In all of the Redwall books, peace-loving animals join together for a bit of adventure in defending their homes or their friends against evil, roving bandits and tyrants. Jacques applies a medieval format to the lives of woodland creatures. Each type of animal has familiar, humorous traits. The villains are wonderful in their nastinesss.

The strength is in the lively characters, outrageous dialogue, and masterful use of language. For younger readers it is a positive thing that the books mostly follow the same basic storyline with similar characters but with some twists and variations. As individual books they are quite enjoyable. In fact, the first six are excellent. I would, however, recommend not reading one right after another, since there is a battle in every book (I am sure that would not hinder most boys). There are some good elements in the stories for girls, too, such as the riddles, feasts, and good fellowship. This is an excellent series to start reading aloud, since Brian Jacques developed Redwall through storytelling before he became a writer. Most children will want to continue on their own.
RL=5th-8th