The charm of even Beak of the Moon [it did resort to some heavy handedness about sheep] was the lives of these animals were their own.

I loved how each character had his own unique character. Badger was kind, Fox intelligent and courageous, Mole humble (and greedy! A vice that had its own price to pay), Kestrel focused and determined, Toad strong and perservering, Pheasant vain, Adder painfully honest, Rabbit grounded. I also loved how Fox saw something positive emerge from a negative event. This showed his maturity and his spiritual eye was open; noticing how, 'All works for good...' Badger grated on my nerves. To me, he was pompous and overbearing, and far too concern troll over how much Mole ate.In 1992 a major animation series based on the Farthing Wood stories was broadcast by the BBC and it stole the hearts of children throughout Britain and Europe. A gripping, exciting and emotional story where the Animals of Farthing Wood must leave their home because of humans destroying the land to build houses. Toad reveals he knows a nature reserve where they can all go and live safely from human intervention and so the animals make an oath to protect one another on the dangerous journey to the nature reserve White Deer Park.

Death is a constant threat throughout the book as some of the other animals won’t complete the journey. Its been over twenty years since I read this book last with my school class, all of us following along as our teacher (the one who impacted me the most) read aloud. Now I'm looking forward to revisiting it with adult eyes :) You got to know about each animal in Farthing Wood because their name was their species and for all females, mate. Vixen, the fox's mate, showed up late to the party but was the only female given any thought. Pheasant's hen gave him a scathing look on occasion, but never chimed in an opinion. Ok, so I wasn't intending to listen to this as this was on my wife's kindle, but the most recent renovation work on our house meant we were in the same room working, so I listened.

I also enjoyed the message that went with every animals uniqueness: we all have a place and a part to play in life; no matter how small or large; weak or strong. I appreciated the way Dann did not shy away from adressing the realities of life: death, suffering, hardship and hunger; but met these topics head on, with hope intertwined. The writing oozes intelligence and is wonderfully imaginative. I especially enjoyed the scene where Badger collected glow worms and used them to light his inner chambers the night the animals gathered in his sett: very endearing and sweet. The story also eminated spirituality and important messages about the care and preservation of Creation, friendship, loyalty and consequences of choices, bravery, perserverence, intelligence and wisdom, kindness, mercy, virtue and admonition. The Animals of Farthing Wood is a tale about the residents of Farthing Wood's quest to move to White Deer Park after their home is bulldozed over.