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Rabbit Hill
Rabbit Hill
It has been a while since Folks lived in the Big House, and an even longer time has passed since there has been a garden at the House. All the animals of the Hill are very excited about the new Folks moving in, and they wonder how things are going to change. It’s only a matter of time before the animals of the Hill find out just who is moving in, and they may be a little bit surprised when they do.
127 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1944
79 people are currently reading
3,677 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lawson
111books71followersBorn in New York City, Lawson spent his early life in Montclair, New Jersey. Following high school, he studied art for three years under illustrator Howard Giles (an advocate of dynamic symmetry as conceived by Jay Hambidge) at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (now Parsons School of Design), marrying fellow artist and illustrator Marie Abrams in 1922. His career as an illustrator began in 1914, when his illustration for a poem about the invasion of Belgium was published in Harper's Weekly. He went on to publish in other magazines, including the Ladies Home Journal, Everybody's Magazine, Century Magazine, Vogue, and Designer.
During World War I, Lawson was a member of the first U.S. Army camouflage unit (called the American Camouflage Corps), in connection with which he served in France with other artists, such as Barry Faulkner, Sherry Edmundson Fry, William Twigg-Smith and Kerr Eby. In his autobiography, Faulkner recalls that Lawson had a remarkable "sense of fantasy and humor", which made him especially valuable when the camoufleurs put on musical shows for the children of the French women who worked with them on camouflage
After the war, Lawson resumed his work as an artist, and in 1922, illustrated his first children's book, The Wonderful Adventures of Little Prince Toofat. Subsequently he illustrated dozens of children's books by other authors, including such well-known titles as The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (which later became an animated film by the Walt Disney Studios) and Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. In total, he illustrated as many as forty books by other authors, and another seventeen books that he himself was author of, including Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin By His Good Mouse Amos and Rabbit Hill. His work was widely admired, and he became the first, and so far only, person to be given both the Caldecott Medal (They Were Strong and Good, 1941) and the Newbery Medal (Rabbit Hill, 1945). Ben and Me earned a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1961.
Lawson was a witty and inventive author, and his children's fiction is no less engaging for grown-ups. One of his inventive themes was the idea of a person's life as seen through the eyes of a companion animal, an approach that he first realized in Ben and Me. Some of his later books employed the same device (which was compatible with his style of illustration) to other figures, such as Christopher Columbus (I Discover Columbus) and Paul Revere (Mr. Revere and I). Captain Kidd's Cat, which he both wrote and illustrated, is narrated by the feline in the title, named McDermot, who tells the story of the famous pirate's ill-starred voyage, in the process of which he is shown to have been a brave, upright, honest, hen-pecked man betrayed by his friends and calumniated by posterity. His artistic witticism and creativity can be seen in The Story of Ferdinand the Bull, where he illustrates a cork tree as a tree that bears corks as fruits, ready to be picked and placed into bottles.
In the early 1930s, Lawson became interested in etching. One of the resulting prints was awarded the John Taylor Arms Prize by the Society of American Etchers.
Lawson died in 1957 at his home in Westport, Connecticut, in a house that he referred to as Rabbit Hill, since it had been the setting for his book of the same name. He was 64. He is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. An annual conference is held in his honor in Westport.
The Robert Lawson Papers are in the University of Minnesota Children's Literature Research Collections.
During World War I, Lawson was a member of the first U.S. Army camouflage unit (called the American Camouflage Corps), in connection with which he served in France with other artists, such as Barry Faulkner, Sherry Edmundson Fry, William Twigg-Smith and Kerr Eby. In his autobiography, Faulkner recalls that Lawson had a remarkable "sense of fantasy and humor", which made him especially valuable when the camoufleurs put on musical shows for the children of the French women who worked with them on camouflage
After the war, Lawson resumed his work as an artist, and in 1922, illustrated his first children's book, The Wonderful Adventures of Little Prince Toofat. Subsequently he illustrated dozens of children's books by other authors, including such well-known titles as The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (which later became an animated film by the Walt Disney Studios) and Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. In total, he illustrated as many as forty books by other authors, and another seventeen books that he himself was author of, including Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin By His Good Mouse Amos and Rabbit Hill. His work was widely admired, and he became the first, and so far only, person to be given both the Caldecott Medal (They Were Strong and Good, 1941) and the Newbery Medal (Rabbit Hill, 1945). Ben and Me earned a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1961.
Lawson was a witty and inventive author, and his children's fiction is no less engaging for grown-ups. One of his inventive themes was the idea of a person's life as seen through the eyes of a companion animal, an approach that he first realized in Ben and Me. Some of his later books employed the same device (which was compatible with his style of illustration) to other figures, such as Christopher Columbus (I Discover Columbus) and Paul Revere (Mr. Revere and I). Captain Kidd's Cat, which he both wrote and illustrated, is narrated by the feline in the title, named McDermot, who tells the story of the famous pirate's ill-starred voyage, in the process of which he is shown to have been a brave, upright, honest, hen-pecked man betrayed by his friends and calumniated by posterity. His artistic witticism and creativity can be seen in The Story of Ferdinand the Bull, where he illustrates a cork tree as a tree that bears corks as fruits, ready to be picked and placed into bottles.
