A Is for Another Rabbit

March 15, 2020
Grades K-3 The story begins on the front endpages. A dignified owl walks past a gallery wall displaying different types of animals. He calmly prepares to write an alphabet book with an unseen narrator. The owl is alarmed when the proclamation is made, "A is for a rabbit." "B is for Bunny" sounds okay, but he knows he is in trouble when the "C" page says, "C is for Can you believe how many rabbits are on this page? Count them!" The owl grows increasingly frustrated as his partner's bias becomes clear?this book is devoted to rabbits! Numerous visual jokes in the acrylic-and-black-ink illustrations will keep readers entertained. Liquid gold leaf accents give the images a special shine. The rabbits come in a variety of types and colors and engage in a diverse assortment of activities. The owl's partner?not surprisingly, a rabbit?is not revealed until the final endpages, as it slyly adds graffiti to those animal portraits. While this book is not especially effective for teaching the alphabet, it is great fun for story time!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2020
Straitlaced Dr. Owl expects the ABC book he's reading to be "respectable" and "proper." His confidence dissolves when he learns that "A is for A rabbit." When he objects, he is corrected by the book's sassy offstage narrator. Subsequent letters do not go much better, as b is for "Bunny" and c is for "Can you believe how many rabbits are on this page? Count them!" Dr. Owl attempts to steer the book back to normalcy but is stymied with each new letter. The narrator acknowledges him ("O is for Oops! I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just difficult to control so many overzealous, obstreperous rabbits"), but the rabbits continue in their energetic escapades. The rhyming alphabetic text zips right along with an increasing number of rabbits in settings of all types--from an art gallery to a stage (with "Xylophone rabbits and rabbits on drums!") to other dynamic spots. Acrylic and black-ink illustrations reverberate with energy as �rabbits--and Dr. Owl--ricochet, rebound, run, and ride across pages, breaking just as many borders and frames as they do alphabetical rules. "Dynamic" and "delightful," Batsel's rollicking picture-book debut will be a surefire �success at story hour.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2020
Straitlaced Dr. Owl expects the ABC book he's reading to be "respectable" and "proper." His confidence dissolves when he learns that "A is for A rabbit." When he objects, he is corrected by the book's sassy offstage narrator. Subsequent letters do not go much better, as b is for "Bunny" and c is for "Can you believe how many rabbits are on this page? Count them!" Dr. Owl attempts to steer the book back to normalcy but is stymied with each new letter. The narrator acknowledges him ("O is for Oops! I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just difficult to control so many overzealous, obstreperous rabbits"), but the rabbits continue in their energetic escapades. The rhyming alphabetic text zips right along with an increasing number of rabbits in settings of all types-from an art gallery to a stage (with "Xylophone rabbits and rabbits on drums!") to other dynamic spots. Acrylic and black ink illustrations reverberate with energy as rabbits -- and Dr. Owl -- ricochet, rebound, run, and ride across pages, breaking just as many borders and frames as they do alphabetical rules. "Dynamic" and "delightful," Batsel's rollicking picture-book debut will be a surefire success at story hour. Emmie Stuart

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from February 1, 2020
An obsessed narrator creates an alphabet book overrun with rabbits, much to the chagrin of an owl who wants to create a "proper, respectable" alphabet book. The picture book begins, "A is for A rabbit," an illustration of a large brown rabbit taking up most of the recto. The owl protagonist--presumably the co-creator of the book--points out that "rabbit" begins with "R." "Yes, but "a rabbit" starts with A," says the narrator, before moving on to "B is for bunny," which, as the owl points out, is just another name for rabbit. Despite the owl's mounting frustration, the narrator genially narrates several rabbits into existence on almost every single page, rendered with such variety that readers will find their proliferation endlessly amusing. The letter D, for instance, introduces readers to "delightful, dynamic, daredevil RABBITS!" (a herd of biker rabbits), and although the narrator says "E is for Elephant" (which momentarily satisfies the owl), the image depicts several rabbits poorly disguised as an elephant. Much to the owl's chagrin and, ultimately, exhaustion, the narrator grows more and more creative in their presentation of their favorite animal as the picture book proceeds down a rabbit hole of...well, rabbits! Batsel's debut picture book for readers already familiar with the English alphabet is funny and highly entertaining. The whimsical narrative and the colorful images make this an excellent elementary-age read-aloud. Creative, comedic, and carrot-loads of fun. (Picture book. 4-8)/p>

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