Harriet's Hare

by Dick King-Smith

In this "warm fuzzy tale full of poignance, humor, and magic" ( School Library Journal ), eight-year-old Harriet Butler isastonished to meet a space alien who's vacationing in her dad's wheat field!  "Children will be delighted by the charm, compassion, and wit of Harriet and Wiz...and find themselves completely drawn into their wonderful fantasy adventures"-- Booklist , starred review.  First time in paperback!

A 1995 Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award winner.  

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Science Fiction, Aliens, Rabbits

104 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 1995

About the author

Dick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books.

Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does.

Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.

Reviews

[Phoenix2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one way back when I was still in elementary. It was funny and interesting overall, fast paced and with cute characters.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seven year old me would have loved this. Now I find it a bit too simplistic and earnest. Still, I do recommend it for the right audience, and will certainly continue to read more by the author.

[Ilaria Manferdini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dolce e magico 💚

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favourites as a young child, remaining so as an adult today.

My soul book.

[G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I'll just say that I enjoyed this book much more when I was younger.

Harriet's Hare is a fantasy story about a young girl who lives in Longhanger Farm with her father, who suddenly meets an alien which takes the shape of a hare, who she names Wiz.

I think Dick King-Smith was trying to send some sort of subliminal messages. Wiz came from Pars, which was a very peaceful and equal world. There were no wars or conflicts, everyone was friends, all the Partians were equal- no one was poor and etc. It reminded me of the world in The Giver. I don't know. I'm just saying.

I felt that while reading this, everything seemed to move by so fast and all the little details were lost. Then again, this was written for children who I'm sure, aren't that particularly keen on small details. For example, shouldn't the little girl have been weary about a talking rabbit? Is the rabbit really all-knowing? Was he really sure that the "surprises" he had in store for Harriet would really be the best for her? I mean, everything was unrealistic! Then again, it is a fantasy novel meant for children.

This book is definitely best enjoyed by young children. It's not for the critics. After writing this short, yet nit-picky review, I felt like I just destroyed one of the books that I thought to be the best, when I was so much younger. Oh well.

[JennLynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another gentle Dick King-Smith story with beautiful descriptions of country life. Although I'm not into aliens generally, this one is basically a talking hare who brings a touch of magic into the life of a lonely little girl. A sweet read for grades 2-3.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rabbit is an alien!

[Pocket · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars

Harriet’s Hare is a really charming little book. It’s a fast-paced, lighthearted story about a girl making friends with a shape-shifting alien she calls Wiz (who most often takes the form of a hare). It’s a cute little book and the illustrations present throughout are lovely. The book executes its little story well, and it leaves you feeling happy, even though the ending is a little bittersweet. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who would want to pick up a nice little middle-grade book, be they among the intended age range for such books or even an adult that just wants to read something fast and easy.
Overall, I had a great time with this book. It’s simple and fun, which is exactly what it’s trying to be. Definitely 5 out of 5 stars.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the Water Horse and loved it so much that we got a bunch of other titles by the same author. This one does not have the same magic as the Water Horse. It has a lot of subject matter and parts that seem odd to be included in a children’s book. Only got to 4th chapter as a read aloud. I felt as I had to skip over several parts while reading. Flipped through the rest of the book and the reviews and seems like there is a lot of content I wouldn’t be comfortable reading to my kiddos since they are on the younger side.

[Joe Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book. Lonely young Harriet lives with her widowed father. They both love each other very much, but she is longing for a mother's touch. One day, during her summer, a "Partian" alien called Wiz, who has taken the form of a hare, comes to make her life happier, as well as enjoying his holiday. The book has great themes of bereavement, love, friendship, conservation, domestic abuse (with another character we meet), writing and kindness.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids would give this a higher rating. At 5 and 6, the girls were eager to read it every day. For me it was an odd combination to have a farm setting with an alien hare who could transform into different animals, came from a socialist planet, and knows the future.

[Louise Cowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I never read it as a child, so didn’t have any expectations like other reviewers seemed to have. It’s a lovely, thoughtful story, touching on difficult issues which are very much a reality in a nice and ‘happy ending’ sort of way.

[Karis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and funny and my boys loved it. That said, I can’t confidently recommend it as a read-aloud for young kids, as there are some fairly casual references to domestic violence, divorce, and the death of a parent.

[Barry weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book but to be honest it wasn't one of my favourites.

[Leslie Kitchin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this aloud to a 3rd grade class. They enjoyed it very much.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

570 - 2019

[Bec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strangely, for a DKS, this lacked his usual charm. Probably my least favourite so far

[Kristen H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute summer read-aloud my younger kids enjoyed.

[PageTurners; · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I’ve read of 2025. Cozy and comforting yet still a bit modern. You ain’t topping this.

7.0 ⭐️

[Georgie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Emma Grace Blumer · Rating 3 out of 5]

To echo other reviewers, the more difficult content goes over younger readers’ heads and it’s mostly just fun for them, but it does have some sadder/heavier themes than other King-Smith books.

[Tibby]

I know this one isn’t as old as some of the other books I’ve read, but I think it counts as a throwback. I was interested in this one for a couple reasons. The first is, the author is the author of Babe: A Gallant Pig another great book. The second is that it had a hare in it and I’m a sucker for animal books. Third, I was curious how something more recent, something I could have read new as a kid, held up.

