Tat Rabbit's Treasure - Hardcover

Kerins, Anthony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689505531 ISBN 13: 9780689505539

Publisher: Margaret K McElderry, 1993

Synopsis

Tat Rabbit and Tig the Pig find a mysterious box full of masks and costumes for dressing up, in an imaginative tale replete with fascinating details from the world of toys, pictured in full-color paintings.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Toys come to life in this visually stylish story of two stuffed animals who discover a locked chest. Tat Rabbit feels certain that the box contains treasure, while Tig, a pig with an Eeyore-like posture and attitude, maintains that monsters are locked within. As they debate the box's contents, tiny toys of various scale (but mostly minuscule) float into the dreamy, undefined landscape, their shadows supplying the only clue that they're grounded. Set against a buff-colored backdrop, the subjects of Kerins's golden-hued acrylics have an old-fashioned quality, protected from sentimentality by their almost photographic presentation. The cinematic perspective proves particularly effective when Tig rescues Tat after he falls into the box. As the lid opens, a truly horrific monster springs forth. After giving the toys a good scare, the monster "fell in a tangle on the floor. His mask dropped off." "I was only teasing," announces Tat, who makes amends by inviting Tig and the other toys to rummage through the "splendiferous" treasure. The concluding spread (containing the only white background in the book) shows all the toys enjoying a surfeit of childhood riches--costumes, fossils, feathers, buttons, acorns, charms and the like. Although some may find the British author/artist's American debut unsettling or a bit outre, readers with quirkier tastes will be attracted to its crisp, spare text and distinctly European flavor. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 1-A stuffed rabbit and pig discover a trunk. Tat Rabbit believes it contains treasure, while Tig fears it holds monsters. Tat stands on his friend's back, pries open the top, and falls in. When Tig tries to rescue him with a toy crane, out comes a monster, which turns out to be Tat in disguise. The depiction of the monster could be frightening for young children as it looks real and demonic and possesses no reasuring characteristics. Tat, Tig, and other toys then enjoy the assortment of costumes. The illustrations are far better than the spare tale, which is told largely in dialogue. The acrylic paintings are both beautifully rendered and imaginative. In addition to the main characters, the illustrations picture a growing assortment of large and tiny toys and people who advance on the chest in hot air balloons, airplanes, pirate ships, and other vehicles and share the treasure when it is revealed. While this book has visual appeal, it looks better than it reads.
Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K McElderry
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0689505531
• ISBN 13: 9780689505539
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32