In the early 1930s, Lawson became interested in etching. One of the resulting prints was awarded the John Taylor Arms Prize by the Society of American Etchers.
Lawson died in 1957 at his home in Westport, Connecticut, in a house that he referred to as Rabbit Hill, since it had been the setting for his book of the same name. He was 64. He is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. An annual conference is held in his honor in Westport.
The Robert Lawson Papers are in the University of Minnesota Children's Literature Research Collections.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 598 reviews
February 26, 2012
This book did not win literary acclaim in its own time because it is a gentle-spirited, lovely, book about animals and their families. It won because it hints at the deeper perspective of the landscape in which these animals live.
The human presence on the landscape--fore-fronted in the story by a home sale, and a new human family renovating and moving into a home that has long been left empty in the center of a community of small, wild animals--is considered through the deeper span of history, as the animals retain dim memories of a landscape unpopulated by Europeans (the story is set in ~1944 "current day" Connecticut, USA), and then traversed by troops marching off to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and leaving farmsteads abandoned.
That is not the major theme of the book, but it's in there, and, ultimately, it makes the book a lot more of a read than simply the tale of brave-hearted Little Georgie and his cranky, yet noble, old Uncle Analdas.
Some readers will find the depiction of 1944 human society oppressive or "dated." While recognizing that era's flaws, all I can say is... too bad for them.
The human presence on the landscape--fore-fronted in the story by a home sale, and a new human family renovating and moving into a home that has long been left empty in the center of a community of small, wild animals--is considered through the deeper span of history, as the animals retain dim memories of a landscape unpopulated by Europeans (the story is set in ~1944 "current day" Connecticut, USA), and then traversed by troops marching off to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and leaving farmsteads abandoned.
That is not the major theme of the book, but it's in there, and, ultimately, it makes the book a lot more of a read than simply the tale of brave-hearted Little Georgie and his cranky, yet noble, old Uncle Analdas.
Some readers will find the depiction of 1944 human society oppressive or "dated." While recognizing that era's flaws, all I can say is... too bad for them.
August 16, 2015
The 3-star rating is NOT because it's a groundbreaking award-winning story. It's because I appreciate the cleverness of the Newbery committee for choosing this seemingly goofy book that has so much deeper meaning (especially in the time period that this won.) It's actually a pretty fun read, thanks to the lively humor and plotting. Sure, it's old-fashioned and corny, but that's the point. If you're ever feeling depressed by Newbery books, this will set you up for some good hearty entertainment, delivered in a very easy one-sitting read, too.
March 30, 2018
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My quest to read all the Newbery winners continues with Rabbit Hill, the winner from 1945. The story primarily focuses on a family of rabbits, who are very excited that a family is moving into the abandoned house near their hill. All the small animals on the hill are starving because they rely on the garden at the house for food. The animals don’t know if the new Folks will be nice people who like animals or mean people who trap and kill animals.
This is a sweet, quiet story. The animals each have distinctive (and occasionally irritating) personalities. The main bunny, Little Georgie, is easy to root for. He’s brave, and cocky, and has a sense of humor. This is definitely a book that will make you smile.
Beneath the book’s cute exterior, there are strong themes of charity and being kind to others. (Well, not to dogs. I guess you can throw rocks at those. And not to chickens. Those are for deep frying. But the other animals treat each other kindly.)
I wonder how much patience children would have for this story. I guess it’s a classic, so kids must enjoy it, but it feels like it takes forever to get going. The animals spend pages and pages gossiping about the new neighbors. It’s funny to see animals acting like nosy humans, but it’s not the most interesting thing to read. It gets repetitive quickly.
Also, it’s kind of confusing. Am I the only one who’s confused by anthropomorphic animals?
I don’t usually like anthropomorphic animal stories because I’m not always sure what the author is trying to say with them. Am I supposed to read the animals as animals, or am I supposed to read the animals as cute stand-ins for humans?
The animals in this book are anthropomorphized in a weird way. On one hand, they’re very human. They live in a human-like society; they peddle conspiracy theories; the foxes don’t snack on their rabbit neighbors. On the other hand, they’re very animal-like. They eat chickens; the humans kill them with traps and poison; they’re torn apart by dogs; they’re inadvertently flattened by cars. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be thinking of these critters as humans or animals.
Right now, you’re probably like, “OMG. It’s a children’s book. Children enjoy reading about bunnies. The animals are just supposed to be entertaining.� You’re right, but the author is clearly trying to send a message with this book. I’m not sure if I should nod in agreement or roll my eyes.
