Little White Rabbit
Added to the Lisbon Public Library in honor of Aniyah Rose Paquin. School Library Journal
PreS—A quiet gem of a picture book about a small bunny with a big imagination. "When he hopped through the high grass, he wondered what it would be like to be green." Each burst of curiosity is followed by a spread of envisioning. For example, when he wonders what it would be like to be tall as a fir tree, readers are treated to a depiction of a huge rabbit leaning on the upper boughs of a hemlock, communing with the birds. In the tradition of Eric Carle's The Mixed-Up Chameleon (Crowell, 1975) and Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny (HarperCollins, 1942), Little White Rabbit is perfect for preschoolers. The colored pencil and acrylic illustrations in cheery springtime pastels have fuzzy textures and broad outlines that are enormously appealing. Henkes often manages to combine the static and kinetic so that his protagonist seems frozen in mid-leap. And just when you think this little rabbit has settled in for the night with his loving family, that lively curiosity reappears, ready to begin another adventure.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY