children books

I read this book because I remembered being shown the movie as a child and not really understanding the movie, but finding it scary and sad. At 24 years-old, I figured I could probably grasp the plot by now, and I was curious what it was all about.

I was not disappointed. This is one of the best books I've read in a while. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that the characters are all animals makes it more interesting, not less (was Animal Farm boring for lack of humans?). Animals are often used in literature to represent human archetypes and it can be quite a useful tool. Here it's no different: you have Hazel, the leader coming into his own, Fiver, the seer, Bigwig, the warrior, etc. The rabbits experience adventures worthy of the Odyssey throughout the story, and I found there was never a dull moment.

The basic plotline is that a small band of rabbits escapes from their warren (rabbit community) after a rabbit with some sort of sixth sense (Fiver) predicts its destruction. The rest of the story chronicles the rabbits' journey through the English countryside to try to establish a new warren elsewhere and acquire does so that the warren will flourish. There's lots of dangers for wild rabbits from all sorts of expected and unexpected sources, and their adventures are the meat of the story.

I decided the story still is scary; at times it was all I could do to force myself to actually read the words rather than skip ahead to discover if one of the characters survives the close fight, or epic (for rabbits) three-mile journey, or hopeless mission. But it's not sad. It's an inspiring story of courage, ambition, loyalty, and friendship, with plenty of adventure along the way - all the ingredients for a great story.

Regarding the disappointed reviewer who read this in an English class - a poorly taught English class can ruin any great book. This book has important, if not altogether original, insights into human relationships, government, society, oppression, liberation, fear, death, etc. I think this is a very valuable book and one of the best I've ever read. I'm glad I gave it another chance.

I came upon this book after reading several Redwall series books. Many reviews in the Redwall series books talked of a book that the series was like; Watership Down. Looking for a good read, I bought the book and started it at the end of the summer and finished it 1 month and a half after school started.

It was fantastic! I loved every word. The book captured my heart and kept my hands flipping pages. My eyes rolled back and forth, eager to find out what would happen next. My heart raced as the story unfolded.

The book is about a band of rabbits who flee from their warren (a warren is a group of rabbits which live together like a society). They are lead by Hazel, a young and fairly strong rabbit and Fiver, also young and prophetic (he had visions of the warren being destroyed, which was the reason of the escape). They bring along members of the Owsla (a group of strong rabbits that act like policemen) (Bigwig, Silver) as well as a few of their friends; Pipkin, Blackberry, and others I forgot to mention. They depart against their Threarah's wishes and barely escape the Owsla. After that, they have to find a place to start a new warren. They finally find the place (Watership Down) after braving several weeks in the forest where they learn smart new techniques to stay alive. They have to start a new society with only themselves and the down with new rabbits joining them now and then as well as befriending a bird! They soon realize another problem, they need does to reproduce, so they journey to the nearest warren, where they have to battle their corrupt leader, General Woundwort.

This book is very interesting as well as exhilirating. Richard Adam's master storytelling unwind a breathtaking saga about the adventures of fugitive rabbits and their dream of their own society.

I would reccomend this book to advanced readers(because of its length) as well as Redwall fans. Brian Jacques (author of the Redwall series) has done a great job, but I think Richard Adam's piece beats him.

I can't wait until I get and read the sequel, Tales From Watership Down (also by Richard Adams).

I first experienced the amazing lapine world in Watership Down at the age of 7 when my mother read it aloud to me. I was absolutely entranced by the different characters, the epic feel of the journey (which would seem as mere miles and months to humans), and the deeply entrenched mythos that tells the rabbits their place in the world.

If you enjoy the deep world and characters of Tolkien, you will find this book to be endearing and riveting. This novel is not just for children or for high school English; it is for everyone and is an experience to share with the ones you love.