Beware! Thar be spoilers ahead!
No More Spoilers. Carry On.
Compared to current children’s literature, I found this book slow. The beginning is repetitive scenes of animals gossiping, and the rest of the story is episodic. It doesn’t feel like it’s heading anywhere. There is the mystery of the new Folks, but that’s not much of a mystery. The new Folk’s personalities become obvious fairly quickly.
This isn’t one of my favorite Newbery winners. It’s cute, but I don’t think it’ll stick in my mind after I finish all the winners.
TL;DR: Some important themes. I think a lot of kids would get bored with the meandering plot.
My quest to read all the Newbery winners continues with Rabbit Hill, the winner from 1945. The story primarily focuses on a family of rabbits, who are very excited that a family is moving into the abandoned house near their hill. All the small animals on the hill are starving because they rely on the garden at the house for food. The animals don’t know if the new Folks will be nice people who like animals or mean people who trap and kill animals.
This is a sweet, quiet story. The animals each have distinctive (and occasionally irritating) personalities. The main bunny, Little Georgie, is easy to root for. He’s brave, and cocky, and has a sense of humor. This is definitely a book that will make you smile.
“‘Seems there's new Folks coming.�
‘Yes, I know,� cried Little Georgie eagerly. ‘I've just made a song about it. Wouldn't you like to hear it? It goes like—�
‘No, thanks,� called Robin.� � Rabbit Hill
“‘I've made up a song about the new Folks,� [Little Georgie] added eagerly. ‘Would you like to hear it?�
‘Don't think I would,� answered Uncle Analdas.� � Rabbit Hill
Beneath the book’s cute exterior, there are strong themes of charity and being kind to others. (Well, not to dogs. I guess you can throw rocks at those. And not to chickens. Those are for deep frying. But the other animals treat each other kindly.)
I wonder how much patience children would have for this story. I guess it’s a classic, so kids must enjoy it, but it feels like it takes forever to get going. The animals spend pages and pages gossiping about the new neighbors. It’s funny to see animals acting like nosy humans, but it’s not the most interesting thing to read. It gets repetitive quickly.
Also, it’s kind of confusing. Am I the only one who’s confused by anthropomorphic animals?
I don’t usually like anthropomorphic animal stories because I’m not always sure what the author is trying to say with them. Am I supposed to read the animals as animals, or am I supposed to read the animals as cute stand-ins for humans?
The animals in this book are anthropomorphized in a weird way. On one hand, they’re very human. They live in a human-like society; they peddle conspiracy theories; the foxes don’t snack on their rabbit neighbors. On the other hand, they’re very animal-like. They eat chickens; the humans kill them with traps and poison; they’re torn apart by dogs; they’re inadvertently flattened by cars. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be thinking of these critters as humans or animals.
Right now, you’re probably like, “OMG. It’s a children’s book. Children enjoy reading about bunnies. The animals are just supposed to be entertaining.� You’re right, but the author is clearly trying to send a message with this book. I’m not sure if I should nod in agreement or roll my eyes.
Beware! Thar be spoilers ahead!
No More Spoilers. Carry On.
Compared to current children’s literature, I found this book slow. The beginning is repetitive scenes of animals gossiping, and the rest of the story is episodic. It doesn’t feel like it’s heading anywhere. There is the mystery of the new Folks, but that’s not much of a mystery. The new Folk’s personalities become obvious fairly quickly.
This isn’t one of my favorite Newbery winners. It’s cute, but I don’t think it’ll stick in my mind after I finish all the winners.
TL;DR: Some important themes. I think a lot of kids would get bored with the meandering plot.
June 12, 2013
I read this multiple times as a child, and I'm just not sure why. I was taken fairly often to a very good library, so it's not as though I was starved for choice. I guess I was just very much a devoted rereader in those days. Revisiting it for the first time in roughly 33 years, by reading it aloud to my son, I found that there was hardly anything other than the lingering comforting sense of familiarity that I liked about it. There is not much plot. Some animals are hungry. Then new folks move into the big house, plant a garden, and all is well. Because apparently wild animals are completely dependent on human agriculture. Also, in this animal society, everyone is male by default, with the exception of the fussy narrow-minded house-work obsessed mother of the main character, little Georgie the rabbit. My son (currently 9) commented that not much happened in the story, but although I kindly offered to abandon the book every now and then, he doggedly insisted that we keep going. He does usually enjoy animal stories; I will have to try to find some better ones.
November 17, 2023
Mrs. Minella, my third-grade teacher, first read this book to me as part of our class, and it has stayed with me since.
I'm glad Rabbit Hill was awarded a Newbery Medal. The Medal awarded this book completed a trifecta of sorts for Robert Lawson, after winning the Caldecott Medal for They Were Strong and Good, illustrating a Newbery Medal winner (Elizabeth Janet Gray's Adam of the Road), and winning the Newbery for Rabbit Hill, which he wrote and illustrated. Years later he would make it an unprecedented quartet by having his book The Great Wheel designated a Newbery Honor recipient.
