Twenty-Six Rabbits Run Riot

Mrs. Fitzwarren's quiet outing with her twenty-six naughty children turns chaotic when the baby disappears

Mrs. Fitzwarren is the rabbit mother of 26 naughty rabbit children. They run wild at home, in the park, at the beach, and at a restaurant. The baby keeps getting lost at each place, and Mrs. Fitzwarren finds him. Young children may enjoy finding the baby rabbit's small ears sticking out of the teapot, the "rubbish bin," or a sand castle among the many small details of the illustrations. However, the fine-lined drawings filled in with soft color show rabbit characters that look very much alike, and many of their heads are too small for their bodies. Also, American children will be puzzled by the British expressions. A better choice for reading aloud on a one-on-one basis is Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Each Peach Pear Plum (Viking, 1979), in which fairy-tale characters are hidden in the small details of the illustrations, and in which the text has rhyme and rhythm. --Anne Price, Ann Mersereau School, Bronx, NY
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