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Our Twitchy
Twitchy and his family eat carrots and live in a burrow just like an ordinary rabbit family. But one day Milfoil the cow and Sedge the horse decide to tell Twitchy they are not his real rabbit mum and dad. Twitchy is so upset he is convinced that he must turn himself into a horse or a cow so Sedge and Milfoil will still love him. So he pegs up his ears like a cow's and makes his tail long like a horse's; and he moos and he neighs just like his adoptive parents. But Milfoil and Sedge don't want him to change. They love him just as he is, as much as if they were his real mum and dad. And they always will!
32 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2003
40 people want to read
About the author
Kes Gray
170 books123 followersKes Gray is a bestselling, multi award-winning author of more than 70 books for children. He eats Ideaflakes for breakfast, spreads silliness on his toast and lives in a place called Different. Kes was the second bestselling picture book author in 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 18, 2023
The library had books with rabbits for the Chinese New Year, and I liked the cover. I thought it would be about a bunny with ADHD, or maybe tics. Instead, it is a sweet story about adoption.
Library copy
Library copy
April 4, 2023
Finding out that you're adopted.
Or for that matter, secretly fearing that you're adopted.
These are two good reasons for "Our Twitchy" to exist, bringing comfort to children of picture book age who are wondering-and-worrying for whichever reason.
* Adding to the comfort of this book is the straightforward narration and dialog by Kes Gray.
* Likewise, I find the pictures by Mary McQuillan to be easy on the eye and, more than that, both clear and comforting.
* For instance, Twitchy's parents, Milfoil the cow and Sedge the horse... really look like a cow and a horse. No confusions there. (Isn't this whole adoption business plenty confusing enough to a child?)
REGARDING HUMOR, MY FAVORITE SAMPLE...
"But you can't not be [my parents, said Twitchy]. Bunnies live in burrows. We live in a burrow."
"It isn't really a burrow, Twitchy. It's an old train tunnel. We wanted it to be like a burrow," said Milfoil.
Just delightful! Believable too, to me -- at least, in the context of this story.
AND WHY DID I SHELVE THIS BOOK UNDER NONFICTION?
Because a kid can learn some useful details for telling animals apart from each other.
How often does the typical child learn expressions like a white fluffy tail, versus one that is long and dangly?
DELIGHTFUL AND COMPASSIONATE, THIS PICTURE BOOK
Finally, why did I also shelve this lovely book under SPIRITUALITY? Because of the deeply spiritual truth that parents who love and raise a child DO count as the real parents, even if they didn't literally birth that child.
Reading about that can open up a child's capacity to look for what is true, spiritually true, beyond appearances.
Or for that matter, secretly fearing that you're adopted.
These are two good reasons for "Our Twitchy" to exist, bringing comfort to children of picture book age who are wondering-and-worrying for whichever reason.
* Adding to the comfort of this book is the straightforward narration and dialog by Kes Gray.
* Likewise, I find the pictures by Mary McQuillan to be easy on the eye and, more than that, both clear and comforting.
* For instance, Twitchy's parents, Milfoil the cow and Sedge the horse... really look like a cow and a horse. No confusions there. (Isn't this whole adoption business plenty confusing enough to a child?)
REGARDING HUMOR, MY FAVORITE SAMPLE...
"But you can't not be [my parents, said Twitchy]. Bunnies live in burrows. We live in a burrow."
"It isn't really a burrow, Twitchy. It's an old train tunnel. We wanted it to be like a burrow," said Milfoil.
Just delightful! Believable too, to me -- at least, in the context of this story.
AND WHY DID I SHELVE THIS BOOK UNDER NONFICTION?
Because a kid can learn some useful details for telling animals apart from each other.
How often does the typical child learn expressions like a white fluffy tail, versus one that is long and dangly?
DELIGHTFUL AND COMPASSIONATE, THIS PICTURE BOOK
Finally, why did I also shelve this lovely book under SPIRITUALITY? Because of the deeply spiritual truth that parents who love and raise a child DO count as the real parents, even if they didn't literally birth that child.