Aside from the historicity of its accolades, Rabbit Hill is an excellent story with many memorable characters. The adventures are fun, humorous, and at times emotionally resonant, leading to a beautifully wrought climax and ending. This book is a classic, and I highly recommend it.
I'm glad Rabbit Hill was awarded a Newbery Medal. The Medal awarded this book completed a trifecta of sorts for Robert Lawson, after winning the Caldecott Medal for They Were Strong and Good, illustrating a Newbery Medal winner (Elizabeth Janet Gray's Adam of the Road), and winning the Newbery for Rabbit Hill, which he wrote and illustrated. Years later he would make it an unprecedented quartet by having his book The Great Wheel designated a Newbery Honor recipient.
Aside from the historicity of its accolades, Rabbit Hill is an excellent story with many memorable characters. The adventures are fun, humorous, and at times emotionally resonant, leading to a beautifully wrought climax and ending. This book is a classic, and I highly recommend it.
August 14, 2019
This graphic novels was actually terrific.
March 20, 2020
I thought it was an enjoyable book - it's sure to be a favorite with your animal loving kiddo! And Robert Lawson is an author I really like!
Ages: 5 - 12
Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 20 Incidents: how in tarnation, dingblasted, shucks, stupid, how in thunder, gumdinged
Name Calling - 6 Incidents: stupid brutes, old fool, stubborn old codger, stupid, the sneakin� deceitful hypocritical scoundrel, blasted brats
Religious Profanities - 2 Incidents: oh my - goodness!, oh Lord give me strength
Attitudes/Disobedience - 5 Incidents: Uncle Analdas lies a few times throughout the book about how he can’t find his glasses to read. The truth is he never learned how. The mother rabbit in the story worries and frets throughout the book and at one point circulates a rumor. A few of the animals don’t want to take food out of the nice people’s garden. But the majority agree that� Folks don’t respect our claims, so why should we give them special privileges. ‘Tain’t democratic.� They decide to take from the garden. The uncle rabbit gets mad at folks driving cars when his nephew gets hit. He wishes he could scare the drivers, causing them to crash, like he used to in his younger days. The Opossum is mentioned as being a notorious liar.
Religious & Supernatural - 1 Incident: Mentions the Good Saint of Assisi “that’s loved � and protected� the animals.
Romance Related - None
Conversation Topics - 3 Incidents: A couple of the characters smoke a pipe. Tobacco is mentioned.
Mentions elderflower wine. The story’s moral: there is enough food for humans and animals to share.
Parent Takeaway
At first the animals are skeptical about the family moving into the old house and wonder if they will be planting people. "Planting people" means the animals will have plenty of food. When the people turn out to be very nice, some of the animals wonder if they should not take from the garden; but the majority vote that they must look after themselves and take the food. After an accident happens and the people take such good care of an injured rabbit, the animals all decide to respect the people and keep the sanctuary forbidden. After all, "there is enough for all."
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!
Ages: 5 - 12
Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 20 Incidents: how in tarnation, dingblasted, shucks, stupid, how in thunder, gumdinged
Name Calling - 6 Incidents: stupid brutes, old fool, stubborn old codger, stupid, the sneakin� deceitful hypocritical scoundrel, blasted brats
Religious Profanities - 2 Incidents: oh my - goodness!, oh Lord give me strength
Attitudes/Disobedience - 5 Incidents: Uncle Analdas lies a few times throughout the book about how he can’t find his glasses to read. The truth is he never learned how. The mother rabbit in the story worries and frets throughout the book and at one point circulates a rumor. A few of the animals don’t want to take food out of the nice people’s garden. But the majority agree that� Folks don’t respect our claims, so why should we give them special privileges. ‘Tain’t democratic.� They decide to take from the garden. The uncle rabbit gets mad at folks driving cars when his nephew gets hit. He wishes he could scare the drivers, causing them to crash, like he used to in his younger days. The Opossum is mentioned as being a notorious liar.
Religious & Supernatural - 1 Incident: Mentions the Good Saint of Assisi “that’s loved � and protected� the animals.
Romance Related - None
Conversation Topics - 3 Incidents: A couple of the characters smoke a pipe. Tobacco is mentioned.
Mentions elderflower wine. The story’s moral: there is enough food for humans and animals to share.
Parent Takeaway
At first the animals are skeptical about the family moving into the old house and wonder if they will be planting people. "Planting people" means the animals will have plenty of food. When the people turn out to be very nice, some of the animals wonder if they should not take from the garden; but the majority vote that they must look after themselves and take the food. After an accident happens and the people take such good care of an injured rabbit, the animals all decide to respect the people and keep the sanctuary forbidden. After all, "there is enough for all."
