Watership Down

Watership Down by Richard Adams is a classic fantasy where every character is a rabbit or talking animal, following a group fleeing their warren due to industrialization threats, facing predators and rival warrens along the way. I love the deep social commentary, including nods to World War II, and the whimsical characters like Hazel, Fiver, and Big Wig that make it profound on survival when you're not at the top of the food chain. The world-building is brilliant, with an entire lore of rabbit religion and ancestry that elevates it beyond a children's story. I recommend it because it's underrated in the book community—people mostly know the disturbing 1970s movie—and it deserves more mainstream love for its beauty and depth.