Pet rabbit owners, lovers of cuteness and adventure will adore this book. David Metzenthen and Mairead Murphy have captured a rabbit's inquisitive nature, along with their extreme fluffy sweetness.
Lulu the rabbit spots a mouse and follows it into the bushes. Under the dark canopy she discovers a hole in the fence, which is too tempting of an adventure to ignore.
Lulu follows the mouse into the neighbourhood and begins to explore. However, all is not well as red fox is out prowling for his dinner.
Fox spots Lulu and leaps into the air to pounce on her. In fear for her life she flees, through the one back yard and another until she finds the perfect place to hide and outwit the fox. Will Lulu make it back home by morning?
This story was suspenseful, with many changes of pace. When Lulu manages to out smart the fox there is a chance for the reader to feel a moment of relief.
The text by Metzenthen is sparse but when combined with Murphy's illustrations they tell a spell-binding story. One Runaway Rabbit is a great book for pre-readers as it relies heavily upon visual literacy to tell the story. I loved the inclusion of the bird's eye view and neighbourhood map showing the journey that the pet rabbit took during the story.
To find out more about David Metzenthen see his answers to the Kids' Book Review's 10 Quirky Questions or read his picture book story for older children, One Minute's Silence.
Title: One Runaway Rabbit
Author: David Metzenthen
Illustrator: Mairead Murphy
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $19.99
Publication Date: 1 July 2019
Format: Hard Cover
ISBN: 9781760523558
For ages: 3 – 6