![]() Ironically, by focusing on animals and not on ethnic origins, Jacques’s series evoked a world where I never felt left out. This was important to me as a Latino kid who didn’t have many obvious role models in genre fiction. Redwall had powerful things to say about inclusion and representation. Good and Evil were not abstract entities in some great Manichean struggle but rather were rooted in the actions and behavior of individuals. The Redwall series was much smaller in scale, not just because of its anthropomorphic animals - rabbits, weasels, et cetera - but because its world was small. While my tastes in the genre are eclectic, I most enjoy grounded fantasy that eschews the epic and metaphysical tropes of Tolkien and Le Guin. I love fantasy, and I have no doubt that Redwall is a main reason for this. These were the first books I can remember buying for myself. From about seven to 13, I read every book in the series. It was a volume in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, the cover featuring a mouse with a sword. It was mine because I got it from my elementary school library. It was not what my brother casually threw aside that trickled down to me. It was not what my mother or grandparents read to me. ![]()
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