Review - Rabbit's Bad Habits

Rabbit's Bad Habits (Rabbit and Bear #1)
by Julian Gough
illustrated by Jim Field
Date: 2016
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 109
Format: e-book
Source: library

From novelist and playwright Julian Gough, and the winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, Jim Field, comes a brilliantly funny story of a rabbit and bear who discover that things are always better when they're shared with a friend...

Bear wakes up early from hibernation. If she can't sleep, then at least she can make a snowman. Rabbit has never made a snowman, but he definitely wants to make one that's better than Bear's. But with an avalanche and a hungry wolf heading his way, Rabbit soon realises that it might be nice to have a friend on your side.

A tale of friendship, gravity, and just a little bit of poo.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Yes, this picture book is over 100 pages long. But it doesn't really feel like it. It reads pretty quickly, since there are plenty of pictures (there's even a cool map in the front so we can see where the story takes place).

It's a very wintry story, and the colour palette of blue, white, black, and grey reflects that. Bear wakes up after what she thinks is a nightmare about being robbed of all her stored food. Since she's up anyway, she decides to build a snowman. It's during this activity that she meets a grumpy rabbit. Well, I'd be grumpy, too, if I had to eat my own poo. (At first, I thought maybe this part of the story was just put in there for shock value. But when I looked it up, it's actually true! So kids get a nice little science lesson about cecotropes in addition to the fun narrative.)

Rabbit tells Bear about things like gravity and avalanches (and how his grandfather had to eat his own leg to survive after being trapped in one). He's kind of haughty, and eventually goes off to build his own snowman. But then a wolf tries to eat him, and Bear has to use the information Rabbit taught her to thwart his dinner plans.

The illustrations are really cute, with great facial expressions. The wolf is kind of hilarious. He's pathetically skinny and almost a caricature; everything is exaggerated, from his pointy nose to his giant ears.

The writing/editing was just a little bit weak. There were a few places it could've been tightened up, and at one point the text referred to Bear as "he" (she's female). But the story itself is so fun and funny, and the new friendship that forms as a result of the events in the book is heartwarming. I can't wait to see what adventures these two have next!

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 5/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.33 out of 5