The Rabbits - Softcover

John Marsden is Australia's most popular writer of Young Adult fiction. His books have sold more than a million copies worldwide and he has won, or been short-listed for, every major award for Young Adult literature in Australia, including the Children's Book Council of Australia Children's Book of the Year, the National Children's Book awards and numerous children's choice awards. The gripping war series, which began with Tomorrow when the War Began, has broken all sales records for young adult fiction. Burning for Revenge was awarded the Bookdata-ABA Book of the Year Award (1998). John Marsden's move into picture books has been highly acclaimed, following the release of Prayer for the 21st Century in 1997, Norton's Hut in 1998 and The Rabbits in 1999. Combining simple language with sophisticated illustrations, The Rabbits is both an educational and engaging account of 'otherness' in which John Marsden's versatility and ability to talk directly to his young readers is demonstrated once again. ILLUSTRATORBIO: Shaun Tan has an outstanding reputation for his illustrative work. He won the Crichton Award for Book Illustration (The Viewer) in 1995. His collaborative effort with John Marsden, The Rabbits was named CBC Picture Book of the Year in 1999. Memorial was his third picture book. He has been a leading science-fiction illustrator in Australia for several years; with recognition including the Illustrators of the Future Award (1991) and the Australian National Science Fiction Best Artist Award (1995, 1996). He contributes regular political cartoons to the Western Review and is the art editor and a regular contributor to Eidelon magazine.

Grade 2-8-An allegorical picture book about ecological and cultural destruction, illustrated with remarkable and highly stylized art. Small, reddish-brown armadillo/numbatlike creatures describe what happens when newcomers arrive in their homeland-"The rabbits came many grandparents ago...." Their numbers and technology take over, with devastating effects: "Sometimes we had fights, but there were too many rabbits.... They chopped down our trees and scared away our friends... and stole our children." In the end, the land is devastated and the animals wonder, "Who will save us from the rabbits?" The brief, bleak text is simple, and its message fairly obvious, but it is the stunning ink, oil, and wash artwork that adds complexity and the visual experience of a culture and landscape being overrun. The sharp-angled, streamlined white rabbits in formal suits and uniforms start out the same size as their rounded unclothed compatriots, but soon take over the foreground in ever-expanding size. The tiny innocent smokestack of their first vehicle and the predatory prow of their massively looming ship become the ominous portent of mechanization that runs amok. Though aspects of both illustrations and text make the parable particularly pertinent to Australia, the nonspecific language and highly stylized art are easily generalized and parallels can be drawn to any study of colonial history. The story's point of view provides a clear understanding of, and unsentimental empathy with, the experience of indigenous cultures, while its extraordinary art offers a thought-provoking, powerful look at a land and people overwhelmed.-Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WA
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