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!
January 9, 2013
Some authors are so easy and fun to read aloud and Lawson is one of them. We both enjoyed the tight and somewhat gossipy animal community of Rabbit Hill, who are all agog that someone new is moving into the farm house around with they live. Will these people tolerate the animals in their vegetable garden or will they be vegetable misers? Read this funny and sweet story to find out.
Update: The review above was from 2008, when Logan was 4. We just read it again in 2013 and he's 8 1/2. He didn't remember hearing it before, but he loved it just as much this time.
Update: The review above was from 2008, when Logan was 4. We just read it again in 2013 and he's 8 1/2. He didn't remember hearing it before, but he loved it just as much this time.
March 18, 2024
Surprisingly clever and even profound.
April 18, 2019
It's not often that I read a book with almost all animal characters anymore, but with characters like Phewey the Skunk, Willie Fieldmouse, Georgie, Porkey the Woodchuck, Mole, Foxy, and a few others, it's pretty irresistible.
Nothing earthshaking for an adult, but I'm sure very fun for the younger crowd. As the story begins, Georgie is running around yelling in excitement that the new comers on coming. The people who had lived on the property were gone and the animals were worried about who'd move in and if they'd plant veggies or if they'd have to go hungry.
Thankfully, the new owners were nice and they planted tons of veggies, so all the animals were happy. It's a feel good kind of book. There were so many other animals named, and fun street names like Collie and other animal street names.
Recommendation: It works for a quick read and if you have young ones to share your love of reading with. I recommend it, especially if you're an animal lover like I am.
Nothing earthshaking for an adult, but I'm sure very fun for the younger crowd. As the story begins, Georgie is running around yelling in excitement that the new comers on coming. The people who had lived on the property were gone and the animals were worried about who'd move in and if they'd plant veggies or if they'd have to go hungry.
Thankfully, the new owners were nice and they planted tons of veggies, so all the animals were happy. It's a feel good kind of book. There were so many other animals named, and fun street names like Collie and other animal street names.
Recommendation: It works for a quick read and if you have young ones to share your love of reading with. I recommend it, especially if you're an animal lover like I am.
September 22, 2019
We LOVED this. Cannot wait to read the next one. It has SUCH heart, but it also has adventure. I very much appreciate the vocabulary that Lawson uses, and that he does not dumb down his stories for kids. Thank goodness for quality children's literature such as this!
December 14, 2023
My 8yo read this aloud to me and we both enjoyed it. Excellent reading aloud practice for a very good reader 😅 some of the language is extremely complex! The story is engaging, a little preachy, but I enjoyed it in spite of that.
The ending reminded me a lot of Wind in the Willows and the strange chapter about Pan, but in this book the animals stand in awe of St Francis of Assisi. And it’s not quite as magical/mysterious as WitW.
The ending reminded me a lot of Wind in the Willows and the strange chapter about Pan, but in this book the animals stand in awe of St Francis of Assisi. And it’s not quite as magical/mysterious as WitW.
December 29, 2020
ספר חמוד ביותר לגילאי בית ספר יסודי. לאחר חורף קשה שבו לבעלי החיים הגרים בגבעת הארנבים - ארנבונים, עכברי שדה, בואשים, מרמיטה, שועל, אייל, חפרפרת ועוד - כמעט ולא היה מה לאכול, סוף סוף מגיעים דיירים חדשים לבית המוזנח שבגבעה. בעלי החיים מקווים שמדובר באנשים נחמדים שיטפחו את האדמה ויקימו גן ירק, ולא ינסו ללכוד אותם עם מלכודות, רעלים וכלבים מסוכנים. הספר מדבר על כמה חשוב לכבד את בעלי החיים שמסביבנו ולחיות איתם בשלום - הרי הם היו שם עוד לפני שאנו בני האדם השתלטנו על השטח.
יש לציין כי בהתאם לשנה שבה נכתב, הוא לא ממש פוליטיקלי קורקט - אמא ארנבה היא יצור היסטרי ופחדן שעוסקת רוב הזמן בבישול ותחזוקת הבית. עדיין ספר מקסים ומומלץ.
יש לציין כי בהתאם לשנה שבה נכתב, הוא לא ממש פוליטיקלי קורקט - אמא ארנבה היא יצור היסטרי ופחדן שעוסקת רוב הזמן בבישול ותחזוקת הבית. עדיין ספר מקסים ומומלץ.
July 7, 2024
I thought it was cute but not super interesting. My kids loved it! It’s a great length to be a first read aloud chapter book or one that kids are able to read on their own.
August 28, 2023
Very cute. The day I started reading this I literally missed my stop on the subway because I was too focused on it
August 7, 2017
This book is incredibly dull. It is told from the perspective of rabbits and all the other animals as the new folks move into the old farmhouse and start growing things again. The animals have all been worried about finding food as there haven't been human gardens around to raid for several years.
