Mary's mother has a surprise for her--a delicious gingerbread rabbit. But the real surprises start when this cookie comes to life! The raisin-eyed rabbit, still uncooked on the counter, bemoans his fate to the paring knife, mixing bowl, and rolling pin, when they warn him that nothing has ever escaped from the kitchen without being eaten. When the rabbit spies Mary's mother, just back from the grocery store, a "giant" with "dozens of tremendous shining white teeth the size of a grizzly bear's," he realizes he hasn't a chance. Much to the mother's surprise, her flat, doughy creation makes a run for it! But she wants the gingerbread rabbit for her daughter so much, she races right after him. Garth Williams, illustrator of Charlotte's Web and The Cricket in Times Square captures the chase perfectly with his magical pen-and-ink sketches. Readers will follow breathlessly as the gingerbread rabbit narrowly escapes the guiles of a wily fox, and is finally rescued by an actual rabbit and his wife, who take him into their home to live happily ever after eating lettuce, carrots, and watercress.
This gentle story of a mother's fervent love for her only daughter, and the comical, suspenseful adventures of her rabbit cookie is carefully spun in Jarrell's flawless, slightly tongue-in-cheek prose. A jauntier inanimate rabbit-comes-to-life story than Margery Williams's The Velveteen Rabbit, and a more complex tale than The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Rabbit is a classic read-aloud that youngsters will clamor for again and again. (Ages 5 and older) --Karin Snelson
Book Description
Once upon a time there was a mothe . . . who loved her daughter so much, she wanted to make her a wonderful surprise. So she mixed up some dough and cut out a beautiful gingerbread rabbit. But she got the surprise when the rabbit jumped up, ran out the door, and escaped into the forest!
Follow the gingerbread rabbit and the mother as they run through the woods finding adventure, new friends, and the best surprises of all.
The Gingerbread Rabbit FROM THE PUBLISHER
One morning a mother mixes up some dough and cuts out a gingerbread rabbit to surprise her little daughter. But when the mother puts him in to bake, she gets the surprise of her life. The rabbit jumps to the floor, runs to the door, and disappears into the forest!Fleeing through the forest with the mother close behind, the innocent rabbit gets some surprises of his own. The worst surprise is a "friendly" red animal who says he's a rabbit, too, though he looks just like a fox. The best surprise is a big brown rabbit and a silvery gray one, who live in a cozy cave full of carrots and lettuce — where they happen to have an extra little bed.Yes, all's well that ends well. The gingerbread rabbit finds himself a happy home, and the mother finds an even better way to surprise her daughter.
FROM THE CRITICS
New York Times Book Review
A magical fantasy, wise and inventive in its telling, about a gingerbread rabbit who comes to life. .
Publishers Weekly
The Gingerbread Rabbit by Randall Jarrell, illus. by Garth Williams, originally published in 1964, tells the story of a mother who wishes to surprise her beloved daughter with a rabbit-shaped cookie, but the cookie surprises her instead when he springs to life.
Children's Literature - Candace Deisley
"Once upon a time" begins the story of a mother who wants to make a surprise for her daughter to enjoy when she returns from school. This story's illustrations are executed in pen and ink, and reflect the time in which the words were written. Mom stays home (of course) to bake a gingerbread rabbit for Mary because she saw a real rabbit in the yard. There is no Dad. Mom goes to buy vegetables from the vegetable man who brings his horse and wagon to the neighborhood, and the gingerbread rabbit comes to life. The utensils and pots and pans in the kitchen tell him that he will be eaten; that is the fate of everything that enters the kitchen. The rabbit runs away, eventually hiding from "the giant" in the cave of a fox who has convinced the cookie that he is a rabbit. A real rabbit appears and saves the cookie, bringing him to his home, where he lives happily. But Mom is distraught, and finally decides she will make Mary a felt Gingerbread Rabbit. This story is charming, and the dated illustrations do not detract from its appeal. 2003 (orig. 1964), HarperCollins,
Art & Photography
Book Info
