The Animals of Farthing Wood

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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. Badger grated on my nerves. To me, he was pompous and overbearing, and far too concern troll over how much Mole ate. Jan 2013: I think this might be THE most spiritual children's book I have ever read. There's nothing to skip over, NOTHING to admonish. It's just a deep and lovely read with a meaningful message :)

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...' 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. There’s such a nice array of characters including the loyal Fox and pompous Owl plus the fatherly Badger and the greedy Mole who’s appetite can lead him into trouble, the group are lead by tour guide Toad. This was a poignant trip down memory lane for me, because as a child, I used to love the TV adaptation of 'The Animals of Farthing Wood' and I remember rushing my dinner so I could go and watch it in the comfort and peace of my bedroom. Those were the days.This book focusses on the need for a diverse group of wild British animals to make a trek together to a Nature reserve that Toad knows of, simply because the humans have decided to build hoses and develop the current countryside in which they live. With the ban of animals uffering hardships, deaths and many adventures on the way this book looks at the way humans treat animals and nature in general, taking it for granted and using poisons indiscriminately. Well written, it makes you embarrassed to hear what we do to wildlife, both animal and plant life. The book is a traditional journey tale not only in the style of other animal books such as Watership Down, but Lord of the Rings. Dann revealed in an interview with the "Green Action" radio programme on Q96 that the two-book version was special-issue for a children's book club that operated through British primary schools and included some illustrations left out of the original. [ citation needed] The adventure follows a group of animals who are forced from their home after humans start destroying their woods, with numerous hurdles the band of friends travel across the country to find protection at the White Deer Park nature reserve. Death is a constant threat throughout the book as some of the other animals won’t complete the journey.

Wise Old Owl was meant to come across as an insufferable know-it-all, but the book was trying to play off that Badger knew what was best for everyone. 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. Colin Dann was born in Richmond, London, in 1943. After leaving the local grammar school he worked first for a large textile company before his real love – the world of books – brought him a job in publishing. He worked for William Collins, Sons & Co. for 13 years. During this time, in odd hours at home, Colin wrote his first book, The Animals of Farthing Wood, which was published finally in 1979 after years of trying. It was an immediate success, winning awards is now translated into sixteen languages. The book has never been out of print since its first publication 25 years ago. Six sequels and one prequel have followed and enjoyed similar success. This one is pure nostalgia driven, I spotted this in a charity shop a while ago and grabbed it like my life depended on it. The Animals of Farthing Wood were such a big part of my early childhood, I watched the TV series on CBBC, had the kids book collection, one of which is also pictured, and still have the annuals that came out at the time. I loved The Animals of Farthing Wood so when I saw I had to get the book it was all based on.

About Colin Dann

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. The story follows a group of animals, led by Fox, as they make the decision to leave their home behind. People are bulldozing Farthing Wood to make room for new houses and Toad has just returned with news of a nature reserve where the group can live without fear.

The original book was meant to be a stand-alone book, with the animals reaching White Deer Park at the end. The success of the book led to a further six novels detailing the adventures of the animals once they reached White Deer Park, and a prequel showing how Farthing Wood came to be destroyed. The cover illustrations for this original series were painted by Portal artist Frances Broomfield. When their home in Farthing Wood is threatened by human development, a group of animals band together in a dangerous cross-country quest to find a place of safety and refuge. Led by the clever and conscientious Fox, the group includes species that would traditionally be "enemies," or rather, predator and prey. The company initially includes: Fox and his two deputies, Badger and Tawny Owl; Toad, who brings them word of a nature sanctuary that may be just what they are looking for; the boisterous Rabbit family; Mole; a group of hedgehogs; Adder; Weasel; Kestrel; the Hare couple; a groups of squirrels; a number of voles; numerous field mice; and a number of lizards. They all swear the "Oath of Mutual Protection," promising to look out for one another along the way, but although they do their best, some of them will not make it to their final destination at White Deer Park, while two others - Vixen and Whistler the heron - join the company along the way...I enjoyed the way the story flowed from one scene to another, although, there were quite a lot of scenes that could prove to be uncomfortable for a younger reader, but overall, the tone is quite mellow.

The plot is about a lot of different animals that have to pull together, putting all of their differences aside, to make a perilous journey to White Deer Park. All of this occurs because it is discovered that humans are cutting down the forest, and in the process, they are destroying their homes, so obviously, they need to leave. The story telling also had a nice rhythm with noticable ebbs and flows. A period of intense adventure and action would be followed by one of peace and tranquility and so on, creating interest and enjoyment. Dann's words often painted vivid and effortless pictures in my mind. In the Grip of Winter was published in 1981, Fox's Feud was published in 1982, and The Fox Cub Bold was published in 1983. An omnibus edition of all three books was published in 1994 by Hutchinson. The Siege of White Deer Park was first published in 1985, In the Path of the Storm was first published in 1989, and Battle for the Park was first published in 1992. Those three books were made into a second omnibus in 1995 by Hutchinson. 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. 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 was obsessed with the animated series which led me to the books, it’s probably the reason why I like to read and compare my favourite film and tv shows now. The moral of this story is that humans are taking up all of the land and leaving nothing for our wildlife. The message was well intended, but too much made about human fellows and less about the animals. Badger was at his worst when he crowed "I told you so" [well he did say he was right] to force the field mice and Vole to stay behind, when their babies are eaten. Farthing Wood was written many years before Frost Dancers but both had psychotic birds who killed. Frost Dancer's Bubba was more fleshed out than the Butcher Bird. The animals make a pact to protect each other, predators and prey alike. As the animals make their journey to White Deer Park, they encounter various obstacles that endanger their lives such as fires, hunters and other predators.