In general, I don't like books that anthropomorphize animals. I also don't like when the natural world is romanticized to the effect that all creatures great and small can live in harmony.
Spoiler alert:
At the end of this book the family that moves in ends up planting a beautiful garden and also creating a special haven with plenty of food for the animals and a statue of St. Francis of Assisi saying "There is enough for all." In turn, the animals agree not to eat out of the garden. Yes, it is a nice message about taking care of wildlife, and I know the point of this book isn't to depict the relationship between humans and animals with a great deal of realism, but I just don't like this romanticized relationship between humans and animals. I know plenty of people in the real world who have this attitude and it doesn't work. You can't just lovingly and generously will animals out of your garden. In this book, I take the side of the evil farmer who uses traps and fences to keep animals out. Who knew this heartwarming tale of bunnies would get me so riled up?
1945 Newbery winner.
In general, I don't like books that anthropomorphize animals. I also don't like when the natural world is romanticized to the effect that all creatures great and small can live in harmony.
Spoiler alert:
At the end of this book the family that moves in ends up planting a beautiful garden and also creating a special haven with plenty of food for the animals and a statue of St. Francis of Assisi saying "There is enough for all." In turn, the animals agree not to eat out of the garden. Yes, it is a nice message about taking care of wildlife, and I know the point of this book isn't to depict the relationship between humans and animals with a great deal of realism, but I just don't like this romanticized relationship between humans and animals. I know plenty of people in the real world who have this attitude and it doesn't work. You can't just lovingly and generously will animals out of your garden. In this book, I take the side of the evil farmer who uses traps and fences to keep animals out. Who knew this heartwarming tale of bunnies would get me so riled up?
1945 Newbery winner.
May 7, 2012
I hate to pan a Newberry Award winner, especially one that has kindness to animals as its main theme. Lawson's story, though, took anthropomorphism to extremes without any of the charm found in other animal stories (e.g. Charlotte's Web or the Beatrix Potter books). I didn't find the characters' personality quirks, such as the mother's endless worrying and the father's ceaseless boasting about his life in Kentucky, endearing, but annoying. Also, the misspellings within the quotes were, I'm sure, meant to denote some kind of country dialect, but really -- is there any difference between "garbidge" and "garbage" or "sez" and "says" other than the fact that one is spelled correctly and the other isn't? Instead of helping to make the scenes richer and personalize the characters, such decisions serve only to confuse younger readers and distract from the story, which, handled a bit differently, could have been quite nice.
March 31, 2019
This is another childhood book that I basically remembered more the title the actual story itself so it was a nice pleasant revisit for me. As a result it was nice to get a chance to find a lot more refreshing story than the one I had just finished.
The story explores a group of beleaguered wild animals who are more feral and live on human activities than on just general forage. As a result it shows just how much our activities can affect and influence the lives of animals even though these are fictional. At the same time it also showcases the differences in how people live and see the world around them.
Fortunately this is a very easy book to read and so it would make for a nice transitional story for growing readers although it is similar to a multitude of others that are like it. Fortunately all the characters are quite well developed and have wonderful personalities that will endear even the most grouchy ones to the reader.
The story explores a group of beleaguered wild animals who are more feral and live on human activities than on just general forage. As a result it shows just how much our activities can affect and influence the lives of animals even though these are fictional. At the same time it also showcases the differences in how people live and see the world around them.
Fortunately this is a very easy book to read and so it would make for a nice transitional story for growing readers although it is similar to a multitude of others that are like it. Fortunately all the characters are quite well developed and have wonderful personalities that will endear even the most grouchy ones to the reader.
April 20, 2021
Newbery Challenge 194/415. A short, sweet book about animals that would make a great read aloud. It reminded me of a combination of Beatrix Potter and Watership Down. The moral of the story is people and animals living peacefully together and that there is enough for all. Beautifully illustrated so I recommend a hard copy, but the audio was really well done with great voices for all of the animals. So I would recommend a combo of listening to the audio while following along with the illustrations.
November 18, 2015
A story about the little animals that live on the Hill. The House on the Hill hasn't had any people living on it and is falling apart. The animals find out that new people are coming and the book follows them as they wonder about the new owners and how they will treat the animals of the Hill. It was simple and sweet and just right for a new beginning readers' chapter book
Read
May 2, 2022My eight-year-old son and I both read this Newberry-winning children’s novel. He enjoyed it.
From an adult perspective, I found it rather preachy, and I can now see why my own father found it so annoying. However, it would be a good choice for a sensitive reader who wants his animal characters to come cloaked in a heavy dose of peace and harmony.
From an adult perspective, I found it rather preachy, and I can now see why my own father found it so annoying. However, it would be a good choice for a sensitive reader who wants his animal characters to come cloaked in a heavy dose of peace and harmony.
