Illustrator: Monks, Julia
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books 2011
Genre: Picture Book, Junior, Rabbits, Rhyme, Animals Tone: Fun
Age: middle to upper primary school age
Description: Rabbit with a gift for rthyme feels out of place amongst his fellow rabbits,so sets fourth in a quest for like-minded company. Encounters numourous other creatures in his travels and regales them with his clever verse, hoping that one of them will share his penchance for rhyme.
For anyone who has ever felt alone in a crowd (which I am sure is just about everyone at some point) and enjoys a clever rhyme, then this is the picture book for you. As you can probably guess by some of my other posts, I am a bit of a Donaldson fan. Out of all her books, this one is my favourite one to read. Not so much for a public storytime read, but a quite, sit down and admire kind of read. Monk's illustrations are fantastic, but it is the language that makes this book a stand out. Or rather, Donaldson's gifted use of language. If you admire reading the works of someone that can make the english language sing, then this is the book for you.The language is also why it is probably not the best book for a public storytime.The agility of the language will lose a younger crowd. And it would probably won't appeal to the majority of older kids either for the same reasons. But thinking of this book as just a kids book would doing the book an injustice. Actually, thinking of the majority of Donaldson's books as only kids books would be doing them, and yourself, an injustice. If you are like me, and get a thrill when you witness the clever use of language, then indulge yourself, if only for a few minutes by reading Donaldson's book. Exquisite.
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