My Friend Rabbit

Bibliography
Rohmann, Eric. 2002. MY FRIEND RABBIT. Ill. by Eric Rohmann. Brookfield. Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 0761315357

Plot Summary
This picture book is about two friends, a rabbit and a mouse, as told by the mouse. Rabbit is always getting into some kind of trouble, but mouse stays true to his friend, no matter what. Rabbit is always trying to solve the problem but things always seen to work against him.

Critical Analysis
This is a book with very little text, yet says a lot about friendship. The illustrations really carry the story and rabbits big ideas. Rhomann uses bright colors framed with a broad black outline to help bring the story to life. The detailed illustrations help the reader focus on the different characters feelings. He stretches his illustrations across two pages and at one point he even changes the layout of the book to go vertically.

Review Excerpt(s)
Children's Literature - Susie Wilde:
"Thankfully, messages are buried in this book which accents humor instead of moral. But the pictures and words provide comfort for children viewed as troublesome, and offer a strong argument for sticking with colorful, unique playmates."
School Library Journal: "The double-page, hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines are magnificent, and children will enjoy the comically expressive pictures of the animals before and after their attempt to extract the plane."

Connections
* Invite the students to write about a time when everything went wrong no matter what they did.
*Read other books about friendship.
*After reading the book have students rewrite the story from the rabbits perspective.