I think mainly the writing just needs to be tightened up a bit. I am not sure if that’s because it lends itself better to being read than listened to or if I was already familiar with it, so certain things did not then stand out. I bought and looked back through the Kindle version after listening to the audio, and the things that bothered me while listening didn’t stand out so much while reading. I tend to enjoy “coming of age during adversity” type stories generally. I’ve seen it compared to Narnia, and though there are similarities, I think such a comparison helps set up those lofty expectations and the resulting letdown. I think when expectations are so high, that can actually set one up for disappointment. I was expecting to be wowed, and maybe that’s the biggest problem with why I wasn’t. But when it came up for sale as an audiobook, I figured, why not? I follow The Story Warren, where Smith is a regular contributor, so I saw all the announcements there when the book came out, but I still wasn’t particularly inclined to read it. Lewis that a good children’s story should appeal to adults, too. I don’t read children’s stories other than classics often, though I agree with C. When injustices or suffering occur, they comfort themselves with the saying, “It shall not be so in the Mended Wood.” Meanwhile discord threatens the community, and Heather and Picket struggle to find their place, especially when they learn their family’s history with the king. While rabbit forces are training to fight the wolves, rabbit artisans and workmen are keeping their skills honed for a time when the heir of their fallen king will rise up and claim his place and lead them to a season of peace. They see and hear evidences of other wolf attacks. Their uncle, Wilfred, and Smalls take them to a community of rabbits hidden away. Not knowing where their parents are and being spotted by wolves, they try for a harrowing escape, being rescued at the last minute by an uncle they didn’t know they had and his adopted son, Smalls. Heather and Picket are shooed out to pick berries, but while they are gone, their home is attacked by wolves and burned.

Brother and sister Heather and Picket live a normal (for storybook rabbits), almost idyllic life with their parents and baby brother until one day when a mysterious stranger comes to talk with their parents. Smith is a children’s story about rabbits.

Green ember plot summary