Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 15 years and 7 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

Preparations for the feast for the Summer of the Golden Plain are underway at Redwall Abbey, and young Mattimeo’s mother sets him to work with the other inhabitants. His father, Matthias, is the guardian of Redwall Abbey and it is this fact that puts the young Mattimeo in danger as the evil Slagar the Fox plots to kidnap him in a bid to shake the very foundations of the Abbey and its inhabitants.

The third book of Brian Jaques‘ Redwall series, “Mattimeo,” picks up eight seasons (so, uh, two years?) after the events of “Redwall.”

Mattimeo is the young son of Matthias (the Champion of Redwall) and Cornflower. Growing up as the son of the Warrior isn’t an easy thing for Matti, who tends to get himself into trouble. During the feast of the Summer of the Golden Plain, Slagar the fox, a slaver, infiltrates Redwall Abbey, drugs the inhabitants, and makes off with Redwall’s young ones.

Once Matthias and the rest of the woodlanders awaken and realize what has happened, a grand pursuit begins which takes us, the readers, and the rescue party (Jess squirrel, Basil Stag Hare, and some new and old friends) through the southern reaches of Mossflower country to the underground kingdom of Malkariss.

While the warrior party is away chasing Slagar, a second plotline follows the raven General Ironbeak and his army of rooks, crows, and magpies as they invade the roofspaces of the abbey and attempt to take over Redwall from the top down. With their warriors gone, the remaining Abbey residents must come up with different, inventive ways of dealing with the invaders.

As before, my daughter was tired of waiting for me and has already gone ahead and read the next book in the series, “Mariel of Redwall.” She’s promised to wait for me to finish that one so we can read “Salamandastron” together.

I discovered, while perusing the wiki, that there was a Redwall animated series on Canadian public television back in the late 90s/early 2000s. I managed to find the Season 1 DVDs (which basically cover the first book) on eBay and bought a set for my daughter’s birthday (I think she’ll flip out). There is also talk of a live-action/CGI Redwall movie to be released in 2011.