave community's spiritual leaders and healers.
Ayla, the heroine first introduced in THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, is loved by millions of readers, with the result that the Earth Children series has become a national literary phenomenon. In THE PLAINS OF PASSAGE Ayla's story continues. Ayla and Jondalar set out on horseback over the grasslands of Ice-Age Europe. They traverse a vast continent, difficult and treacherous, but pristine and breathtakingly beautiful, full of enchantment. Their trek is a search for something that calls them, that special place that can be their home.
In this third of the acclaimed Earth's Children novels, Ayla, the independent heroine of THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR and THE VALLEY OF HORSES, sets out from the valley on Whinney, the horse she tamed.
In this second novel of the Earth's Children saga, Ayla, the unforgettable heroine of THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, sets out solo into a world far from friendly. She is in search of others like herself...and in search of love. Driven by energies she scarcely understands, she explores where the clan never dared to travel. In a hidden valley, she finds not only a herd of steppe horses, but also a unique kinship with animals as vulnerable as herself. Still, nothing prepares her for the emotional turmoil she feels when she rescues a young man, Jondalar -- the first of the Others she has seen -- from almost certain death.
This is the first novel in Jean M. Auel's epic of life 35,000 years ago when two kinds of human beings, Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon, shared the Earth. It follows the story of Ayla, who is adopted by a group of Neanderthals.