Reviews

The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann

leslie_ann_thornton's review

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

wanderingstories's review against another edition

3.0

The Animals of Farthing Wood has been on my Reading list for some time, and even though this one was a picture book I still enjoyed it.

Maybe later I will pick up the paperbook version. It will be interesting to know what parts were missing from the full original version.

I love animal stories and thought this one was nice but not the same to me as [b: The Wind in the WIllows|5659|The Wind in the Willows|Kenneth Grahame|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423183570s/5659.jpg|1061285] or [b: Winnie the Pooh|99107|Winnie-the-Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh, #1)|A.A. Milne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1298440130s/99107.jpg|1225592]. It didn't had the same feel to me, although I know the animals are struggling and venture out to find this new home of theirs - it didn't had the same spark, adventure and emotional response than other animal books I've read.

readingrobin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

As far as animal survival fiction goes, it's passable. I feel like I've read others that went a bit deeper with their ideas, like Watership Down or Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. I feel like though our characters so through many trials, adversities, and peril, they stay relatively static. There's a sickly sweetness to them where most feel like plush toys rather than actual animals. I know it's probably meant to emit a sense of a strong community where everyone looks out for each other, but one would think there would be more contention as the dangerous pile up. I feel like so many animals were interchangeable mainly due to how there weren't many diverse personalities.

The pace is positively sluggish to the point where I wanted to put the story down and not look back, but somehow I just kept reading. It honors its conservationist message and highlights the human threats against wildlife well, but I'm not sure if today's children will have much interest in the presentation of these issues. 

crusoe's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really liked this story and you can tell is was the inspiration of a lot of contemporary middle grade books, like the warrior cats books. The conservationist message is nice even if the conversations the animals have about the humans feel a bit contrived. Each animal has its own personality which is great and I like how it doesn't shy away from the more gruesome aspects a journey like this would entail, it truly raises the stakes and makes this story one of epic proportions. 

tquinton's review against another edition

5.0

Spectacular. Masterpiece. Sensational. 
Are there too many adjectives? Yes. Is it 5 stars anyway? Yes.
I LOVE THIS BOOK SM

livres_de_bloss's review against another edition

2.0

Firstly, there are waaaay too many adjectives in this book.

With the exception of Adder (and sometimes Tawny Owl), most of the animals were obnoxiously nice to the point of tedium. Because of this, I found Adder to be the most interesting and relatable character. Some of the dialogue between the others was cringe.

I really can't see this story holding the interest of kids: it's about twice as long as it needs to be (with a LOT of flowery clutter) and because of this, frankly, boring. I was relieved when it was finally done.

lunarpop's review

adventurous sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

calfon's review

5.0

This book is an absolute joy. Iit is hard to believe it was first published 40 years ago and is every bit, if not more, as relevant now as it was then. It is emotional, moving and just lovely.

milliethehufflepuff's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.75

hermen's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0