GRAB THAT RABBIT!

When a hungry rabbit gets stuck, he could fall victim to the person whose vegetables he’s eating.

His name is Hodge. He’s a white rabbit with one black “splodge” covering his left eye and ear. The usually happy Hodge is currently wedged in a hedge. And here comes the “happy gardener” Mrs. Sprat, in her large hat, preparing to pull up some carrots for dinner. When she sees no carrots but Hodge instead, she grabs hold of his bottom and gives a yank. But she pulls so hard she lands—“SPLAT!”—on her rear, crushing her hat. Hodge runs away, but a buzzard hovering high above swoops down and snatches him up. Hodge wriggles; the buzzard struggles and lets him go. Hodge lands with a big “Plop!” right on Mrs. Sprat’s flat hat. She grabs him and stomps back home, pondering a dinner of rabbit pie. But as she holds the “soft and fluffy” Hodge in her arms, Mrs. Sprat has second thoughts. Cue the page turn. “Back in her squashed hat,” Mrs. Sprat sits in a chair behind her house. “Hodge is lodged on Mrs. Sprat’s lap,” and they are both happy. Faber’s playful text is full of gentle wordplay, sounds repeating in clipped sentences that will be great fun to read aloud. Smith’s warm illustrations provide a bucolic setting, depicting Mrs. Sprat with pale skin and a Hodge who brims with personality.

Deftly delightful.