The Animals of Farthing Wood

"My next choice is The Animals of Farthing Wood (1979) by Colin Dann. This is the story of woodland animals that have to flee their home because of human intervention. Under normal circumstances, some of them would be predator and prey, but in order to make the journey together they make a pact not to eat each other. So the impact of human beings on these woodland creatures is to force them to live in an unnatural state. I’d probably recommend children reading this before Watership Down, because it is not as harrowing. Yes, that’s true, animals die in this book and it’s shocking. However, one of the saddest things about this book is that some of the animals in the story are now extinct in reality — for instance the red-back shrike. This is our fault. Even more are endangered — the adder, the hare, the vole. These are all creature whose habitats have been reduced to the point that their existence is under threat. The Animals of Farthing Wood was intended to draw our attention to these wonderful creatures whose habitat we destroy, so we can change our ways and protect them. Sadly a great many woodlands have been lost since it was written. Yes, nature can be harsh, but it is the humans who are the worst foe in this story, and this is an important reason to read this book – to develop empathy. It is important to empathise with non-humans – to put your reader into the perspective of the woodland creatures."