Read
May 19, 2024Still an absolutely delightful story
June 1, 2019
Struggled hard to stay engaged with this. Don't know that I'd recommend it to a student in a world where Katherine Applegate exists.
October 3, 2024
Read this with my 9 year old old for school, she liked it a lot better than we so we averaged our ratings at 3. It was a very slow moving book with not much going on.
February 19, 2025
Delightful! Read aloud to Ingrid.
March 17, 2025
Seemed a bit strange to me. I don’t think I’d read it again.
September 14, 2018
On my quest to read all the Newbery award winners I have picked up Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson. Published in 1944, in the waning days of World War II, Lawson's seemingly idyllic children's book is obviously a product of that time. Post-Great Depression and Post-War, life is not returning to what it was and American citizens were afraid for their future. With this in the back of my head, I picked up Rabbit Hill and was pleasantly shocked by how Lawson addressed these concerns head-on while still appealing to a youthful audience.
I love the audiobook narrator! Barbara Caruso's vivid and animated reading really helped me connect with this older style of writing. Lawson's writing is simple, innocent, and focused on an idyllic lifestyle. I needed Caruso's gentle narration to help me let go of my expectations and relax in a world which, to me, does not exist any longer. Besides, Caruso not only provides unique voices for all the characters, but she even sings the tune Little Georgie makes up! "New folks comin' oh my" is still suck in my head today.
The downside to listening to the audiobook is that I missed all of Lawson's illustrations while reading. I hunted down a physical copy after listening to the audiobook and let me just say: These illustrations are wonderful! Reminiscent of The Wind in the Willows, each illustration is vivid and helps break up the text in a meaningful way for the reader. Some full-page illustrations exist, but most appear between text breaks.
Keeping the historical context in which this book was written in mind, Rabbit Hill provides a great message. The obvious themes of charity and kindness pulling a community together in times of need, as well as that of trusting the stranger, will come out to any young reader. But reading between the lines a bit more, I see a community of homeless and destitute people post-war. Rabbit Hill provides a hope for the future that we can only find by working together.
As a Newbery winner, I can understand why it might have won in 1945. America needed something happy, peaceful, and encouraging to promote in literature. But the book is a little foolish and simplistic overall. Lawson uses a larger vocabulary and subtle themes I don't imagine an ideal age range for this book would understand. Perhaps I'd read this aloud to a 6-8-year-old. While this tale aged well for me, I don't think today's children will find the same innocent joy children of the late 1940's might have found.
I love the audiobook narrator! Barbara Caruso's vivid and animated reading really helped me connect with this older style of writing. Lawson's writing is simple, innocent, and focused on an idyllic lifestyle. I needed Caruso's gentle narration to help me let go of my expectations and relax in a world which, to me, does not exist any longer. Besides, Caruso not only provides unique voices for all the characters, but she even sings the tune Little Georgie makes up! "New folks comin' oh my" is still suck in my head today.
The downside to listening to the audiobook is that I missed all of Lawson's illustrations while reading. I hunted down a physical copy after listening to the audiobook and let me just say: These illustrations are wonderful! Reminiscent of The Wind in the Willows, each illustration is vivid and helps break up the text in a meaningful way for the reader. Some full-page illustrations exist, but most appear between text breaks.
Keeping the historical context in which this book was written in mind, Rabbit Hill provides a great message. The obvious themes of charity and kindness pulling a community together in times of need, as well as that of trusting the stranger, will come out to any young reader. But reading between the lines a bit more, I see a community of homeless and destitute people post-war. Rabbit Hill provides a hope for the future that we can only find by working together.
As a Newbery winner, I can understand why it might have won in 1945. America needed something happy, peaceful, and encouraging to promote in literature. But the book is a little foolish and simplistic overall. Lawson uses a larger vocabulary and subtle themes I don't imagine an ideal age range for this book would understand. Perhaps I'd read this aloud to a 6-8-year-old. While this tale aged well for me, I don't think today's children will find the same innocent joy children of the late 1940's might have found.
August 3, 2020
A lovely book, with particularly gorgeous illustrations—if you had asked me to choose unknowingly between its having won the Caldecott or the Newberry, I would have assumed Caldecott, and I would have guessed incorrectly.
The good? Most things. It's a kind book, a gentle book, but not exclusively so (animals had met an unfortunate end, prior to the onset of the story), the characters are nicely delineated, the sense of place is perfect, and it all just works. It's an acknowleged classic, I don't think I need dwell on all that's good. But I had some very slight quibbles:
The not-so-good? I don't think the author completely managed the animal aspect ... you generally have two choices: the "animals are people" route (e.g. Arthur, The Wind in the Willows, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble) or the "animals are animals, only more thoughtful" route (e.g. Watership Down), but Lawson tries to strike a middle ground, where the animals are very animalistic, and yet manage to do things like canning, or hammering wooden shelves together. That didn't work for me, though it may trick a youngster. And it would have been so easy for them to do the actual animal behaviours of burying nuts, say, rather than aping humans.
