Are you looking for a classic series to add to your family read-aloud time? Do you have a child who loves animals and epic adventure? If your family loves The Chronicles of Narnia or The Hobbit, it’s time to take a look at the Redwall Series!
What Is Redwall?
Redwall is an impressive red sandstone abbey in Mossflower, a fantasy world filled with talking woodland animals and page-turning adventure. The creatures that live at Redwall are known throughout the land for being peaceful and helpful. But just as in real life, things are not always calm for these peace-loving animals. Inevitably, trouble finds its way to the abbey, and readers are whisked off into an imaginary world full of humor, mind-bending riddles, intrepid heroes, and rabble-rousing villains.
Take our free Redwall Series Checklist to your local library!
About the Author and the Series
British author Brian Jacques grew up in Liverpool, England, and was greatly influenced by the writings of celebrated authors like Arthur Conan Doyle, Kenneth Grahame, Sir Thomas Mallory, and Daniel Defoe. He discovered his own talent for writing when he was just ten years old. The many different jobs Jacques held as an adult influenced his writing and helped him create action-packed journeys for his readers.
Children who enjoy epic battles and knightly quests will love the Redwall series. The flowery language may be hard for modern readers at first, but then the story takes over and draws the reader in. And since battles are an integral part of the series, the description of some scenes may be too intense for more sensitive readers. But Brian Jacques is an expert at character and plot development, which is one of the reasons readers will keep coming back to read more and more of this 22-book series.
About the Books
In Redwall, the first book in the series, readers meet Matthias, a young mouse who yearns for action. Redwall is normally a place of peace and calm, but Matthias is determined to fight off Cluny the Scourge, a wicked rat who longs to claim the abbey for himself. Eventually the abbot realizes Redwall must indeed be defended, and he places Matthias and Constance the badger in charge of protecting the abbey. Matthias’ adventures begin with the quest to find the sword of Martin the Warrior, the original defender of Mossflower. Will Matthias find it in time? Will he be able to save his friends?
In book two, Mossflower, the reader is taken back in time to discover Martin the Warrior’s story. Besides introducing readers to the ancestors of some characters from the first book, Mossflower explores how Redwall came to be and ties together some loose ends for the reader. But as in Redwall, it’s the action that keeps readers turning the pages. Will Martin outsmart the evil wild cat Tsarmina? Whose plot will succeed in the end?
Matthias’ headstrong son Mattimeo takes center stage in Mattimeo, the third book in the series. Like his father before him, Mattimeo doesn’t fit the mold of abbey mouse. His propensity for mischief lands him in trouble on a regular basis. When Slagar the Fox kidnaps Mattimeo and the other children of Mossflower, readers are drawn into the children’s plight from two different angles. What will Matthias and the other parents encounter in their attempt to rescue their children? Will Mattimeo and his comrades be able to escape?
If your child loves the first book in this series, there are twenty-one more for him to enjoy. So beware–you may find yourself engrossed in the world of Redwall for quite some time!
Redwall at a Glance
Author: Brian Jacques
Genre: juvenile fiction, fantasy
Interests: adventure, animals, knights, quests
Suggested age range: age 10 and up
Gender preference: boys and girls
In the series: 22 books, 350+ pages each
Series Extras
- The Great Redwall Feast (an illustrated storybook), 40 pages
- A Redwall Winter’s Tale (an illustrated storybook), 72 pages
- The Redwall Cookbook (recipes for food featured in the popular series), 104 pages
Redwall Series Library Checklist
Do your kids need a little extra encouragement to read? Take our Redwall Series checklist to your local library and have your child check off books as he reads them.
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