Book Review: Redwall by Brian Jacques

Summary:

Young Matthias mouse wishes to be a great warrior like the legendary Martin. But living inside the peaceful Abby walls of Redwall, there's not much need for that sort of thing. Not until the vicious warlord rat named Cluny the Scourge arrives with his whip-like tail. Besieged by Cluny's hoard, Redwall residents must suddenly learn how to defend their beloved home and Matthias goes on a mission to discover Martin the Warriors long lost sword and enlist the woodland creatures to assist in driving off the horrible rats.

Personal Notes:

I read this book as a ten year old and just read it again to my six year old son. It is so exciting and well written. The world Brian Jacques created is such a beautiful one. His villains are immediately dark and ruthless and a bit scary. But it makes the hero all the more brave when he is willing to face up to such a menacing villain as Cluny. When I was little we had a rooster that we were all afraid of, and we named him Cluny the scourge because that was the worst possible thing we could have called him.

Why it's important to read to your child:

The puzzles and riddles and language of this story are so enriching. They will get your child thinking and learning without realizing. The plot progresses at such a wonderful pace that your child won't want you to stop. But the most important aspect is the bravery that so many of these character possess. (Some scenes may be a little scary for young ones) They could easily refuse to take on the challenges that face them. They are given more than one opportunity to surrender, but it is never discussed as an option. We talked about themes of bravery, villainy, defending loved ones, fighting, solving riddles.

Supplementary Material:

There is an entire series in the Redwall world and all of them that I have read are on the same level of quality. I tore through them as a young girl and now my son is eager to read them himself. There was a wonderful series on PBS while I was growing up that was an animated version of the books. There were tons of episodes and my brothers and I all worked hard to record each one on VHS so we would ultimately have the entire series. There was one episode that we always missed. It was a neat series because they took a moment after every episode to interview Brian Jacques. He would talk (very animatedly in a Scottish accent) about the world and characters of Redwall and it was one of the first stepping stones toward my interest in becoming a writer.