Caldecott Book #1

My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann won the Caldecott medal in 2003.

One aspect of this book that I liked is the illustrations. The artist was able to focus on a scene such as when the squirrel and mouse began to fall. The reader was able to imagine what was happening below or above like when the little ducklings were panicking. A point in the book where the animals are stacked up upon each other creates a tower so tall that the reader has to turn the book up and down to capture the scene. That is a unique feature of this book. It also features an ending that mirrors the beginning.

I wish that there was more to this book. It took me about one minute to read this book. It would probably take longer to read this book to a small child since they would want to really look at the pictures. A parent/teacher would also extend the reading time by asking questions.

The main character in the book, Rabbit, reminds me of some of my students. "Whatever he does, wherever he goes, trouble follows." Many of my students have "bright ideas" that turn into not so great ideas. It's not that they are bad kids, they just have that mischievous side to them. The weather and CATS testing has brought out the mischevious and restless side of my students similar to Rabbit in the story.

This book is simliar to the book, "One Seal" by John Stadler. This book is about a kite that breaks free and animals that create a tower to rescue the kite. It also has a point in the story where the book can be turned sideways to capture the whole image. It also has an ending that mirrors the beginning. This book was published three years prior to My Friend Rabbit.

From reading this book, I learned that stories can be told more from the illustrations than the text. This book has limited text, and the illustrations is what really makes this book a great read for small children.