The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 1.
1. Bibliography
Rohmann, Eric. 2002. My Friend Rabbit. New York, NY: Scholastic.
ISBN 0-439-57930-9
1. Bibliography
Rohmann, Eric. 2002. My Friend Rabbit. New York, NY: Scholastic.
ISBN 0-439-57930-9
2. Plot Summary
Rabbit causes trouble for his animal friends when his friend Mouse's toy airplane gets stuck in a tree and they have to have help getting it down.
3. Critical Analysis
Eric Rohmann is the author and illustrator of this very engaging book about friendship. The tone of the book is set in the very first pages, where Mouse says that his friend Rabbit means well, but that trouble follows wherever Rabbit goes. The rest of the story proves Mouse's point. Rohmann does not make use of controlled vocabulary, but the illustrations provide such excellent clues to meaning that most children would probably be able to read most of the book themselves, especially if they had heard it read aloud. I imagine that children would take great delight in joining in Rabbit's repeated attempts to reassure Mouse by saying, "Not to worry, Mouse. I've got an idea." Several times in the book, Rohmann continues a sentence from one page to the next, pulling the reader along further into the story. He also begins and ends the book with almost the identical sentences, suggesting that Rabbit will probably get into trouble again, and that even if he does he will still be Mouse's friend.
My Friend Rabbit is not a wordless picture book, but the pictures predominate and could almost stand alone in telling the story. The colors are bold and bright, and the animals are outlined with thick black lines. The animals' expressions show emotions appropriate for the text--annoyance, confusion, fright, anger, and happiness. The first time that we hear Rabbit say, "Not to worry, Mouse" it is obvious from the look on Mouse's face that it is not the first time that he has heard it--and Rohmann accomplishes that with two vertical lines drawn over Mouse's head. On one page the illustration extends the text by including lines of dialogue with the pictures. In the scene where Rabbit has stacked the animals one on top of the other, the reader turns the book sideways so that the tower seems really tall. The illustrations definitely add humor to the book. Rabbit and Mouse trying to get a rhinoceros to stand up while the rhinoceros digs in his front feet so hard that he is plowing up the ground is priceless, as is the scene where Mouse has fallen into line with the ducklings. This a book that children would love to hear, to read and read again.
Eric Rohmann is the author and illustrator of this very engaging book about friendship. The tone of the book is set in the very first pages, where Mouse says that his friend Rabbit means well, but that trouble follows wherever Rabbit goes. The rest of the story proves Mouse's point. Rohmann does not make use of controlled vocabulary, but the illustrations provide such excellent clues to meaning that most children would probably be able to read most of the book themselves, especially if they had heard it read aloud. I imagine that children would take great delight in joining in Rabbit's repeated attempts to reassure Mouse by saying, "Not to worry, Mouse. I've got an idea." Several times in the book, Rohmann continues a sentence from one page to the next, pulling the reader along further into the story. He also begins and ends the book with almost the identical sentences, suggesting that Rabbit will probably get into trouble again, and that even if he does he will still be Mouse's friend.
My Friend Rabbit is not a wordless picture book, but the pictures predominate and could almost stand alone in telling the story. The colors are bold and bright, and the animals are outlined with thick black lines. The animals' expressions show emotions appropriate for the text--annoyance, confusion, fright, anger, and happiness. The first time that we hear Rabbit say, "Not to worry, Mouse" it is obvious from the look on Mouse's face that it is not the first time that he has heard it--and Rohmann accomplishes that with two vertical lines drawn over Mouse's head. On one page the illustration extends the text by including lines of dialogue with the pictures. In the scene where Rabbit has stacked the animals one on top of the other, the reader turns the book sideways so that the tower seems really tall. The illustrations definitely add humor to the book. Rabbit and Mouse trying to get a rhinoceros to stand up while the rhinoceros digs in his front feet so hard that he is plowing up the ground is priceless, as is the scene where Mouse has fallen into line with the ducklings. This a book that children would love to hear, to read and read again.
4. Review Excerpts
Booklist: "...smart, sassy object lesson.... Tremendous physical humor delivers a gentle lesson about accepting friends as they are. " (Reviewed by Connie Fletcher)
Publishers Weekly: "This gentle lesson in patience and loyalty, balanced on the back of a hilarious set of illustrations, will leave young readers clamoring for repeat readings. (Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)
School Library Journal: "The double-page, hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines are magnificent, and children will enjoy the comically expressive pictures of the animals before and after their attempt to extract the plane. The text is minimal; it's the illustrations that are the draw here." (Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)
Publishers Weekly: "This gentle lesson in patience and loyalty, balanced on the back of a hilarious set of illustrations, will leave young readers clamoring for repeat readings. (Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)
School Library Journal: "The double-page, hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines are magnificent, and children will enjoy the comically expressive pictures of the animals before and after their attempt to extract the plane. The text is minimal; it's the illustrations that are the draw here." (Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)
5. Connections
Use this book to invite children to talk or write about what it means to be a friend, or about a time when they had to help a friend solve a problem.
Other books about friendship:
Pfister, Marcus. The Rainbow Fish. ISBN 1-558-58536-2
Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. ISBN 0-060-25665-6
Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Best Best Friends. ISBN 0-15-205694-7
Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Collection. ISBN 0-060-58086-0
Milne, A. A. Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh. ISBN 0-525-46726-2
Pfister, Marcus. The Rainbow Fish. ISBN 1-558-58536-2
Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. ISBN 0-060-25665-6
Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Best Best Friends. ISBN 0-15-205694-7
Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Collection. ISBN 0-060-58086-0
Milne, A. A. Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh. ISBN 0-525-46726-2
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