| Kevin Henkes |
| ISBN 9780062314093 |
| Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2014. |
5 stars |
| Keywords: animals concept-books imagination kevin-henkes little-white-rabbit nature spring |
Little White Rabbit
by Kevin Henkes
With a spring palette as bright as his rabbit hero's spirit, Kevin Henkes's (Chrysanthemum; Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse) 2011 picture book makes a seamless transition to a board book edition.
"Little white rabbit hopped along." Bounding through the high grasses, he imagines what it would be like to be green. A wordless spread depicts him gazing at his moss-tinted reflection in a pond, as other green creatures (a frog, a turtle, a grasshopper, butterflies that blend with weeping willow branches) surround him. A fir tree inspires little white rabbit to imagine himself tall. Another wordless double-page spread of four panels depicts the fellow posing as a stone, unwavering in heat, rain and darkness. One line of text appears on the non-wordless spreads, always in approximately the same place. The concepts (color, size, separation anxiety) are perfect for preschoolers, and a hint of danger (the appearance of a cat) sends little white rabbit scurrying home. No one addresses preschool preoccupations better than Henkes.
"Little white rabbit hopped along." Bounding through the high grasses, he imagines what it would be like to be green. A wordless spread depicts him gazing at his moss-tinted reflection in a pond, as other green creatures (a frog, a turtle, a grasshopper, butterflies that blend with weeping willow branches) surround him. A fir tree inspires little white rabbit to imagine himself tall. Another wordless double-page spread of four panels depicts the fellow posing as a stone, unwavering in heat, rain and darkness. One line of text appears on the non-wordless spreads, always in approximately the same place. The concepts (color, size, separation anxiety) are perfect for preschoolers, and a hint of danger (the appearance of a cat) sends little white rabbit scurrying home. No one addresses preschool preoccupations better than Henkes.