Podkin One-Ear

Gr 4–6—In this action-packed middle grade allegorical fantasy, a wandering rabbit bard recounts the legendary tale of Podkin One-Ear to a rapt group of bunnies on Bramblemas Eve. He tells how Podkin defeated the evil, armored rabbits called the Gorm and their Lord Scramashank. When Podkin was eight, he, his older sister Paz, and his baby brother Pook fled their warren when the Gorm invaded and killed their chieftain father. The Gorm were once normal rabbits but mutated into deformed, metal-plated rabbits who kill, transform, or enslave the conquered rabbits. Podkin is unprepared for the role of hero, unlike Paz, who's a skilled fighter. Podkin's one advantage is the copper dagger his aunt thrust into his paws as the Gorm overran his warren. It's magical, with the power to cut through anything, except iron. It's one of the Twelve Gifts given to the first rabbit tribes at the start of time. The Gorm are hunting for these Gifts, and Podkin instinctively knows he mustn't let them get the dagger. With the Gorm on their tails, the siblings go from warren to warren, looking for refuge, navigating dangerous situations, and gathering friends and foes along the way. With the help of his family and newfound friends, Podkin finds the courage and strength to believe in himself and defeat the Gorm.