10 Hungry Rabbits: a delightful treat by Anita Lobel (ages 2 - 6

Spring is truly coming and we have been having fun with a delightful new book by Anita Lobel: 10 Hungry Rabbits. This counting and color book offers a chance for young children to practice counting and color names with a sweet, comforting story.

10 Hungry Rabbits
by Anita Lobel
NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012
ages 2 - 6
available from your local library, favorite bookstore or on Amazon
preview available on Google Books

Mama Rabbit has nothing to feed her ten hungry babies, so Papa sends them out to the garden. "You are sure to find good things for Mama's soup pot there," he tells them. Sure enough, the little rabbits find all sorts of treasures in the garden:

• one big purple cabbage
• two white onions
• three yellow peppers

Each page show a large, soft illustration of the vegetables, and then smaller detailed scenes of the rabbits in the garden. Children will notice many layers of details - from the rabbit's clothes matching the color of the item they find, to the textures of the foods. The pink potatoes are full of dimples and eyes, and the orange carrots look like they've just been pulled out of the ground.

This simple counting book may seem brief at first glance, but the repetition and rhythm of the story are so important for young children to experience. As K.T. Horning writes in her Horn Book review,

"This concept book has an original story line, engaging characters, rich language, and a predictable visual and narrative pattern, and the concepts themselves are reinforced in multiple ways in words and pictures, some subtle and some obvious. Best of all, it's the sort of picture book you can read aloud just for the fun it, even if you don't care about teaching numbers or colors."

The review copy was kindly sent by the publishers, Alfred A. Knopf and Random House. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

Review ©2012 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books