Is there anything quite like Varjak Paw?

[WhisperTree]

Those two books absolutely enchanted my eldest during the period-of-restricted-freedoms-that-shall-not-be-named, and I loved reading them aloud.

They had that quality of transporting you to another place which some adventure tales aspire to, but don't quite reach.

They strike me as quite unusual, but it might be that there are comparable books I don't know about.

Can you recommend anything similar - animal characters, a dash of the surreal and mystic, heroic plot?

Any leads welcome

Watership Down absolutely fits the bill.

Perhaps also the Redwall series by Brian Jaques.

The Clockwork Crow by Catherine Fisher is gorgeous, as is the sequel, The Velvet Fox. The Land Of Roar series is also excellent, particularly the first one, I love the ambiguity of “is it a bored child’s imaginative play or not?” to start with.
I know what you mean about Varjak Paw. Genuinely chilling when you start to realise what the strange, jerky cat toys really are!

You could try Jennie, by Paul Gallico

Also, Wolfie by Emma Barnes. Girl has a pet dog that isn’t very pet dog-like and can talk.

Mine read the Podium One Ear series at around the same time and loved them even more.

Podkin One-Ear

How old is your dc? Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones is superb, mixes mythology, astrology and magic with a young girl’s desire to have a dog. There are some strong themes in it though (anti-Irish bullying etc) so probably not suitable for the younger end of primary.

One is late primary now, so ready to tackle 'themes'

Diane Wynne is a familiar name, but this title isn't

Thank you @BoldFearlessGirl

Loads of fab recommendations - thanks so much, everyone!

Will get busy looking these up after making dinner

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.The children who enjoyed Varjak Paw also lives this.A fabulous story,covers all emotions.

Loved not lives

Podkin one ear is perfect age around 8 to 10. My dd loved them, she also enjoyed Varjak Paw.

I love The Tales of Duncton Wood - it is a huge epic tale and in my opinion massively underrated, captivating story about moles and spirituality/nature/destiny/heroism/adventure etc. Maybe better on your Books for age 12 as quite dark and sometimes a little violent (especially at the start ) but I liked it a million times more than Watership Down and even more than the Hobbit.

if you just want “reading fodder” my dd also really liked the Warrior cat series. She was addicted - I bought most of them very cheap from online second hand bookstores. They are good fantasy and adventure stories, but free you’ve read 15 they get a bit samey or you outgrow them.