The Pink Hare. Jeanne Willis. Illustrated by Ken Brown. North York, ON: General Publishing, 1996. 32 pp., hardcover, $18.95. ISBN 0-86264-6871. Subject Headings: Hares-Juvenile fiction. Rabbits-Fiction. Clothing and dress-Fiction. Preschool - grade 2 / Ages 3 - 7. Review by Naomi Gerrard. *** /4

excerpt:

In the Arctic, when it snows,
The hares must change their summer clothes.
They must put on their winter suits -
White coats, white caps, white gloves, white boots,
White vests, white pants and long white socks,
In case they're spotted by a fox.
But one small hare thought she knew best.
You should have seen the way she dressed -
Pink petticoat, pink pants, pink bows
Pink hat to match her small pink nose,
Pink cardigan, pink tights, pink slacks,
Pink shoes and pompoms on the backs.

This hare is delightful - living her own life in style, skipping across the white Arctic like a powder puff.

      The lemmings laugh at her; the polar bears see her bobbing up and down and chase her, wondering if pink hare pie is agreeable. Pink hare runs and runs and gradually slips out of her pink clothes, scattering them along her trail. Pink hare's brothers and sisters fear there is something wrong and -

For hours they searched the snow for clues,
But all they found were two pink shoes
with pompoms and a little bow.
"Oh, no!" they cried. "Oh, dear, no!
Our little sister's dead we fear...

      Jeanne Willis, who has written several children's books including the award-winning The Rascally Cake, has created a delighful story with The Pink Hare. Ken Brown's illustrations are full of life, allowing the reader to bounce across the tundra with the rabbit, and beautifully capturing the disapproval of her family and the reactions of all the other arctic creatures to this frivolous pink hare.

      The colour and spirit of this story should attract many smiles.

Recommended.

Naomi Gerrard has been fascinated with children's literature for years and has been a reviewer for the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbons Award. She is a member of CANSCAIP.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © 1997 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364