Blue Rabbit and Friends

Blue Rabbit is bored with his cave, thus when he comes upon Bear, Goose, and Dog, he makes the suggestion that they all switch homes, yet in the end, Blue Rabbit finds himself with nowhere to go and so soon wishes he was back home in the warm cave he left.

PreSchool-Unhappy with his cave in the forest, Blue Rabbit sets out to find a new home. Along the way, he meets a group of animals that live in odd places: a bear lives in a pool, a goose resides in a doghouse, and a dog takes up residence in a hole in the side of a hill. They begin to trade homes until they find one that suits them, until only Blue Rabbit is left. Rather than move into the hole in the side of the hill, however, he hops on his bike and opts for a life of adventure. The clean layout and judicious use of white space highlight the linoleum-block illustrations, which appear on the right-hand side of each spread. The illustrations reveal that the anthropomorphized animals are actually toys. The setting, too, is delightfully toylike, from Blue Rabbit's cave (made from blocks) to the dog's hole in the "hill covered in daisies" (a green blanket with a daisy print). The characters' serious expressions perfectly complement the text and the clean lines and bright colors add just the right note of levity. The challenge of matching animals to more appropriate abodes will delight preschoolers, as will the surprise ending. A simple treat from an author who knows how children's minds work.
Kathleen M. Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Wormell's (An Alphabet of Animals) familiar chunky lino block prints grace this diverting tale of a quartet of animals in search of home sweet home. Blue Rabbit emerges from his cave one day, decides he doesn't really like it ("too large and the forest was too dark") and sets out to seek more congenial quarters. Along the way, he meets Bear in a pool, a goose named Rover who lives in a dog house and Dog, who lives in a hole in the side of a hill. None of them is satisfied with his living situation ("It's too dry and stuffy for me, and it smells like old bones," says the goose), and of course Blue Rabbit gets the bright idea to trade. The reshuffling places each in his appropriate spot--while the hero decides that he wants adventure and takes off on his bicycle to "see the world." With its pared-down cast of characters and classic story line capped with a fresh twist, Wormell's tale is perfectly suited to preschoolers. Their sharp eyes may well detect that the setting holds a few surprises as well--blocks form Blue Rabbit's "cave," for instance, and Dog's "hill" looks suspiciously like a rumpled blanket. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Wormell (An Alphabet of Animals, 1990, etc.) proves that occasionally, the grass is greener elsewhere, at least for three friends who switch homes, and a fourth, who leaves town. Blue Rabbit is discontented with his cave in a forest (which, to children, will be recognizable as a dark area behind some blocks and toys); in his search for better digs, he encounters Bear, sitting in what appears to be an upside-down, water-filled Frisbee. Bear is also unhappy in his habitat; so is Goose, living in a doghouse that smells of old bones, and Dog, whose home seems to be a daisy-covered bedspread. Blue Rabbit successfully relocates his new friends, but finds that he needs the open road and adventure. Those who need a comforting predictability in their stories will be satisfied, but so, too, will be those seeking surprise. The author's bold linoleum block prints complement the several planes of the plot, all of which are amply appealing. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

With deceptive simplicity, Wormell plots a brief, repetitively structured tale that seems comfortably familiar right up to the surprise end. Uneasy living in a dark cave, Blue Rabbit sets out to find a new home. Along the way, he encounters a similarly unhappy teddy bear living in a dish of water, a goose who gladly abandons a smelly little house with "Rover" emblazoned over the door, and a puppy eager to trade in his cramped hillside burrow. Wormell, known for his linocuts, here uses thick, dark lines and modulated paints to depict the animals, placing them within a playroom landscape in which the cave is made of blocks and the burrow from a crumpled blanket. Blue Rabbit matches his companions one by one to appropriate homes, but instead of taking the burrow as expected, he hops on a bike and pedals down the road. The open ending makes a refreshing alternative to the homey closure of such tales as Megan McDonald's Is This a House for Hermit Crab? (1990). John Peters