“What Small Rabbit Heard”: a funny book for fall

What Small Rabbit Heard by Sheryl Webster, illustrated by Tim Warnes(Oxford University Press, 2010)Good to Read for:Sharing laughter with your kidsExploring language Snuggling up on a windy day I’ve just come home from a wild and windy walk.

It’s a glorious late summer/early autumn afternoon, with mounting cumulus clouds in a big blue sky. The sun is shining, but there’s a chill in the air. Windswept martins and swallows soaring above remind me of the changing season. I try hard to resist collecting things that catch my eye. Still, today, I succumbed and brought home some seed heads, a feather and a snail shell (all of which I justified as ‘research’ for an idea I’ve begun tinkering around with about a wandering elf).

My walk reminded me of the picture book What Small Rabbit Heard written by Sheryl Webster, which I illustrated in 2009 (shortlisted for the Heart of Hawick Children’s Award, 2011). It’s been on my mind for a few weeks now, ever since Sheryl tagged me on an Instagram post she wrote. Honestly, I’d forgotten how well Small Rabbit has done internationally. Seeing all of the co-editions lined up (in languages including Portugee, Dutch, German, Swedish, Korean and Thai) was a lovely reminder of its success.

   

It’s gratifying to know Small Rabbit has played a part in so many storytimes worldwide (and that it was a successful start to Sheryl’s publishing journey, too). 

So this week I’m going to shine the spotlight on the book and, as usual,  give you some tips for sharing Small Rabbit with your kids so you get the most out of your time together.

The story features Big Rabbit and the irrepresibsible Small Rabbit and a particularly windy day. Kids will relate to the mischevious Small Rabbit from the off:

 

Small Rabbit did not want to go for a walk.

‘It’s too cold! I’m too busy…and I’m too tired!’

“It’s not cold, it’s fresh,’ said Big Rabbit.

‘You’re not busy, you’re playing.

And you are certainly not yet tired!’

‘Well, it’s too windy. It won’t be fun.’

‘Of course it will be fun,’ said Big Rabbit.’ Now off we go.’

 

This is a great picture book to share at any time of year, but especially now, as the words and pictures capture the season so well:

 

Small Rabbit raced up the hill.

It was getting colder and his coat flapped in the wind as he ran.

   

It’s so windy, in fact, that the howling wind blows all Big Rabbit’s instructions away.

‘The humour in this beautifully illustrated story,’ writes Storysnug review, ‘stems from Small Rabbit’s misunderstanding of Big Rabbit’s instructions’. Here’s another example: When Big Rabbit calls out, “Try to keep up,” her words are ‘lost in the howl of the wind.’  

 

What Small Rabbit heard was…

‘Jump in the mud.’

So he did.

   

At one point, Small even ends up riding a goat after mishearing the instructions, ‘Fasten your coat.’ (His coat, by the way, is a nod to Peter Rabbit.) The following illustration is one of my favourite images in the book. It’s so wild and spirited and captures Small Rabbit’s playfulness. Holding the goat’s collar and leaning back like a cowboy riding a bronco, waving his stick triumphantly in the air!

Each time, what Small Rabbit heard is revealed with the page turn, which adds dramatic pauses and turns the story into a guessing game: Each time, ask your child if they can guess what Small Rabbit thinks was said. (It reminds me of the old party game, Chinese Whispers, where the meaning of the sentence is altered as the words are misheard and passed along the line.)

   

The Bookbag review agrees that Small Rabbit is a great way to get young kids started with wordplay:

 

They won’t be too young to know that. Stay with me, please sounds a bit like roll in the leaves. The more children play with language, and see language being played with, the more they’ll love language, love books, love their brains buzzing in all sorts of directions. I’ve heard it said that children don’t really get jokes until they’re about 7. Rubbish. Surround ’em with appropriate wordplay, and they’ll lap it up.

- The Bookbag  

Small Rabbit's antics are sure to tickle your child's funny bone. As Raquel Curvacheiro shared on Goodreads, her 6-year-old laughed out loud at what Small Rabbit heard, while the 2-year-old eagerly asked for more. Small’s not wilfully naughty. In fact, he thinks he’s doing everything he’s been asked to do - and he’s never had so much fun! I mean, which child wouldn’t want to be ordered to jump in the mud, roll in leaves or climb the trees! Meanwhile, parents will identify (and smile wryly) at the increasingly exasperated Big Rabbit.

   

As they approach home, Big Rabbit sees Small hopping ahead. She looks at how dirty he is and  thinks ‘of their lovely clean burrow.’ Of course, the final instruction she calls out – ‘Please don’t go inside!’ – is blown away on the wind. 

This is a great point to pause with your child and see if they can guess what Small Rabbit heard that rhymes with ‘don’t go inside’. Either way, there’s a moment of suspense as Big Rabbit ‘[peeks] cautiously into the burrow’ and tiptoes inside. A trail of muddy prints leading to a cupboard gives kids a visual clue…

 

‘BOO!’ laughed Small Rabbit.

‘It took me ages to find somewhere to hide. But I did!’

Small Rabbit leapt into Big Rabbit’s arms. 

‘Windy walks are lots and lots of fun!’ he said.

And Big Rabbit had to agree.

   

I feel nostalgic, looking back at the book fifteen years after working on the illustrations. I’m reminded of special times with my boys and countless walks in the countryside, picking up sticks, climbing trees and running about like wild things (and yes, yelling pointlessly into the wind as they get up to mischief!). I recognise familiar toys, including Noah’s cuddly mole, who went everywhere with him! (Mole also crops up in Little Honey Bear and the Smily Moon.)

What Small Rabbit Heard highlights those everyday interactions that are easy to overlook and pass by so quickly – clean washing, flapping in the wind, helping kids on with their coats, picking up children’s belongings, and spontaneous moments of exuberant joy. Such moments, captured in the illustrations, reflect the love and intimacy of everyday family life which, as The Bookbag notes, bring ‘an underlying gentleness and heart to the pictures’.

It’s no wonder Small Rabbit has been such a big hit.

    Tips for sharing What Small Rabbit Heard

If you have the time and energy, get your kids to act out all the verbs – hop, skip, jump, roll –while the book is being read to them!

Pause before revealing what Small Rabbit "heard" and turn the story into a guessing game.

My illustrations are packed with incidental characters, so go on a little treasure hunt – there are hidden frogs, mice, and even a caterpillar to find!

What Small Rabbit Heard by Sheryl Webster, illustrated by Tim Warnes(Oxford University Press, 2010)Good to Read for:Sharing laughter with your kidsExploring language Snuggling up on a windy day Copyright © 2010 Sheryl Webster (Text) & Tim Warnes (Illustrations)From WHAT SMALL RABBIT HEARD by Sheryl Webster & Tim Warnes(Oxford University Press) BUY THE BOOKPowered by Bookshop.orgSupporting independent bookshops
“The 6 year old laughed out loud and the 2 year old just asked for "more, more, more".”

– Raquel Curvacherio, Goodreads

“Love it. It makes me laugh as much as my kids.” 

- Amazon customer review

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