The Magic Rabbit

Written and Illustrated By: Annette LeBlanc Cate

Candlewick Press, 2007, Hardcover Version

Target Audience: Ages 4-8, although my 3 year old enjoys it

Genre: Fiction

How We Discovered This Book: This book was among the Easter/Spring books at our library (perhaps because it has a rabbit in it, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with Easter or Spring).

Summary: Ray the Magician and his bunny assistant do everything together. When they are separated while performing on the city streets, bunny must try to find Ray before it gets dark.

What I Liked: It is a simple story, where children are rooting for the pair to get back together. There is enough suspense, without heavily manufactured “dangers.” The author/illustrator also has chosen to prepare the book completely in black and white, with the exception of some important gold stars. These illustrations really support the purity of the story.

What Did My Son Aidan Think? After repeated readings, Aidan discovered that Ray is in the background of many of the pictures where bunny is looking for him. Each time we read it, Aidan “finds” Ray, and many other hidden details in the rich illustrations. Aidan also loves the sweet ending. Aidan is now 6-1/2, so I would expect his interest in picture books to wane eventually, but I have been pleased to discover that he still loves the picture books that are of high quality in story, theme, and illustration.

Resources:

Magic and Magician’s Rabbit Activities

Teaching Activities for learning words with a silent E (with the help of a magic rabbit)

Learn Easy Magic Tricks- for kids (and beginning adults!)