I have read The Chronicles of Narnia to my children, and The Lord of the Rings, Artemis Fowl, the Little House books, Moody’s Little Britches series, and, of course, Harry Potter. All of them are special to us; the books and their authors are like distant family members you think about much more often than you see them and about whom you always feel fondly.
None of these very special writers and book series, not even the Hogwarts Saga, mean to my younger children what Brian Jacques does and will, despite his passing of a heart attack last Saturday, news we only learned today. There are 23 Redwall novels (and counting) and we have read twenty of them aloud together. The boys and my youngest daughter have read them to themselves and listened to them on tape and CD many more times. Today’s news, consequently, was devastating.
We even met him once and he showed a special kindness to my son, Timothy, a tale I’ll save for another day. Today I just want to say “thank you,” cry a little for the loss and for the great pleasure this wonderful story teller gave me and mine, and open the comment boxes for you to share your favorite Redwall novel or how you first met Martin the Warrior, with whom I hope Brian is enjoying a hearty meal tonight. May the greatest pure story teller of our time rest in peace.
“Somewhere Jacques is slurping hotroot soup and eating a big slice of deeper’n’ever pie, rinsing it down with Dandelion Cordial and October Ale, and crunching dozens of candied chestnuts for dessert.”
— Matt London
A sad loss indeed. I just recently began reading the first book in his series aloud to my two boys. We will definitely finish in honor of Brian.
Having been a fan of Brian Jacques’s wonderful novels for eight years, the news of his death was devastating to me, although the amount of coverage in blogposts such as these has lessened the blow. My first story was “Triss,” which I picked up in 2003 when it had recently been released in paperback, finished it in three days, and promptly tossed aside Harry Potter and Hogwarts in exchange for a world of noble mice and evil rats. “Redwall” quickly became my means of escape from an unpleasant middle school, with each novel giving me a new hero or heroine to look up to. Since then, characters such as Matthias, Martin, Mariel, Triss, and Tiria have been my role models, guiding me through high school, and now college.
I want to thank you for posting this, but I must correct you on one thing. There are actually 22 novels, counting soon-to-be-published “The Rogue Crew,” which I am eagerly anticipating.