Adorable and nostalgic. Weird ending. ( )

"Det är en lång, het sommar i Gamla Skogen och alla djuren lider svårt av torkan.
Gamla Skogen blir bara mindre och mindre. Djuren trängs sakta men säkert undan av människornas skogsmaskiner. En kväll samlar Grävling ihop djuren till ett möte. Padda, som har varit borta en tid, har upptäckt att det långt borta, på andra sidan motorvägen, finns ett naturreservat där alla djur är skyddade. Där finns till och med människor som hjälper dem.
Tillsammans bestämmer djuren att de ska lämna Gamla Skogen. Det är en brokig skara som ger sig av på den farliga vandringen och de råkar ut för många dramatiska äventyr."

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...

Originally published in 1979, The Animals of Farthing Wood is a contemporary classic in the field of animal fiction, and launched a long series of novels. It was the inspiration behind an animated television series, produced from 1992-1995, of the same name, and there have been numerous titles published that offer the adapted television stories in book form. I had long been aware of the series, but only started to read it as part of a research project into the depiction of foxes in children's literature. I am so glad that I did, as it is simply a wonderful book! It has a clear didactic aim, in promoting environmentalist ideas about land conservation and stewardship - at one point, while discussing the nature of humankind, the animals decide that naturalists are the only exception to the rule than human beings are destructive and arrogant - and there are numerous passages describing the tragedy that overdevelopment has brought to the natural world, and to its animals inhabitants. I found this story particularly interesting, because unlike many examples of anthropomorphic animal fiction that depict species which would normally be antagonistic toward one another as living in peace, here the story overtly addresses this issue, rather than trying to pretend it doesn't exist. Of course, the 'Oath of Mutual Protection' isn't exactly realistic, but it allows for a fascinating and occasionally moving story. In the end, whatever the didactic aim, and however many fascinating philosophical interludes it contained, this was an exciting adventure story, one I raced through. I had no sooner set it down, than I was reaching for the next book in the series, In the Grip of Winter, which chronicles the animals' experiences after they reach White Deer Park. Highly recommended, to any reader who enjoys good animal fiction. ( )

A thoroughly charming story of the animal inhabitants of a woodland slated for development, and their adventures as they travel in search of a safe place to live. This book reminded of Watership Down, but on a slightly more juvenile level. Not too sweet, nor sappy, and very much acceptable as an adult read. ( )

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.
Toad returns after a long journey home to discover the water has dried up. It was their luck to have the foresight that once the water was gone they'd die. They had not known about the plans to cement over the land.
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.
They stop and they eat, then someone is in peril, they eat, etc.
If you are a fan of this genre, as I am, you will find a lot to like about this book.
However, it is not nearly as compelling as Watership Down or Frost dancers. It almost catches up to Beak of the Moon and Dark of the Moon in quality but the lack of a central character or distinguished culture of these animals makes this book not as real to me. In the aforementioned novels, Watership Down in particular, you feel deeply entrenched in the world of these animals. In Watership Down, they have set customs and rules and don't know [eerily so in Farthing Wood] much about the human existence. There were a myriad of instances where it's either remarked upon the cruelness of humans or the kindness of humans. I scoffed when Owl described the use of machinery for pesticides. That took it a bit too far.
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.

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.
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.
Why must this genre be so sexist?
Are there any animal quests adventures about the girls?

Badger grated on my nerves. To me, he was pompous and overbearing, and far too concern troll over how much Mole ate.
Mole put himself down too much. I have Duncton Woods on my bookshelf to read soon. I hope moles take some back in this book when they are the leads. I found Mole adorable in this book but none of these animals got to act in their habitat. Squirrels had to crawl on the ground, the poor things, and the Rabbits constantly had to duke it out for being vegetarians. As a vegetarian myself, I was on their side.
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.

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.

I've adored Foxes my whole life and I loved this Fox.
Fox and the Hare were my favourite characters in this book. ( )