Animal fantasy
Independent reading level grades fourth through seventh

Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well...until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming--Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde--Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice--a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back...and become a legend himself.

I knew this was about a mouse war, but I honestly did not expect the entire novel to be about war, which just is not my thing. ( )

One of my favorite book series growing up. The Redwall series tells the story of various anthropomorphic woodland critters. These critters have factions and hierarchy, they are exceptionally similar to monarchy and caste systems from 1400s Europe. ( )

This book, and the subsequent others that followed became a stable in our house as my children grew up, or rather as my son grew up; he couldn’t get enough of them. So I was greatly surprised when I came across them in a box the other day, and decided to start my journey through them again at Redwall Abbey.

This is definitely a children’s book and as such it has a simplified cast of characters that younger readers can easily connect to and travel with on their adventures. Through the characters in these books young readers can learn a lot about life and the differences between us, without being overwhelmed and feel as if they are being educated while they read. There are villains which will make you boo and hiss; good guys that will have the reader cheering them on and wishing them well , but all of them are animals and I mean this in the literal sense. For those who have not read any of these books their main characters, and the remainder of the cast of hundreds are mice, foxes, rats (boo hiss) and badgers.

The book is excellently written, its descriptive wording makes the reader savour the sentence, the act or the food. I loved the way in which the food was described, in fact in some places it actually made my stomach growl. Another thing that would keep young readers engrossed is the way in which the Author is able to change settings and points of view without coming over as confused. Through this constant change the reader is able to experience both sides of the conflict laid out in books pages, and gain knowledge of the strategies used in both camps.

This is an excellent read for both the intended age group and any adult who is looking for something simple and interesting to read to while away a few hours.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/12/05/review-redwall-redwall-1-brian-jacques/





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