From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3—This charming story has the same tone and spirit as the previous books about this character,
Shall I Knit You a Hat? (2004),
Why Do You Cry? (2006, both Holt), and
Imagine Harry (Harcourt, 2007). Little Rabbit gets a school assignment to prepare a report, and when he goes to sleep that night, his anxieties about choosing a topic lead his imagination to create a mysterious dream creature that carries him away. His mother explains that it was a nightmare, but he interprets the word as "night mare." The next evening, the "horrible horse" returns, jumping and bucking until Little Rabbit finally falls off. Distracted from choosing a topic, he attempts to scare the night mare off with signs and then a trap, but eventually finds that he must face it. When he does so, he sleeps well and is able to present his report about the night mare to the class. This engaging tale about a child's imagination and his strategies to confront his fears is told with gentle humor. The bright-hued acrylic artwork depicts colorful classroom scenes, comforting moments with Mother Rabbit, and Little Rabbit's dream world (the night mare is created out of a pillow and blanket). Readers will be reassured by the final image of the protagonist sleeping soundly. This book will stimulate discussions about facing fears and the stories that our minds create when we sleep.—
Susannah Richards, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"This engaging tale about a child''s imagination and his strategies confront his fears is told with gentle humor." -- School Library Journal (June 2008)
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School Library Journal 20080101)
"Richly colored acrylic illustrations, with abundant details in both the classroom and bedroom scenes, feature a cheerful, comical assortment of animal classmates and a gentle, attentive mother, which lighten the seriousness of the story." --Booklist (June 2008)
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Booklist 20080501)
"The textured acrylics have fun with color, giving more than enough details to make readers want to linger on each page and explore a little longer." --The Horn Book (2008)
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The Horn Book )
"Deeply opaque acrylics take Little Rabbit back and forth between his bedroom and a classroom populated with a menagerie of friends. A worthy introduction to puns." --Kirkus Reviews (May 2008)
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Kirkus Reviews )
