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Podkin One-EarKieran Larwood
Podkin One-Ear
by Kieran Larwood
A bard tells the story of a chieftain's son who fled his burning warren with his sisters, carrying a magical dagger and no idea how to lead.
A story about animals, adventurous and epic in tone. We would put it with children of 8–11, and at a reading age of about 9 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Mild peril
- An animal dies
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Part of a series
This is book 1 of the The Five Realms series, so there is more to read if it goes down well — which is worth a great deal with a reluctant reader.
Our take on this book
A travelling bard arrives at a warren on the midwinter feast and tells the tale of Podkin, a chieftain's idle son who fled his own burning home with his sister and baby brother, carrying a magical dagger and no notion of how to become the hero the story needs. Kieran Larwood's Carnegie-nominated adventure is a rabbit epic in the tradition of Watership Down but pitched younger, with a clever framing device — the bard's tale — that lets it feel like a legend being made. The world of warrens, tribes and iron-cursed enemies is richly built, and Podkin's growth from spoiled boy to leader is earned. There is peril and the death of animal characters, in keeping with a story about war among the warrens, so it suits a child who can take some darkness. For an eight- to eleven-year-old who wants a proper sweeping fantasy with talking animals, it is the gripping first book of a long saga.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
The Beasts of GrimheartKieran Larwood
The Gift of Dark HollowKieran Larwood
Asha and the Spirit BirdJasbinder Bilan
The Girl Who Speaks BearSophie Anderson
The Jungle BookRudyard Kipling
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.