The Magic Hare [Library Binding]

Lynne Reid Banks (Author), Barry Moser (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1993

The author of The Mystery of the Cupboard and an award-winning illustrator collaborate in a collection of ten tales about the Magic Hare, who, depending on the situation, can be a clever trickster, a thoughtful friend, or a cunning magician.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An irrepressible hare dances his way through 10 stories, which take him from an English meadow to Transylvania to the moon. Along the way, he uses humor, wiles and magic to improve the situations of those he meets--teaching good manners to a bad-tempered queen; helping a timid orphan overcome her fears (and her appetite for hare); defanging a vampire. With her widely varied settings and diverse characters, Banks (the Indian in the Cupboard novels) delivers abundant amounts of fantasy; her stories also function as parables, aptly demonstrating the rewards of such qualities as curiosity, spontaneity and self-acceptance. Her most compelling tales are those in which the hare, as trickster, faces an intractable situation or foe; when he is simply deploying his magic powers the narrative moves with considerably less tension. Moser supplies a single full-page watercolor--in most cases a portrait of a central figure--to accompany each tale. His illustrations vary in mood and expression, from tender to terrifying, and provide strong, often strikingly affecting touchstones for the text. All ages.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Move over Raven, Coyote, and Anansi. Here's a new trickster with dancing feet and sharp wits. As Banks explains in the introduction, this hare must not be confused with a rabbit. He stops vampires and hiccups with a flip of his tail, and he doesn't merely hop. In one story, he jumps so high that he reaches the moon, and his dancing is so jolly that it turns a nasty queen into a pleasant one. This collection of 10 tales is varied in setting, character, and content. Hare helps an agoraphobic young woman overcome her fears, chases a dragon, and gives the demure harebell its name. Perhaps the most unusual and thought-provoking selection is about a witch who's working on closing the hole in the ozone layer. "The Hare and the Vampire" just begs to be told aloud, as does "The Hare with the Diamond Tail." Bank's pithy style creates episodes that are brief, but well developed and full of deadpan humor. She explores some sophisticated themes- prejudice, self-esteem, environmentalism-but the stories are never didactic. Moser's trademark watercolor portraits capture both the wildness and intelligence in Hare's eyes. The spoiled queen looks as nasty as Mary Lennox before she finds her secret garden, the giants Dismal and Horrible most definitely are that, the vampire looks horrendous, and the witch is a woman not to be messed with. A delightful modern collection with a feel of the classics.
Cheri Estes, Dorchester Road Regional Library, Charleston, SC
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 49 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co Library (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688108962
• ISBN-13: 978-0688108960
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,825,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynne Reid Banks is a best-selling author for children and adults. Her classic children's novel 'The Indian in the Cupboard' has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. She was born in London in 1929 and worked as an actress, writer and TV news reporter. Lynne has written thirty books: her first, 'The L-Shaped Room', was published in 1960. She now lives in Dorset, where she continues to write. Lynne says that writing for children comes much more easily than writing for adults. Tony Ross was born in London in 1938. He has worked as an art director at an advertising agency, a graphic designer, a cartoonist, a teacher, a film maker and as a Senior Lecturer in Art at Manchester Polytechnic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars fun and funny, April 28, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magic Hare (Hardcover)

Barry Moser's illustrations are eye-grabbing, and they go well with these original and up-to-date animal tales. (Up-to-date, as in using witchcraft to fix a hole in the ozone layer.) Not all the stories take place in modern times, but they all have a modern sensibility to them. The funniest one is the "Hare and the Vampire." Even your big kids will like these stories.

Beautiful book - this would make a great gift for a slightly quirky family.

1.0 out of 5 stars Pictures are scary!!, April 10, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Magic Hare (An Avon Camelot Book) (Paperback)

I am six and a half years old.I started reading this book and I read up till the chapter "The Hare and The Vampire". When I looked at the picture of the vampire and I got really scared.I showed it to my mom and she got scared too! So then I closed the book and never read it ever again.Just a warning that this book is really scary.

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant writing, brilliant illustrations, March 25, 2005

By 

The Book Elf "The Book Elf" (San Jose, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic Hare (An Avon Camelot Book) (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book of fables featuring the Magic Hare. In Mrs. Banks words, he is old-fashioned, yet bang up to the minute. In his kind and conceited, clever and shy, gentle and ruthless way he brings the varied characters of this magical book to perfect solutions for their problems; all the while teaching us with joy and humor how to chase down our own resolutions. A great book to read aloud.