Happy Hares

It was the first time in more than fourteen years.  She had never shown any interest in my flower or vegetable gardens.  There was absolutely no digging ever which was something for that dog.  This spring was different.  There was lots of nose-in-the-year sniffing and intense glances in one particular direction in one particular garden.

A week or so later working in that garden I noticed something a little different around one of my heather plants as I was removing fallen autumn leaves.  Upon lifting up a portion of the plant, there was a hole partially covered and lined with dried grass and little tufts of fur.  The grass was moving gently in a rhythm like breathing.  I had discovered a rabbit's nest with one baby remaining.  Thankful I was wearing gloves, I carefully and quietly lowered the heather branches.  Eventually the tiny hollow was empty.

The presence of rabbits was a constant source of joy regardless of the partially nibbled flowers each year.  Their footprints in the snow each morning was a constant reminder of what I hoped were late-night dance parties.  The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits (little bee books, an imprint of Bonnier Publishing Group, February 2, 2016) written by Douglas Florian with illustrations by Sonia Sanchez follows a herd of these bunny buddies as they celebrate the days of a year.

The habits of rabbit are many, not few,
with plenty of things that they love to do.

If you are out and about for an early morning stroll you might enjoy greeting the sun with a few of these furry friends.  They zig and zag on long and leaping runs.  Spring, summer, fall and winter will find them appreciating the special things each season brings like floating in a favorite pond keeping cool on a warm sunny day.

Their large ears and legs provide for protection and play.  They are keenly aware of the smallest of sounds.  Treasures may be unearthed during their digging competitions.

You'll find high hoppers, race runners and veggie nibblers.  A symphony of sound may drift from a gathering on a grassy knoll.  It's a unique percussion section composed of feet keeping a beat.

As dusk darkens the sky rabbits head to their homes some curling for a night's rest in cozy comfort.  Others are known to cuddle and snuggle.  Final signs of affection welcome the silence of the night.


A lilting, lyrical blend of words written by Douglas Florian flows flawlessly from page to page.  His narrative begins with daybreak and closes with nightfall but seamlessly introduces seasonal activities and singular routines.  Each sentence is a reflection on the essence of rabbits.

Using rhyme and alliteration the words whether read silently or aloud are like singing a song.  As any observer, casual or committed, can tell you, this poetic piece depicts the joy in which these creatures seemingly embrace their lives.  Here is another sample passage.

There's leaping
and creeping and
digging up holes.
There's frightening frogs
and discovering moles.


The lightly colored sky, grass and clouds on the identical dust jacket and book case take us into the rabbit realm where they can play with abandon and without fear.  The delicate, lacy flowers in the grass extend over the spine to continue the illustration to the left on the back.  In the far lower corner a single bunny is munching on one of the finely drawn leaves from a cluster of plants.  None of these eight rabbits are completely alike in color or size.  On the front of the dust jacket the rabbits and red text have a slight lift and shine to them.

On the opening and closing endpapers circular dots in earth tones in a variety of sizes have been placed on the cream-colored background.  On top of these are rabbits; small rabbits, large rabbits, rabbit silhouettes and rabbits in shades of brown, black, gray and white and combinations of these.  Long-stemmed flowers are grouped in three spots.  In the far lower right-hand corner a rabbit reaches on their hind legs to sniff a single blossom.  In the upper left-hand corner a rabbit peeks from the edge watching all the others.

With each page turn readers are treated to a single large image spanning both pages with the exception of four single page pictures.  These rabbits are frisky and fun pausing when necessary but not wasting a moment of their days.  The matte-finished paper is perfect for the subject; as soft as fur.  It's a wonderful canvas for the natural palette.

If you stop at each visual, you will notice the extra details included by illustrator Sonia Sanchez, contributing to the whimsy of her work.  The tiny paws rubbing eyes in the morning, the kerchief worn like a bib as one rabbit enjoys a springtime snack, a bunny eating a carrot as they make a snow rabbit, and a rabbit playing a found recorder as thumping commences are only a few of the smile-worthy extras.  No matter the setting, season or time of time Sanchez's rabbits attract your attention.

One of my favorite of many illustrations is the one depicting spring and summer activities.  It takes place at a pond ringed in edible flowers and leaves.  On the left two rabbits are eating delectable goodies as four other rabbits are floating in the water on the right.  The sky and water are in white, greens and blues.  The flora is shown in hues of gold and green with bright red flowers.  You want to jump right in and join them.


