The Spring Rabbit

Touching full-color illustrations tell the tale of little Smudge, the only rabbit in the forest with no brothers and sisters, whose mother tells him to wait until spring when his wishes for a big family might come true.

PreSchool-K-A young rabbit wants a brother or sister. His mother replies, "'Wait until the spring.'" Naturally, that is too long to wait, so Smudge tries three sibling substitutes: a leaf-and-twig figure that blows away, a snow bunny that melts, and a mud rabbit that washes away. When spring finally arrives, Smudge finds a mousehole filled with baby mice, a robin standing guard over a nest filled with speckled eggs (strangely, they're brown, not blue), and frog parents sitting on a lily pad protecting their frogspawn. Smudge's mother then points out to her disappointed son, "'You were looking in all the wrong places.'" His family now includes two brothers and a sister, who later play around an enormous moss rabbit he builds for them. The comforting story is too predictable, bordering on bland. Varley's creature-filled wood is cozy, illustrated with full-page, pen-and-ink and watercolor paintings. Her style harks back to Beatrix Potter's work, but lacks subtlety and humor. A run-of-the-mill offering.
Jacqueline Elsner, Athens Regional Library, GA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4-7. Smudge is the only rabbit in the woods without a brother or a sister. His mother tells him, "Wait until the spring." To get through the intervening seasons, Smudge makes himself companions--a leaf rabbit, a snow rabbit, a mud rabbit. But these friends can't chase and play and splash. In the spring, Smudge looks outdoors for the promised baby rabbit, but only when he comes home does he find what he's looking for--and then, not one, but three tiny bundles. The prose is tender, and the illustrations are wondrous depictions of gentle woodland life and domestic burrows. Cross the style of William Steig with that of E. H. Shepard, and you'll have a feel for these precise, sweet drawings. Even in a market crowded with bunny books, this one will be successful. Mary Harris Veeder