Rabbit Spring

Eager to boast about his litter of seven baby rabbits, Rahm ventures out to his burrow and soon discovers that the field hare also has new babies and that in different ways both litters are equally special

Wild rabbits Silla and Rahm raise a family of seven across a field from a family of hares. This charming tale explains how each family fends for itself. The rabbits live in a burrow underground, where the relatively frail children are protected by both parents, who share housekeeping in a ebullient, egalitarian spirit; the young hares, equipped with pelts and fully grown ears, dwell less securely under bushes with a mother, but no father ("As far as I'm concerned," she sniffs, "that is just the way it ought to be"). Curiosity and a competitive drive lead Gray-Ears the hare to wonder, "Do the young rabbits have a better life?" But the answer is that the rabbits' lives are not better--just different. Bhend's exquisite pen-and-ink illustrations--from a cozy internecine view of a rabbit warren to spot art picturing a hairless, helpless rabbit infant--portray the dangers and comforts of the animals' everyday lives with quiet humor. Ages 7-11.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.