Let's Make Rabbits

"Let's Make Rabbits" is a book I've been reading off-and-on to my children since my eldest was two. And what amazes me is that every so often, even after five years of reading it, I can still have an 'Oh-Wow' moment in which I discover some new aspect of the book that that hadn't occurred to me before. At first, of course, I just read the story. We pointed out the names of objects and colors. Then when my children were a little older we talked about how the two bunnies were friends even though they were different. Then even later we digressed and discussed how the pen and the scissors both wanted to make bunnies and carrots and how they both succeeded even though they took different paths to do so. Then, just yesterday, it dawned on me that part of what Lionni was demonstrating was 'space relations'. That line drawings didn't have shadows, whereas the 'real' objects did. It was rather effortless to explain this to my five and seven year olds, and to tie this particular lesson into my second grader's geometry. I bring this all up because I want you to know that if you buy this book you aren't just buying it for the baby and toddler years. And that there is a depth of purpose here that you just don't get in most other books. Highly recommend this one. There is just a lot to spark a child's -- and a mom's-- imagination. Five Stars ::: "Lets Make Rabbits" is one of those books that unfolds with each reading. Even my own 'take' on it has changed over the years. Good Read-aloud. Just-right artwork. No wonder Lionni has won so many awards. Pam T~

This is another great book for toddlers by Lionni. It encourages children to imagine and demonstrates different methods to express ideas on paper. My daughter, who is very verbal for a 26-month-old, made a strong connection with "shadows" after reading this book and began pointing them out everywhere.

Let's Make Rabbits is a clever boardbook by Caldecott-honored artist Leo Lionni. It begins with a pair of scissors and a pencil that decide to make rabbits. The story then follows the activities and discoveries of these two rabbits. Appropriate for infants and toddlers, the book offers illustrations with clean lines, color, and warm, likeable character drawings that enhance the story. The book is durable enough for library circulation, but the illustrations may be too small for story time listeners to see from a distance. It is best suited for small group reading.This book is a good tool for building observation skills. The juxtaposition of monochromatic and multi-colored and one-dimensional versus multi-dimensional objects allows the child to observe differences and similarities. This would also be an excellent platform to begin simple discussions about animals, their body parts, colors, and the food they eat. The book could also inspire simple craft projects about animals.

This book really captured the imagination of our playgroup.The idea that rabbits could be made from paper and a pencilreally got the children going. After reading the book we used colored paper and made our own rabbits. This is one ofour favorite books by Leo Lionni and we are happy to see itback in print.