Blue Rabbit and Friends - Hardcover

Wormell, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0224047248 ISBN 13: 9780224047241

Publisher: Jonathan Cape (Children), 1999

Synopsis

Blue Rabbit is unhappy in his home which is a cave in the middle of a dark wood. He sets out to find a new one. The first person he meets is Bear who decides he will go away with Rabbit to look for somewhere else to live. They meet first Goose and then Dog, and all swap homes, except Blue Rabbit.

About this title

Review

Blue Rabbit lives in a cave in the middle of forest. "Blue Rabbit didn't like his home; the cave was too large and the forest was too dark. so he set off to find somewhere better to live." This is the tale of Blue Rabbit's search for a more suitable home. He encounters other creatures such as Bear, who is sitting in a pool of water and is not very happy about his home either! But Blue Rabbit doesn't want to live in a pool of water, so Bear joins Blue Rabbit's quest; they meet a goose who unhappily lives in a kennel, and Goose decides to join their quest too. They then meet a dog who lives in a bank covered in daisies. Dog wants to live in a kennel and Blue Rabbit exclaims, "A kennel!...why Goose has a kennel--perhaps you can have that?" And so, Dog moves to the kennel, Goose moves to the pool of water, Bear moves to the cave in the forest and Blue Rabbit moves to the hole in the daisy-covered bank, where he is very happy.

The illustrations make it clear that these are not real places; rather, the daisy- covered bank is a duvet draped over a bed, the pool of water is a household bowl, the cave in the forest consists of colourful building bricks and green balls, and so on, and thus the author invites the collusion of the reader in this game of make- believe. They are styled as lithographic cut-outs, from the old days of printing. The outlines are thick and black, the colours are warm primaries that have been nicely muted, and the depictions of the characters themselves are adorable, inspired by the enchanting illustrations from the early days of children's book printing.

This book is charming in every respect. The story invites the reader to anticipate, and then solve, the housing problem for the characters, and children will adore the fact that it is also a peek into the secret life of toys. The text is on the left- hand page and the illustrations are on the right-hand page which keeps the layout clear and accessible. The paper is thick and glossy, which adds to the feeling of quality that this edition has. Read this book to your three to four-year- old, and they will delight in reading it themselves from the age of five.--Alison Jardine

Book Description

A quite outstanding picture story book by one of our most distinguished prize-winning artists.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape (Children)
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0224047248
• ISBN 13: 9780224047241
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Wormell Christopher
• Number of pages: 32