The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits written by Douglas Florian with illustrations by Sonia Sanchez is an utterly charming portrayal of their lives in text and images.  These rabbits' marvelous movements and distinctive moments will leap right into your hearts.  Be ready for requests of read it again.  (I've read it at least ten times.)

To learn more about Douglas Florian and Sonia Sanchez and their work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  This link will take you to the full jacket, the verso and title pages and two interior images.  Douglas Florian is interviewed at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, KitLit 411, and most recently at Today's Little Ditty.

Wherever You Are

As a child many decisions are made on your behalf.  Depending on your particular family dynamics you may or may not be part of the conversation when hard choices, perhaps the right choices, are decided.  To move from one home to another in your state or province or even within your own country is not easy.

To move to another country, leaving all that is familiar behind, language, dress, customs, your culture, must be overwhelming; even after decades the memory remains.  In her first children's book, Here I Am (Picture Window Books, a Capstone imprint), Patti Kim uses her recollections of immigration to America to tell readers the story of another such child.  Without the use of words, illustrator Sonia Sanchez recreates the story eloquently for each and every reader.

Page by page, panel by panel within those pages, we follow the boy's passage from place to place in the outside world and inside his heart.  His arrival at the airport with his parents and younger sibling, is full of noise and newness.  Travel in the darkness on the busy streets, bordered by tall buildings, sidewalks brimming with the hustle and hurry of people, to his new apartment leaves him disheartened.

Attentive readers will quickly notice a spot of red in the boy's pocket.  A tiny seed from his home, brought as a keepsake, is a symbol of all he had, of all he left.  When everyone is sleeping the first night in their new home, he holds it in his hand imagining all the beauty it represents.

Visiting the laundromat, library, or exploring the sights of the city with his parents does little to alleviate his sadness.  School days pass in a blur of incomprehension.  Surrounded by so much strangeness leaves him feeling lost.

Leaning out the window one day, he accidentally drops his red seed.  Jumping rope down the street, a girl finds it, picking it up to place in her pocket.  Distraught the boy races from his apartment to reclaim his prized possession.

Trying to make his way through the crowds, scanning the storefronts, he loses sight of her.  In searching for her, he starts to find the beauty of the city he has been missing; the sights, sounds, and people are capturing his attention.  The taste of a hot pretzel from a vendor, the habits of a small dog, feeding pigeons and the pleasure of people watching in the park, fill his day.

In the park a girl hanging from a tree branch by her legs looses gathered treasures from her pocket.  One of those things is the red seed.  Lost and found, remembered and new, a friendship is formed, and a tree grows.


It's through this story by Patti Kim we readers can begin to understand the adjustments, the ups and downs, of being new to a country.  By giving the boy a tangible reminder, the red seed, of his past, she provides the opportunity through its loss, to help him grow.  We feel a deep empathy for this boy as she acquaints us with his sensory experiences, the sound of a language he does not know in his classroom but happy greetings from shopkeepers, the smells of fresh cooked food, the taste of the pretzel, the touch of feeding the pigeons on his hands, and all the sights of the various scenes around the city.  We are by his side every step of the way.


An unusual jacket, a semi-transparent heavier parchment, with only the boy and the title on the front, allows the buildings on the cover to glow through dimly.  It wraps around to half of the back highlighting the boy and the girl in the park.  The red edging on the front cover and predominance on the back accentuates the significance of the boy's seed. Breathtaking, lively endpapers foreshadow the story's end; a city view filled with quaint, older apartment buildings, people enjoying the day and the swirl of imagined birds and flowered branches from the boy's writing on the street span the pages framed in purple.

Illustrations created in traditional and digital mediums by Sonia Sanchez convey every emotion, each important series of events, with convincing clarity.  The visuals, each small panel, provide a layer peeling away despair, building on happiness and hope.  A marvelous layout and design, alternating picture sizes, overlapping elements along with strong lines and softer shading of colors work together to make a book of sheer beauty.  Two of  my favorite illustrations are two page spreads, the one depicting the boy meeting the man and feeding the pigeons and the other his discovery of the seed with the girl in the park.


Here I Am, story by Patti Kim, pictures by Sonia Sanchez, is a title to be read and shared again and again, year after year.  Every part of the boy's journey will resonate with readers on some level as life itself is full of changes, big and small.  Books such as this are pivotal in our understanding of one another.

For an array of illustrations from this title please follow this link to Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  For more information about illustrator, Sonia Sanchez, a link is embedded in her name to access her website.