Don't Go Near That Rabbit, Frank - Hardcover

Conrad, Pam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060215143 ISBN 13: 9780060215149

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1998

Synopsis

Philip and Kootch struggle to find a way to save their beloved dog, Frank, who has been threatened with shooting if it bothers a crotchety neighbor's prize rabbit and who brings home the rabbit one day.

About this title

About the Author

Pam Conrad is the beloved author of dozens of works for children, including the picture books The Tub People, The Tub Grandfather, and Call Me Ahnighito, all illustrated by Richard Egielski, and most recently, Animal Lullabies, illustrated by Richard Cowdrey. Her award-winning novels include Stonewords, My Daniel, Prairie Songs, and her last, Zoe Rising. She lived in Rockville Centre, NY.

This is Mark English's stunning picture book debut. A Society of Illustrator’s Gold Medalist, he lives in Liberty, MO.

Reviews

Grade 1-4-Old Man Hoover, bitter because his potato farm has been turned into a housing development, dotes on his prize rabbit. He threatens to shoot Philip and Kooch's dog, Frank, if the dog ever touches the rabbit. One rainy night Frank returns home with the dead rabbit clenched in his jaws. In a panic, the children scheme to cover up the crime and return the rabbit to its cage. Days later they learn from their neighbor's wife that the rabbit died a natural death; their dog had merely unearthed it after it was buried. After the mysterious return of the animal, Old Man Hoover now thinks the rabbit won't stay dead and leaves its cage open expecting it to come back again. This news causes the children to dissolve into laughter. It is unclear whether they are laughing from relief or at their neighbor's behavior, which makes for a somewhat unsettling ending. The story has moderate tension and excitement although much of the text gives the impression of being told instead of lived, which flattens the effect. The illustrations, one every three or four pages, are dark, smooth, and impressionistic and lend a sense of atmosphere not found in the text. Additional at best.
Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When Philip and his sister, Kooch, get a puppy named Frank, crotchety Old Man Hoover next door issues a warning: "If that dog comes anywhere near my prize rabbit, I'll load my rifle and shoot him dead." The aged rabbit, Peter, is virtually all that the Hoovers have left of their 50-year-old farm, now the site of a newly developed neighborhood. The late Conrad (The Tub People) propels the plot with penetrating language ("a smile crept across [Hoover's] face and looked as awkward there as fine china on a barbecue table") as she expertly builds the momentum toward the inevitable conflict. One day, when Frank insists on going out in a heavy rainstorm, the children let him out on his own, and he returns with Peter dead in his mouth. Terrified of Old Man Hoover's rifle, Philip comes up with a plan to surreptitiously return the rabbit to its hutch. Later they learn that Peter was already dead and buried when Frank found him, and that their unintentional resurrection has completely mystified the Hoovers. Debut illustrator English's dense paintings?10 in all?mostly envelop Philip and Kooch in a soft, nostalgic haze; the only sharply focused painting (also used on the jacket) is composed in such a way as to emphasize the vulnerability of the old rabbit. Suspenseful and thought-provoking, this carefully crafted animal story shows people not exactly at their best, but at their most human. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A homespun story from Conrad (This Mess, p. 400, etc.), billed as a retelling of a campfire favorite. The single problem that forms the plot is Old Man Hoover's prize rabbit. When Philip and his sister Kooch move into the neighborhood that was once Old Man Hoover's potato field with their new puppy, Frank, he makes his message loud and clear from the start, ``If that dog comes anywhere near my prize rabbit, I'll load my rifle and shoot him dead.'' His words reverberate in the children's minds as Frank becomes a full-grown dog. Then one rainy night, Frank appears with a muddy, rain-soaked rabbit in his teeth. Philip, despite Kooch's hesitation, shampoos and blow-dries the rabbit, and surreptitiously slips it back into its hutch; in a predictable, yet satisfying ending, Old Man Hoover, certain he had already buried his dead rabbit, puzzles over how his prize pet could have returned to its hutch. The children laugh at hearing about the dilemma; nothing is made of the potential spookiness of a dead rabbit's returning to its hutch, and Old Man Hoover, as far as readers know, is never enlightened. Interspersed among every short episode are full-color pictures, more dark and dreamlike than real, with the feeling of faded wallpaper, adding mood if not mystery. (Fiction. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060215143
• ISBN 13: 9780060215149
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: English Mark
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 47