Redwall: Redwall, Book 1
by Brian Jacques
Fantasy, Fiction, Young-Adult, Animals, Adventure, Middle-Grade
A quest to recover a legendary lost weapon by bumbling young apprentice monk, mouse Matthias. Redwall Abbey, tranquil home to a community of peace-loving mice, is threatened by Cluny the Scourge savage bilge rat warlord and his battle-hardened horde. But the Redwall mice and their loyal woodland friends combine their courage and strength.
Recommendations from Common Sense Media
Age Recommendation: 10+
What Parents Need to Know:
Parents need to know that this is an exciting and well-told tale, but sophisticated language might deter younger or less experienced readers. Challenging vocabulary and rich, descriptive passages will help readers to improve their language skills. Though characters go to war, and there are plenty of deaths, including sad ones of secondary characters, the inherent value of a peaceful existence is promoted.
Educational Value: n/a
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Positive Messages: 3/5
Courage, bravery, and heroism are big here. The mice of the abbey also value peace above all else. Plus, there’s a one-world message as Matthias finds help from sparrows, shrews, an owl, and a cat; they couldn’t have defeated the rats without all working together. A direct contrast is made between Cluny’s way of leading through force and coercion and the way the creatures at the abbey band together.
Positive Role Models: 4/5
Matthias the mouse starts as a small abbey apprentice and becomes a hero, making friends out of other woodland creatures in the process.
Violence & Scariness: 3/5
War is waged in defense of the Abbey. The deaths are sometimes inflicted by gruesome methods: impalement, falling from great heights, stabbings, bludgeoning, bee stings, scalding, beheading, etc., and there are a few rather sad deaths of secondary characters. A scary, monstrous adder stalks characters throughout the story. Characters are kidnapped, beaten, and starved by the evil rats.
Sex, Romance & Nudity: 1/5
A mild flirtation.
Language: 2/5
Many phrases that contain “hell,” usually uttered by Cluny the Scourge. Plus the word “hussy” uttered once.
Products & Purchases: n/a
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking: 2/5
Many references to the partiality of some animals to the ale at the abbey and a mention of an animal being “tipsy.”
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