Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, written by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, is a 1962 pictures book published by HarperCollins. It was a Caldecott Medal Honor Book for 1963 and was one of Sendak's Caldecott Honor Medal of a total of seven during his career. Sendak won the Caldecott Medal in 1964 for Where the Wild Things Are, which he both authored and illustrated. Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present was re-issued by HarperCollins in 1999 in hardcover format as part of a project to re-issue 22 Sendak works, including several authored by Zolotow.
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| Author | Charlotte Zolotow |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Maurice Sendak |
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Harper & Row 1962 |
| ISBN | 978-0064430203 |
Description
The story, written by Zolotow, is told in past tense from the third-person point of view. It does not feature rhyming or nonsense words, but makes use of repeating sentence patterns. The illustrations by Sendak support the story by depicting actions not textually described.
Synopsis
An unnamed little girl meets a rabbit and ask for his help in finding her mother a birthday present. The cover art shows the girl asking the Rabbit for help as he sits on a rock. He then took her on a journey to find the perfect present for her mom. On their journey the little girl told Mr. Rabbit that her mother likes "red, green, yellow and blue". Mr. Rabbit then suggested that the little girl should get her mother "red underwear" but the little girl refused to give her mother such a gift. Mr. Rabbit then took the girl to an apple tree in which she agreed that would be a lovely present for her mom. Mr. Rabbit and little girl then proceeded to find another "present" for her mom. Mr. Rabbit suggested that the little girl get her mother something yellow. They both agreed that a banana would be the perfect fruit for her mom. Mr. Rabbit and the little girl filled a little brown basket with blue, yellow, green and red fruits. Mr. Rabbit walked the girl home "thank you for your help, Mr. Rabbit" said the little girl, "not at all" said Mr. Rabbit "very glad to help", "Goodbye now" said the little girl "goodbye said Mr. Rabbit and a happy birthday and a happy basket of fruit to your mom."
References
- Zolotow, Charlotte. "Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present Children's Book Read Aloud, Written by Charlotte Zolotow." YouTube. YouTube, 1 June 1962. Web. 15 June 2015.
- Sendak, Maurice. "Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, 1963 Caldecott Honor Book." Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, 1963 Caldecott Honor Book. HarperCollins, 1962. Web. 15 June 2015.