Throwback Thursday: Mossflower

Throwback Thursday is a new feature at Reading Lark. We'll still be doing some Book Boyfriend Posts and Book BFF Posts on Thursdays as well, but the Larks wanted a little variety on Thursdays. Throwback Thursday will allow us to celebrate some of the reads we loved way back when...

Mossflower

By: Brian Jacques

Release Date: 1988

I will put my hands up and admit it - I was (and still am) one of those children who was obsessed with animals. I collected Sylvanian Family figurines, and I absolutely LOVED reading about woodland animals who fought for what was right... The mice, hedgehogs, badgers and so on vs the evil foxes, weasels and stoats... All lead by the first truly evil crazy Queen I ever encountered... Tsarmina the wildcat. As a small child I lived and breathed this story so often that it isn't no wonder I grew up to be a Biologist with a serious passion for reading.

There are so many amazing morals, heroes, sacrifices and awesome fights where the right guy wins in the end that I look forward to introducing as many young readers to it as I can. There are a heap more books in this series, but Mossflower always held my heart the most of any book I think, as Martin the Warrior was a hero unlike any other. My young self believed in him as a huge force for good, and he shaped my view of right and wrong more than you'd think possible for a character in a book.

I don't know if this series ever made it big in the USA, but if you have an animal crazy kid, they need to be reading this... You might just want a picture book of British wildlife (or google!) handy to answer the obvious questions... Like, mommy, what IS the difference between a stoat and a weasel? (The bad joke Brit in me would reply... A weasel is weasily recognized, but a stoat is stoatily different!)

Goodreads:

The thrilling prequel to "Redwall". The clever and greedy wildcat Tsarmina becomes ruler of all Mossflower Woods and is determined to govern the peaceful woodlanders with an iron paw. The brave mouse Martin and quick-talking mouse thief Gonff meet in the depths of Kotir Castle's dungeon. The two escape and resolve to end Tsarmina's tyrannical rule. Joined by Kinny the mole, Martin and Gonff set off on a dangerous quest for Salamandastron, where they are convinced that their only hope, Boar the Fighter, still lives.