Customer Reviews

The Rabbits

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First of all, I'm going to admit right here and now that I was seriously depressed as a child by Dr. Suess's, "The Lorax". A great book with a great story and a great moral and it brought me down low. But that's okay. I got over it. I was doing all right. Then I idly picked up John Marsden's, "The Rabbits" in my local lending library. Suddenly all the feelings I'd ever felt after reading "The Lorax" were back, but stronger. I came to the realization that this book was better than the Seussian creation. It carries a different message, but the idea behind the tale (and the method of teaching it) is the same. Once you've read "The Rabbits", you can't unread it. It sticks in your brain and you start to see its scenes replaying themselves in your mind at the oddest of times. The best word I can conjure up to describe this book is "haunting". It's like nothing you've ever read before.

To read this book requires understanding a little about its background. Originally published (as far as I could ascertain by the nationalities of the author and illustrator) in Australia, the book is about the effects of colonization. As you may recall, rabbits were once a foreign species that was introduced to the Australian wildlife with disastrous results. Devouring the native resources and spreading like mad, both they and cane toads are considered dangerous pests. Taking that idea as a starter, we follow the arrival of civilized rabbits on a vaguely Australian-like land. The story is told from the point of view of some brown curly tailed spear carrying native animals. As the book begins the native animals say, "At first we didn't know what to think. They looked a bit like us. There weren't many of them". Time passes and more and more rabbits come to the land. They build their own kinds of houses and introduce their own animals. When the native creatures (bush babies, perhaps?) fight back they loose because there are too many rabbits. The rabbits destroy the land and (in the worst and most heart-wrenching scene in the book) they, "Stole Our Children". Rabbit driven planes fly away with little baby creatures in kites trailing behind as they parents run along the ground, their arms extended. In the end, the land is bare and all the animals are gone. In a final picture, a native creature sits across from a rabbit next to a tiny puddle that reflects the stars, the ground littered with trash. The animals asks, "Who will save us from the rabbits?"

Sad? You don't know the half of it. It was delightful seeing how many details in this tale were particular to the Australian aboriginal people. The fact that their children were taken by the white settlers to be taught in white schools. Pictures of the fights (natives destroying the rabbit proof fences). Symbols repeat in illustration after illustration. The rabbit's flags look British, until you realize that the lines on them are arrows pointing everywhere. The guns and houses of the rabbits are inscribed with the words, "Might = Right". If author John Marsden is clever, illustrator Shaun Tan matches him pound for pound. This tale is artistically and morally interesting. I've spent more time than I like to think about poring over these pages. The book is covered in the most minute and fascinating details. Notice the single yellow flower that grows in the rabbits' town. The fact that the rabbits are partitioning out the land, even as they draw topographic lines on the ground. The cows that are permanently attached to milking machines and that already have their tasty parts outlined on their bodies.

It all comes down to that final question: Is this a book for children? Originally I said no and my husband said yes. Then I looked closely at the book. It's not without a glimpse of hope, you know. Even as the little creature at the end asks, "Where is the rich dark earth brown and moist?", there's a rabbit sadly dropping the dry rotten dust of the ground from its hand. The final shot of the two creatures facing one another across the tiny pond suggests that the only one to save them from the rabbits are the rabbits themselves. If enough see what has gone wrong, that is. Some children will understand this story intrinsically while others will be brought down low by it. Know your child before you decide whether or not to share this book with them. If you decide they might not be ready yet, buy it anyway for yourself. Books like this one are rare pieces of art that disappear so quickly. This tale is ideal for those adults that are learning to read as well. Honestly, I don't know what more I can say to make you want to buy this book. If I have to, I'll beg you. Please. To read this is to experience something deeply touching. People so rarely get a chance to see books this well made. Take the chance and find it.

The Rabbits is a powerful and attention engaging picture book story by John Marsden with an underlying environmental message and drawn from the environmental experiences of the inhabitants and wildlife of Australia. An allegory of colonization, The Rabbits shows how a vast number of rabbits take over a land, strip it of its resources, multiply, and poison the earth by their sheer numbers. Unforgettable, stylized illustrations Shaun Tan lend a dark touch to this portrayal of unchecked and destructive tendencies. "Who will save us from the rabbits?" is the ultimate question arising from this outstanding allegory picture book story that parallels such widespread contemporary ecological experiences arising from the overwhelming onset of unbalanced industrialization, unremediated environmental damage, and unrestrained population growth.

In my humble opinion, I don't think it's an overstatement to say Shaun Tan is the finest illustrator of our time. He accomplishes SO much in the space given, yet it's never cluttered or busy. His attention to detail & lush palette make me envy naked eyes about to view his work for the first time. An absolute treasure...

