While I've read Orwell's other most famous work, 1984, I had never read animal farm before.
I especially enjoyed the preface to the version I read, from C.M. Woodhouse in 1954.
Woodhouse defines the structure of Animal Farm as a fairy tale, because it employs archetypal characters to describe the state of human ambitions and nature as they are, not as they should be.
Based on Woodhouse's remarks and on outside research, Orwell, a democratic socialist, wrote Animal Farm as a model of the Russian revolution and the rise of Stalin's regime. The result being the Russian people suffering terrible famine and being in an equally poor situation as they were in before the revolution.
Not being too familiar with the Russian revolution myself, I think even the most uninformed student of history will recognize the themes in Animal Farm of greed, corruption, and power. I think even a child could recognize the dangers of herd mentality and the detrimental impacts of remaining silent while freedoms are stripped away.
One interesting tidbit of information I came across was that the CIA adopted the book and used it to their advantage to help their anti-communist initiative in the McCarthy era. Shortly after Orwell's death, the CIA obtained the film rights and employed a British animation firm to produce a film, to help give the appearance of it not being an American initiative. The CIA also harbored a great deal of suspicion towards Hollywood's friendliness with Communism, anyways.
Also interesting to note, they took the liberty of redirecting the books anti -capitalist themes to be strictly anti-communist in the film. The film underperformed compared with the far-reaching success of the book, but it's an interesting example nonetheless of how media and entertainment can be influential in shaping ideological landscapes.
I enjoyed the story and would recommend it; I would say this is one students would benefit from reading in school.