Rabbit & Bear by Julian Gough and Jim Field

There are many books now that cite comments or reviews by other distinguished authors on their covers.  Rabbit & Bear cites two quotes on the back - one from Neil Gaiman and the other by Eoin Colfer.  This is esteemed company indeed.

Neil Gaiman says this "is the sort of story that makes you want to send your children to bed early, so you can read it to them."

Eoin Colfer says this "should become an instant modern classic .. Cheeky, delightful and hilarious."

Bear is hibernating.  It is the middle of winter.  He wakes up when a robber stands on his nose, having just stolen his honey, salmon and beetles eggs.  Bear has never been awake in the winter.  He forgets about the missing food when he sees the snow and decides to make his first snowman. His snowball comes to rest on a rabbit hole. Rabbit is wise to the ways of gravity but he is also a cantankerous character who has no time for making snowmen with bear until something makes him change his mind.

This is the first book in a new series.  The subtitle is Rabbit's bad habits.  You need to read this terrific little book to discover exactly what these bad habits are.  You might find them disgusting but I guarantee every child will be laughing long after the book is finished.

Here is an interview with the author.  In this blog Julian Gough explains how he discovered this story. We do have several books in our library illustrated by Jim Field including the wonderful There's a lion in my cornflakes.

Rabbit & Bear is a compact little book about the size of a Ladybird book.  The illustrations are fabulous as you can see below. I am certain every young child will adore this special gem.