The Animals of Farthing Wood

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There’s even a Romeo and Juliet style sub-plot thrown in (The Lion King 2 got there much later). Would The Animals of Farthing Wood get made today? 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. A show like Farthing Wood understood that if children can be taught about death sensitively from an early age, it would help them as they grow up, and encounter its effects first hand. Man-made threats Prejudice and discrimination was also a common theme. Having lost their home, and been forced to journey across country, the animals were often treated with hostility and contempt when they attempted to settle elsewhere. 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.

The animals reach a motorway and are able to cross one side without any problems, but the other side is much busier and would be much more difficult to cross. Whistler carries the smaller and lighter animals across the road and most of the other animals cross safely, but two of the older hedgehogs are too slow and perish under the wheels of a lorry. The rest of the group walks through some poisoned farm fields and come across a naturalist as they rest in an orchard. Next they travel through a town and rest in a church to escape a heavy storm, but the hole through which they entered is filled in and a wedding party arrives, causing pandemonium as the animals rush to escape. They all escape the church, but some of the slower animals are left behind and have to be fetched by Whistler. The first series followed the animals of Farthing Wood, who were forced to flee their homes after humans started destroying the wood to build suburban tract houses. Led by Fox, and guided by Toad, the animals left Farthing Wood on a journey to White Deer Park, a nature reserve where they would be protected. The second and third series followed the relationships between the Farthing Wood animals, the White Deer Park animals and outsiders, particularly a blue fox named Scarface, his mate Lady Blue and cub Ranger. The book follows the Farthing Wood animals on their journey to White Deer Park. It was originally 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.

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I also enjoyed the message that went with every animals uniqueness: we all have a place and a part to play in life; no matter how small or large; weak or strong. I appreciated the way Dann did not shy away from adressing the realities of life: death, suffering, hardship and hunger; but met these topics head on, with hope intertwined. 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.

And I'm glad I did, a fun, allegorical and well read audiobook. I must admit I started just vaguely listening, but as their adventures increased I was hooked and if I had to leave the room, I was asking my wife to pause so I didn't miss anything. 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.End of Snare for the Unwary (Kestrel spots river, Animals cross River, Fox and Badger hit by driftwood)

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 :) Key Animators: Chris Clarke, Gary Hender, Nathalie Biston, Marian Brooks, Valerie Pouyanne, Jean Francois Galataud, Monica Moinar, Lea Movement Series 1 was released in Germany on 25 September 2009, [6] Series 2 was released in Germany on 27 May 2011, [7] and Series 3 was released in Germany on 24 February 2012. [8] The German DVD releases offer both English and German audio options.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. It is certainly true that the programme was unusually stark and brutal at times. Just look at the ‘Butcher Bird’. The animals arrive at a quarry and Mole digs under the fence so they can all get in to drink. Here they meet a heron called Whistler, who catches some fish for them to eat. Toad goes swimming and is caught by a carp, but Whistler catches the fish which soon releases Toad from its mouth. Toad asks Whistler to set the fish free and the heron obliges. After this Whistler decides to join the animals on their journey and they all have a celebration before setting off again. 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. 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...'

To the Rescue" (based upon The Missing Fox's Friend, Adventure for the Birds, and Scared Silly by Snakes) 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. I bought this some time ago, and at that time I was pretty surprised at myself that despite being such a big fan of the TV series, I had never actually read the book.

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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.