And secondly, the primary humans are just a bit too perfect. So outrageously good, in fact, that I began to wonder if this was a sort of Christian allegory, where the animals are us, the new folks are God, and we should just learn to trust him and his infinite wisdom, yada yada, because he knows best even when we can't see it. And just when I thought I was being paranoid, the new folks erected a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in their garden in a late chapter. So I think I might be on to something, and I'm a bit grim about religions propaganda disguised as Children's books. I'm wary!
But maybe I'm just paranoid ...
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
The good? Most things. It's a kind book, a gentle book, but not exclusively so (animals had met an unfortunate end, prior to the onset of the story), the characters are nicely delineated, the sense of place is perfect, and it all just works. It's an acknowleged classic, I don't think I need dwell on all that's good. But I had some very slight quibbles:
The not-so-good? I don't think the author completely managed the animal aspect ... you generally have two choices: the "animals are people" route (e.g. Arthur, The Wind in the Willows, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble) or the "animals are animals, only more thoughtful" route (e.g. Watership Down), but Lawson tries to strike a middle ground, where the animals are very animalistic, and yet manage to do things like canning, or hammering wooden shelves together. That didn't work for me, though it may trick a youngster. And it would have been so easy for them to do the actual animal behaviours of burying nuts, say, rather than aping humans.
And secondly, the primary humans are just a bit too perfect. So outrageously good, in fact, that I began to wonder if this was a sort of Christian allegory, where the animals are us, the new folks are God, and we should just learn to trust him and his infinite wisdom, yada yada, because he knows best even when we can't see it. And just when I thought I was being paranoid, the new folks erected a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in their garden in a late chapter. So I think I might be on to something, and I'm a bit grim about religions propaganda disguised as Children's books. I'm wary!
But maybe I'm just paranoid ...
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
September 26, 2018
First sentence: All the Hill was boiling with excitement. On every side there rose a continual chattering and squeaking, whispering and whistling, as the Animals discussed the great news. Through it all could be heard again and again the words, "New Folks coming."
Premise/plot: Rabbit Hill is an animal fantasy novel that won the Newbery Medal in 1945. Little Georgie, one of the characters, is bringing news with him: NEW folks are moving in. Will the NEW folks be good or bad for the Hill? Will the animals lives be better for the change or worse? No doubt about it, times have been hard the past few years. But are good days ahead of them again? Little Georgie, unlike his mother, is prone to hope instead of worry.
The animal community is unbalanced. They depend on the humans--for gardens, for scraps, etc. But they also dread the humans--guns, traps, dogs. The animals are starving because there aren't any humans there to care for the land. But are humans the answer?
My thoughts: It was a quick read. I will give it that. I'm not sure if I liked it. I didn't dislike it, mind you; my reaction wasn't that strong. The book introduces us to many characters. (My favorite character was Little Georgie. I felt no connection to the others, not really.)
Overall, I found the book a bit on the boring side. I didn't want to find it boring. I wanted it to be a fabulous animal fantasy like Charlotte's Web. But at the very least it wasn't a Stuart Little!
Premise/plot: Rabbit Hill is an animal fantasy novel that won the Newbery Medal in 1945. Little Georgie, one of the characters, is bringing news with him: NEW folks are moving in. Will the NEW folks be good or bad for the Hill? Will the animals lives be better for the change or worse? No doubt about it, times have been hard the past few years. But are good days ahead of them again? Little Georgie, unlike his mother, is prone to hope instead of worry.
The animal community is unbalanced. They depend on the humans--for gardens, for scraps, etc. But they also dread the humans--guns, traps, dogs. The animals are starving because there aren't any humans there to care for the land. But are humans the answer?
My thoughts: It was a quick read. I will give it that. I'm not sure if I liked it. I didn't dislike it, mind you; my reaction wasn't that strong. The book introduces us to many characters. (My favorite character was Little Georgie. I felt no connection to the others, not really.)
Overall, I found the book a bit on the boring side. I didn't want to find it boring. I wanted it to be a fabulous animal fantasy like Charlotte's Web. But at the very least it wasn't a Stuart Little!
May 6, 2017
What a weird book. I am all for a well written animal book (like the incomparable and ), but this is total drivel. The only redeeming factor is the lovely lithographs by . There is no accountable plot, the animals are crudely characterized, the book is chock full of embarrassing dialect, and the ending is so sentimental and puzzling that I nearly threw down the book in despair. What's up with the random St. Francis of Assisi parade?! Where on earth did that come from? It's just a poorly wrought, Christianized version of the Mole's and Water Rat's encounter with Pan in Kenneth Grahame's far finer story. In fact, the whole book feels like a crude, Americanized, Christianized The Wind in the Willows without any of the heart.
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