Let's get this out of the way first - it's an allegorical retelling of a frankly depressing tale; that of the fate of aboriginal cultures in the face of English colonisation, exploitation and genocide (both planned and unintentional). I agree with the reviewer who states that this isn't the best of kid's bedtime stories; I'd class it along side books about tricky to explain subjects like reproduction or puberty. It's one of those special books you might reach for when your kids come to you with a question that you can't yet address face (i.e., they might not "get it" because of their age, etc.,).

But I frankly take issue with the twerp who fusses about "revisionism" as though the destruction of aboriginal culture never took place and that they're only making trouble. Get over it pal - it happened.

I'd say buy it if nothing else for the artwork - it's the most inventive, clever vision of colonialism and culture clash you'll have seen for some time, with something for everyone there:)

Shaun Tan's amazing artwork for 'The Rabbits' tells you everything you ever needed to know about Australian history in glorious colour and astonishing detail. This is not only a must-read for children, but for adults - worthy to share space on your bookshelf with Raymond Briggs's 'When the Wind Blows' and 'The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman' on one side, and fat volumes of Goya and Hieronymus Bosch on the other. Superb.

Shaun Tan is one of the most talented artists in the picture books/graphic novels. This short book with huge pictures stands as one of his best. Each image is full of small details, beautiful colors, and creativity. It may be too dark for young children but anyone who enjoys beautiful paintings or art in general should find something to love in this book.

If you would like to see more of Shaun Tan's work I highly recommend his recent graphic novel release: The Arrival. It reads like an old silent film and there's no one else's words to get in the way.

I discovered this book years ago tucked away (one copy) on a corner shelf in an independent bookstore that had a wonderful children's book section. I read it, absorbed it, and walked away from it. It stayed with me. The next time I was at that store, I looked for it again, but couldn't find it. I couldn't even remember what the title was (I knew it had something to do with rabbits) or who the author was. To my complete lack of surprise, it wasn't something I found at the big chain bookstores, though I searched regularly. Another reviewer refers to this book as "haunting," and that is exactly right. THE RABBITS haunted me from my first reading.

I stumbled upon it again here at Amazon thanks to a review written by a complete stranger for another book by a different author, in which he referenced this book by name and author. I ordered it immediately, and am so grateful to have gotten a second chance to add it to my library.

Rabbits were introduced to Australia from Europe in the 18th century, and their effect on the ecology of that continent was devastating. Wikipedia claims they are "suspected of being the most significant known factor of species loss" in that country. Their use in this beautiful book as a metaphor for colonial destruction, both careless and deliberate -- of the environment, of native species, of indigenous culture -- is both genuis and heartbreaking.

I don't have children myself and don't know how old a child would have to be to appreciate this book rather than be bored or confused or simply put off by the bleakness of the allegory... but I know that I found it wonderful, and I am grateful to both author and illustrator for creating something that haunted me from the first time I read it to the moment I was finally able to buy and revisit it, almost six years later.

For any who are interested in the subject of cultural devastation wreaked on the aboriginal people of Australia, the depressing but wonderful movie "Rabbitproof Fence" is eye-opening.

An incredibly detailed and rich visual narrative, 'The Rabbits' is Shaun Tan's art at its best. The story tells of an invasion of rabbits into a land populated by nomadic tribes of possums. It clearly parallels Australian history, with invasion by colonisers and the fear and despair of the indigenous peoples. Very poignant.

The Rabbits is a story about a race of indigenous creatures who lose their home to colonizing rabbits. Tan's surreal images sprawled across full-bleed, double page spreads provides an overwhelming sense of endlessness as the rabbits continue coming in a relentless deluge that gobbles up the narrators' land. Although marauding rabbits that ravish the countryside would have poignant significance for Marsden and Tan's fellow Australians, this is too often the tale of colonialism--the damage that it leaves in its wake. Consequently, at the secondary level, The Rabbits would serve as an excellent introduction to a study of Chief Joseph's speech titled "An Indian's View of Indian Affairs."

John Marsden, The Rabbits (Simply Read Books, 2003)

I was originally going to give this book a long, meandering write-up about immigration and xenophobia and Australian history and all the digressions, tangents, &c. that would naturally follow from such a thing. And this is a book that richly deserves it because of the number of layers to be found here. Impressive in a book that comes in at around one hundred words. Yes, one hundred words. But Marsden (who would hit it big a couple of years later with Tomorrow, When the War Began) chooses those words so carefully, and Shaun Tan's illustrations complement them so well, that every page gets you thinking harder and harder about all this stuff. It makes other kidlit books I've read recently (e.g., Chef Creole, above) pale in comparison. In fact, I can't think of a book with so few words aimed at such a young audience that has ever struck me as being this effective save Shaun Tan's own The Arrival. (The only other one that comes to mind is the mid-grade book Seedfolks, much much more verbose.) This is an amazing book, and it may even be more effective for the adults than it is the kiddies. Get this. *****