Kieran Larwood

So you create a fantasy world. Why would you include an entirely sexist premise that the oldest (female) rabbit can't become the chieftain because she's a girl? She's described as being faster, more studious and generally a better candidate for the job, yet she is excluded.

Told as "by the bard" throughout with interludes in the bard's time with the young rabbits. Spoils the tension somewhat as Podkin is legendary in their time so he clearly doesn't die part way through this tale...

Very happy show more ever after, but then it is for a younger audience. show less

I absolutely adored Podkin One-Ear and I think it is safe to say it has been favourite children's fantasy of the year. My initial way to describe this book is that it is The Name of the Wind, but for kids and with rabbits. Its the perfect summary. But to give a little bit more detail: Podkin's tale is told to us by a travelling Bard on a winter's night. Podkin and his siblings narrowly escape an attack by our villains the Gorm, the stuff of little rabbits' nightmares who are wonderfully show more evil. With the help of assorted and fantastic rabbit side characters along the way, Podkin starts to tread down the path of destiny as he and his siblings try to survive and defeat this horrifying enemy.
This was truly a wonderful read. Podkin's world is describe in such rich detail that you too feel yourself getting cold from all the snow. There are similar themes to books like The Hobbit, with adventure, in depth mythology, and a strong focus on friendship and family. The story is fast paced, but leaves plenty of time for character development. There is some fighting and violence but nothing is described graphically enough to upset a 10 year old. There is such an assortment of wonderful characters that everyone will come away with a different character that they love the most.
Overall I give this book 4.5/5 Stars and just can't wait for the next book in the series. This is a book that will bring joy to all lovers of good fantasy. Kids will love it, their parents will and so will the teachers. show less

This one the writing style is just not for me, I'm going to have to wait for an audiobook to come out because I DNF'd this really fast.

It sounds like everything I want in a book, rabbits, magic, storytelling.

But the writing style doesn't hook me and it doesn't keep me fixated.

I don't blame this author, I'm sure this is a wonderful book, it's just the pros and how it's written it is not as wonderful as it could be. And if this is for children, it's definitely going to be rough for them too show more because they need a little bit more flower and whimsy to fully enjoy it. I'm left thinking this was for late teens.

Sadly because of how recent this book is, there's no audiobook available to relieve me of how hard it is to push through the writing. I am going to have to wait several years before somebody actually records this I guess. show less

This is the third in the Longburrow series and it took me several chapters to catch on. I wish I would have noticed the "Character List" at the end of the book earlier! The main characters, three young rabbits, play a huge role in battles to save the forest from the Gormalech. It reminds me of a combination of Harry Potter (helpful items are found), The Hobbit (various creature unite), and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (young siblings take the leadership roles). This book is for more show more mature elementary readers who can keep a lot of characters and events in line. show less