This is solid middle-grade fantasy that earned its Blue Peter Award. Larwood creates a rabbit world with real depth—warrior clans, mythology, magic—and tells a proper hero's journey where the protagonist actually changes and grows.

The frame narrative (traveling bard telling the legend to young rabbits) is a smart touch that adds layers without being precious about it. Podkin starts as the kind of annoying younger brother you want to flick, then circumstances force him to become the protector, and he rises to it. That's good storytelling.

The caveat: this is intense. The Gorm are legitimately frightening, the attack on Longburrow is brutal, and the stakes are high throughout. Common Sense Media's warning is fair—if your kid gets nightmares from Watership Down or finds Warriors too much, hold off. But for kids ready for real adventure fantasy with consequences, this delivers. It's not sanitized bunny fluff; it's epic fantasy that happens to star rabbits.