I've been wanting to start this topic for quite awhile now, but just been too busy.
A little over a year ago, I was introduced to the Redwall series of books by Brian Jacques. I have been reading them to our now nine-year old son (when we first started, they were definitely beyond his reading ability). I have enjoyed them immensely. I think there are 17 or 18 now in the series, we are just finishing the twelfth book.
The author is apparently well known in the United Kingdom, since that is where he is from. He began writing these books in the mid-eighties, and I don't know how it is that I never heard of them before last year.
For those of you who have never heard of them, they center around a place called Redwall Abbey, and the characters in the books are all animals; the time period seems to be roughly the Middle Ages (judging by the weaponry and some of the language). There is a very strong line between and good and bad. The "good guys" are mice, otters, voles, moles, squirrels, hedgehogs, badgers and a few others I might have forgotten. The "bad guys" are rats, ferrets, weasels, stoats, foxes, toads, some birds, snakes, and a few others I have probably forgotten . A recurring character throughout the books is Martin the Warrior, who is like the patron saint of the Abbey (as well as one of the founders of it).
I find these books to be very well written, with very engaging storylines and excellent vocabulary (I have had to break open the dictionary on occasion, which is unusual). The author is very clever and creative, not only with his prose, but occasionally with poetry that is interwoven into the story.
If you haven't heard of these books, I heartily recommend that you give them a try. The title of the first book of the series is Redwall. You don't have to read them in order, each one stands on its own merit, but we have enjoyed reading them in sequence.
If you have heard of them, I am curious as to what you think of them.
I look forward to your feedback and questions.
Mrs. C