Review - The Pest in the Nest

The Pest in the Nest (Rabbit and Bear #2)
by Julian Gough
illustrated by Jim Field
Date: 2017
Publisher: Hachette Kids Hodder Children
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 112
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

A new critter moves into the neighborhood...but Rabbit thinks she needs to leave pronto. She's making a racket!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Unlike the first book in the series, which had a little more action, this is an esoteric little story about changing your thoughts and perspective. While I certainly can't fault it for its themes, I was a little disappointed since I had certain expectations after reading the first book.

Spring is coming to the forest, and there's a new nuisance in town: Woodpecker. She sits up in a tree, banging away at the bark to make a hole for her nest. Rabbit can't stand the noise, and his annoyance makes him want to blame the world for all his woes. Bear eventually takes him up the tree so he can see the beauty of the world around them, and Rabbit realizes he's just a very small part of all of it. Slowly, he learns that he can change the way he thinks about things, and that can change his feelings. Even Bear's annoying snoring can become a positive thing!

The first book featured an action-packed chase scene with a wolf, but the climax here is really just a party that all the newly awoken animals attend. The wolf shows up, too (and Bear feeds Wolf so he doesn't get hungry and eat anyone). It's kind of... anticlimactic. Had I read this book first, I might not feel the same way. Given the theme of looking at things from different perspectives, maybe that's partly the point...

There are a few technical problems with the writing, and the illustrations seem a bit uneven (there are a few that look rougher than others, although there are still plenty of very cute drawings of the animals and their friends). At over a hundred pages, it's a long picture book, but it doesn't really seem like it. Determined bedtime readers can probably get through this in one evening if they really want to.

So, overall, I'm not in love with this. I prefer the first book in the series... by a lot. But on its own, it's a decent picture book with a good message. I just wish there had been a little more action... and a bit less whining.

Quotable moment:

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Kids Hodder Children for providing a digital ARC.

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

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.67 out of 5