Redwall by Brian Jacques

Truly evil creature, bumbling hero. Mice. Couldn't get into this book! Maybe the basics in black and white are satisfyingly simple for the young. I found it distasteful. You are set up to only hate the evil rat, and I'm not a big fan of hate, and I don't think it gives kids enough credit for understanding the subtleties of life. For instance, in Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, Peter is not all good. He's capricious and spoiled and stubbornly selfish. Captain Hook is a nemesis, but he has boyish insecurities and a great fear of the crocodile. Neither is all good nor all bad. Perhaps Peter Pan is a bad comparison, as this book is not in the same vein, but I hope it serves. There are no redeeming or empathetic qualities attributed to the evil rat/king/pirate etc. and I just didn't care to waste any time wondering if he would invade the Redwall Abbey, kill the peaceful mice there and enslave the population. I'm pretty sure the uncoordinated, young dreamer mouse would man up, get a pair of flip flops that fit better and do in the bad guy at the end of the book. Books that make me not even see the chapter breaks are worth it; the page turners. Reading Redwall, I mostly just hoped it would get better. Abandon all hope ye who enter there.