Parents' Guide to

Animal Farm

By Michael Berry, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Classic satirical allegory about the abuse of power.

Book George Orwell Literary Fiction 1945
Animal Farm Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 11+

Based on 12 parent reviews

Moscablue
Moscablue Adult
February 10, 2021
age 13+

7th Grade Class Review of Animal Farm

My name is Ms. Carson, I am a 7th grade Language Arts Teacher at St. Mary's Catholic School in New Mexico. We read Animal Farm daily in class that took us about a month to complete outside of the extra activities in class. This review is a combination from our class: Firstly, overall the class thinks that the read is absolute hot dog water. The reason is there was too much political content. The class was disappointed that the animals were not realistic and for the amount of propaganda, the read was not long enough and very vague. Secondly, Squealer is a pushover and that upset us because we don't like bullies. Additionally, Orwell was not very consistent with the relationships between the animals. Finally, half of the class liked it and some did not.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Too much violence
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
2 people found this helpful.
Russian_Doge
Russian_Doge Adult
March 8, 2023
age 11+

RIP The L BOZO Napolean

Animal Farm is a great book for children to learn about the power of language and how powerful it is when used to control and manipulate.This book was an allegorical master piece of literature,basically showing how bad dictators and their abuse of language was.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Too much violence
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
See all 12 parent reviews

What's the Story?

After years of oppression by Farmer Jones, the animals on his farm rise up and chase him away. They plan to run the farm themselves, for their own benefit. At first, the animals are able to work together and support each other. Gradually, however, the pigs begin making helpful suggestions about how the farm should be run. Before long, the pigs are at the top of the social ladder and the rest of the livestock are wondering what happened.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12):
Kids say (99):

The story and language are very simple, but Orwell is unnervingly precise in the way he depicts each step on the road from revolution to tyranny. ANIMAL FARM has been popular and highly acclaimed since its publication in 1945. In 2005, Time magazine chose it as one of the 100 best English-language novels, and the book ranks at 31 on the Modern Library List of Best 20th Century Novels.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what totalitarianism means, how it shaped the 20th century, and whether it still exists today.

  • As the pigs grow more powerful, they find a number of animals who seem willing to confess to the most horrendous crimes, even though they know they will be executed for their supposed crimes. Do criminal confessions always contain the complete truth? Why might a suspect confess to crime he or she did not commit?

  • Soon after they take over the farm, the animals agree to follow "The Seven Commandments." The rules seem fairly basic, but they are changed over the course of the novel. How do leaders today change the rules to achieve their own agendas?

  • One of the novel's most famous quotes is "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." What might that paradoxical statement mean?

  • Why do you think Animal Farm is often required reading in school?

Book Details

  • Author: George Orwell
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
  • Book type: Fiction
  • Publication date: August 17, 1945
  • Number of pages: 128
  • Last updated: June 8, 2015

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