Watership Down

The first time I'd read this I was in eighth grade. I chose it for the next read-aloud book for my kids. It took a good month-and-a-half to finish it with almost nightly readings. They enjoyed it and were very curious about all the characters. I really enjoyed giving Kehaar a faux-Slavic accent, but trying to read aloud some of the names can be a tongue-twister. You say “Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang” and see how well you do! Of course, it's been so long since I read this story I was only familiar with some of the key plot points. One thing I'd forgotten was how much description of the landscape Adams works in to the story. He throws in names of plants and animals that I have just zero knowledge of. But this classic story is a captivating one. My kids – especially my eldest – kept asking me to read more every night when I deemed I was done for the night. They were also curious about which rabbits might be mating with which (at the end of the story). They also loved all the little scattered stories within the story about the rabbit folk hero El-Ahrairah (a.k.a. the Prince With a Thousand Enemies).

C'mon! Say it! “Hyzenthlay and Thethuthinnang!”