The Brave Little Bunny - Hardcover

PreSchool-Grade 1?Luxurious illustrations expand this story of leaving the familiar for the unknown. Millie, a lop-eared pet rabbit, longs to see what is on the other side of the hedge outside her hutch. When the door is left unlatched, she flees, only to encounter a slavering fox. Hailed by a field rabbit, she seeks refuge in his family's burrow, but is ostracized by the father for being unwise in the ways of the wild. Retreating to her hutch, she realizes she doesn't want to give up the freedom of the meadow and hops off into the dark. Her wild friend comes to meet her; together they make a new home in a safe glade, and "...by the time summer came, there were lots of new baby bunnies to keep them company." Full-page paintings involve the senses with their rich realism. In the final endpapers, readers see an irresistible family of mixed-breed bunnies being watched over by their smug, gray-coated father and their golden, lop-eared mother. A comfortable story set in a somewhat idyllic world.?Virginia Opocensky, formerly at Lincoln City Libraries, NE
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-6. Tired of the monotonous food and cramped quarters she shares with her bunny siblings, lop-eared Millie escapes from her hutch to explore the world beyond the garden hedge. Her first discovery is a fox, but fortunately, a wild rabbit--named Seventy-six for his birth order--rescues Millie and leads her to safety. The shelter of his family's nest is only temporary, however, because the domesticated Millie, who lacks self-defense instincts, could endanger the warren. So the adventurous bunny returns to her hutch, only to find it secured for the night. Realizing that she wants to remain free, Millie hops back out into the dark yard, where Seventy-six has come looking for her. Together they make a new home in a flowery glade and raise bunnies of their own. Abloom with radiantly colored wild and cultivated flowers, the pages are exquisite bouquets through which field mice dart, butterflies flit, and endearing rabbits seek adventure and comfort together. Ellen Mandel