"It was a really interesting book. It was very fun and exciting. I think that the author who wrote it did a very good job and he is really talented."
--Abigail K., age 7

"Runt the Brave is a very interesting and touching story of bravery and courage, forgiveness and feeling, and of course the thrill of adventure."
--Hannah K., age 10

Our family enjoys an exciting adventure story, but all the more when there are eternal applications. Runt the Brave is such a book. Runt, the proverbial David of Goliath fame, is a young misunderstood mouse. He senses in his soul that there must be something more to life than gathering food and defense, and he senses that there is Someone who moves the earth, seed time and harvest as well.

In the midst of the mostly faithless Tira-Nor mouse colony, Runt truly believes in ElShua (God) and is chosen by the seer, TaMir, to be the next king. This completely undoes his jealous brother, HaRed, and places Runt in a dangerous position when the rats come to attack the colony. Amidst the great struggle against the rats and their dangerous and terrifying leader, Go-Rec (Runt's Goliath), he truly shines as a hero.

Not only is Runt a "real" character in the sense of struggles with his faith and understanding God's place for him, he asks questions we all ask at some time or another: "...[do] the promises of ElShua really apply even to him? Did they apply to anyone? Really and truly?" Throughout the book we flash back to the creation of the mouse world and the evil influence of Wroth upon it. Some of the word pictures are quite dramatic and evoke an understanding of the great cost of sin juxtaposed to the great compassion of God. I would encourage it as a read aloud so that you will be able to discuss the deep and weighty theological aspects to this story that can open up some great discussions. It was a treat to be as excited as the children for the next chapter, both for its thrill and for the happiness of a good discussion.

The author will be writing more in the series and I heartily hope he does them quickly. We would like to see what else happens in this great mouse's life. If you like Brian Jacques' books, you will be delighted with this, and all the more because it is a loose analogy of the tremendous story of David and Goliath. We highly recommend it.