This is a quiet story. No loud action here. Harriet lives on a small farm with her dad in England. Her summer break has just begun when she hears a strange noise outside. An investigation of the wheat field reveals a crop circle and large hare who hops out and begins talking to her. The hare is actually an alien in the form of a hare and he sets Harriet up for a delightful surprise.

I really enjoyed the story and its languid pace and simple story are perfect for young readers. While it does center around Harriet and the hare, they don’t do a whole lot of interacting and what the story really reveals are the people involved in the story- Harriet, her father, the new lady in town, and the housekeeper. Adults will easily figure out the surprise the hare hints at, but the ending will give you warm fuzzy feelings anyway. I would give it to kids who like animals stories, fantasy (although it’s really more science fiction), and kids who like stories about family. It would make a great read aloud, too.

For me personally the story would have worked with just a magical hare that could talk. I am just not a science fiction fan, at least not the type with outer space and aliens in it. But if I had read this as a kid it might have made an excellent entree into world of science fiction. Especially since I so loved (and love) animal stories. In other words, this would make a good introduction to the science fiction genre.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Three of the four reviews I've found online on Harriet's Hare by Dick King-Smith are by students. All of their reactions to the book are highly positive, so keep that in mind when I post my thoughts.

Harriet's Hare is about a magical summertime friendship between a young girl (Harriet) and an alien on holiday who spends most of his time disguised as a hare (Lepus Pronolagus). As summer progresses, Wiz promises to do a favor for Harriet and of course he does and it's a happy ending all around.

I have no problem with the talking animals; they are pretty standard in books aimed at this age range. I do have problems with how apparently perfect Wiz is. He is from an advanced species who have no war, don't eat anything that was ever living, and are omnilingual. He's so perfect that Harriet practically worships him.

Except he isn't perfect at least not on the morality front. First of all he takes great pleasure in messing with the lives of the humans around him to make things "better" for them. He also can't keep it in his pants (except that he's not wearing pants). Apparently it's completely normal for an alien to mate with the species he's disguised as. Harriet interrupts these rendezvous at least twice in the book. I realize Harriet is a farm girl but some parents reading this book out loud to kids might be surprised to see these details included.

Finally there is way in which Wiz makes things perfect for Harriet. He manipulates the meetings of Harriet's father and a newly arrived woman so that in the course of a month they go from being strangers to fiancés! There is nothing in the book to imply that Harriet wants a stepmother or that her father is unhappy. Why should this breakneck paced romance be the happy ending that Harriet apparently wants or needs?

[Jacklynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just found this book which I have been scouring the internet for since I read it in early middle school. I am so happy!
I remember this book fondly as for many years it would be the only sci-fi book I enjoyed until A Wrinkle in Time. At that time I was just crawling into the world of fantasy with a couple of The Magic Tree House books. Previously I had read exclusively Historical fiction, non-fiction, and realistic fiction. The idea of fantasy and sci-fi bored me, I had zero interest.
One day at the library my dad handed me this book and I assumed it was realistic fiction, I was also intrigued as an animal-lover.
I started reading it on the drive home only to find out, to both our surprise, Harriet's hare was an extraterrestrial! I loved it.
I have yet to reread it. But I don't think I would, even if I could find it again. I'd hate to ruin a fond memory.

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, in my opinion, contains much more depth than most of Dick King-Smith's books. It is a touching book, the first by the author I have read that is so affecting, and the sympathetic emotion was made real and able to be experienced by regular people. Sprinkled throughout by tender dialogue that rings true, this story of the girl Harriet, who knows that she will miss her hare friend terribly when he goes back to outer space, could be easily identified with by anyone who has ever very badly missed a special friend. To me, this book represents Dick King-Smith at his best, and I like it quite a bit.

[Elisha Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the book that made me fall in love with books when I was 10 years old. I haven't read it since, but I do remember it blowing my mind. I know if I was to read it now it would not live up to that time, but it doesn't matter. I had never come across a book quite like it before. It explored ideas, like how when a dog barks each bark is saying a lot of things. I remember the feeling of reading it, which was a peaceful fascination. I have been an avid reader since, changing my life, for that, I give this book 5 stars.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very interesting, very touching and really quick read children's chapter book. It had really well-drawn illustrations, great characters, great fantasy, great adventure and a really heartwarming story. I haven't read this book in a very long time. This one is just as good as the other Dick King-Smith books. Anyone who love reading Dick King-Smith books should enjoy reading this book.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

read Popsugar 2015: book I should have read in school but didn't
Read aty 2021: Book invovlign travel ( an alien who travels to Earth, a little girl travels to London)
It was a nice to read a work I missed by one of my favourite childhood authors. I could have done without the vegetarian campaign and found the everyone wants a girl stuff unnecessary. But the story is a charming mix of magic and love with an amazing ending

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd recommend this book to anyone that likes stories about magic. I think this book is a really good story about friendship and its a great tale about a beast of magic. I think this would be a good book for families with younger children, because even though it is interesting and has lots of action, it isn't very scary, and I'd recommend it to almost anyone.

[Nelly Paulina · Rating 2 out of 5]

i think that taby had a hard time following this story... and i have to admit that i did too. the material was a little bit older than our usual. there's a lot of talk of dying and it deals quite a bit with Harriet's loss of her mother (although in a round about way) so we had to skip around a bit.

aah.