Kieran Larwood’s The Legend of Podkin One-Ear is a snowy rabbit adventure for 9 year olds about a lazy chieftain’s son who suddenly has to grow up very fast.<\/p>\n
It’s the first book of The Five Realms. The story’s told by a travelling bard who turns up at a warren on a freezing midwinter night. The little rabbits there shout for Podkin One-Ear, and he warns them his version will be different (because it’s the true one).<\/p>\n
Podkin is eight summers old and, at the start, he still has both his ears. He’s the son of Chief Lopkin of Munbury warren. He’s also probably the laziest, most spoilt young rabbit in all the Five Realms. He skips lessons and naps whenever he can.<\/p>\n
His big sister Paz would make a far better chief, and she tells him so. Their baby brother Pook mostly chews things and asks for soup. The bickering between Podkin and Paz feels very real!<\/p>\n
Then, on the night of the midwinter feast, the Gorm arrive. They’re rabbits who’ve been changed by iron into something monstrous, with rusty red eyes, spiked armour and twisted giant rats to ride. The three children escape through a secret tunnel with an old copper dagger their parents wanted kept safe. It can cut through anything (except iron, which is a bit of a problem).<\/p>\n
The best bit is the storytelling. The bard keeps stopping for a drink and a burp, and his young audience begs him to get on with it. It feels like being read to by someone who knows EXACTLY when to pause.<\/p>\n
And Podkin isn’t a ready-made hero. He’s cold, scared and sulky. It’s Paz’s quick thinking that gets them out of their first real scrape. Who doesn’t love a big sister who turns out to be right?<\/p>\n
Worth knowing before you hand it over. The Gorm are proper nightmare material. Their leader wears rabbit skulls on his belt, some of them small. The children’s home is attacked in the second chapter, and they run knowing they’ve probably lost their father. Two Gorm riders are crushed under a falling tree, with blood left on the snow.<\/p>\n
If your reader is sensitive to scary villains or to children separated from their parents, this might be one to read together. If they like some real darkness in their fantasy, with plenty of jokes in between, they’ll probably be hooked.<\/p>\n
If they’re after more brave young rabbits and old-fashioned swordplay, try The Green Ember. Heather and Picket have a baby brother to look after too, and wolves in uniform come to their meadow home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kieran Larwood’s The Legend of Podkin One-Ear is a snowy rabbit adventure for 9 year olds about a lazy chieftain’s son who suddenly has to grow up very fast. It’s the first book of The Five Realms. The story’s told by a travelling bard who turns up at a warren on a freezing midwinter night. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14391,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":14306,"lr_next_read_anchor":"The Green Ember","lr_seo_hook":"A bard's tale of three rabbit children on the run from iron-clad raiders.","lr_series_id":810,"lr_series_name":"The Five Realms","lr_series_position":1,"lr_series_label":"","lr_author_order":"1263"},"book_tag":[27],"age_group":[24],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[1263],"class_list":["post-14392","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-fantasy-books","age_group-books-for-9-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-kieran-larwood"],"yoast_title":"The Legend of Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"A bard's tale of three rabbit children on the run from iron-clad raiders. For ages 9+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n