NO BEARS ALLOWED

A bespectacled rabbit gets over his fear of bears and finds a new friend in this picture book.

Rabbit is afraid of a lot of things but his worst nightmare of all is bears. When Rabbit gets caught in a snare, he’s terrified that the bear coming to his rescue is actually going to eat him. Bear’s sharp claws make short work of the snare, and his long, pointy teeth scare off a fox, but Rabbit is still suspicious. It isn’t until Bear reveals his own phobia—spiders—that Rabbit realizes his new pal isn’t scary after all. Young readers may be familiar with the theme of appearances being deceiving and frightening-looking creatures turning out to be benevolent. But Lukidis’ (A Real Live Pet!, 2018, etc.) clever framework that allows Rabbit a moment to be a hero, despite his trepidation, is a nice touch. The story, which features an all-male cast, is told in approachable vocabulary. The tale sometimes relies on the cartoonish illustrations to relay the action, including when Rabbit enters Bear’s den to eat carrot stew. But the narrative never fully explains what causes Rabbit to suddenly scream at Bear: “You brought me here to cook me in your stew!” Hannon’s (I Love to Watch You Play, 2019, etc.) images, with full backgrounds, provide enough hints to make filling in the gaps possible.

This adventure offers an effective brain exercise in graphic storytelling for young readers—but some may wish for more details.