Reading about that can open up a child's capacity to look for what is true, spiritually true, beyond appearances.
May 22, 2017
Very sweet book about adoption, also, and I know not everyone will think this, but at the heart it's about multicultural adoption as well. I think because Twitchy is a different animal (doesn't look like his parents) doesn't mean they don't love him and he loves them.
May 28, 2017
If you have an adopted child who is having identity problems, take a look at this book. It's a sweet story and handles the problem of an adopted child not looking like his adoptive parents very well.
October 28, 2018
Very cuye!
February 2, 2020
Darling book about adoption!
July 28, 2022
Today i lost my rabbit clover, she was around 7 or 8 years old and i have been super sad. I’ve been endorsing myself in depression reading to try to feel better. Little twitchy has done a decent job
October 11, 2015
Title / Author / Publication Date:
Our Twitchy / Gray, Kes. McQuillan, Mary (ill.)/ 2003
Genre: Fiction
Format: Picture Book – print
Plot summary:
A little bunny named Twitchy realizes that he doesn’t look anything like his parents, a horse and a cow, and wonders how they can be a family. His parents have an honest, gentle conversation, in which they explain how they happily took over the special responsibility of loving and caring for Twitchy when his Bunnymom and Bunnypop could not. Initially hurt and confused, Twitchy tries to change his appearance to be more like his cow mom and hours dad, until he realizes that love, not physical resemblance, make his four-legged parents "real."
Review citation:
PreS-Gr 1 –Twitchy the rabbit asks his parents why they don't hop like he does. They explain that even though they live in a burrow (an old train tunnel) and eat carrots (to help them see in the dark), they aren't his Bunnymom and Bunnypop. Twitchy's adopted mother is a cow, and his adopted father is a horse. The youngster is so upset when he hears this that he runs away from home. Milfoil and Sedge search everywhere but then head for home with heavy hearts. When they hear a voice, they gallop to the train tunnel to find Twitchy sitting by the entrance, covered in mud with his ears rolled up and secured by clothespins and a twig tied onto his tail. He tells them: "I can change. I promise I can change. I can be a cow or a horse. But please be my real mom and pop." Milfoil and Sedge assure him that they are his parents and love him and that they don't want him to change. Pastel-colored illustrations invoke a feeling of calm and tranquility. This touching story will amuse readers as they, along with Twitchy, discover that being in a family is about love and acceptance.–Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL --Kristin de Lacoste (Reviewed December 1, 2003) (School Library Journal, vol 49, issue 12, p114)
Section source used to find the material: Adoption Books | Monroe County Public Library, Indiana.
Recommended age: Ages 3-8
Our Twitchy / Gray, Kes. McQuillan, Mary (ill.)/ 2003
Genre: Fiction
Format: Picture Book – print
Plot summary:
A little bunny named Twitchy realizes that he doesn’t look anything like his parents, a horse and a cow, and wonders how they can be a family. His parents have an honest, gentle conversation, in which they explain how they happily took over the special responsibility of loving and caring for Twitchy when his Bunnymom and Bunnypop could not. Initially hurt and confused, Twitchy tries to change his appearance to be more like his cow mom and hours dad, until he realizes that love, not physical resemblance, make his four-legged parents "real."
Review citation:
PreS-Gr 1 –Twitchy the rabbit asks his parents why they don't hop like he does. They explain that even though they live in a burrow (an old train tunnel) and eat carrots (to help them see in the dark), they aren't his Bunnymom and Bunnypop. Twitchy's adopted mother is a cow, and his adopted father is a horse. The youngster is so upset when he hears this that he runs away from home. Milfoil and Sedge search everywhere but then head for home with heavy hearts. When they hear a voice, they gallop to the train tunnel to find Twitchy sitting by the entrance, covered in mud with his ears rolled up and secured by clothespins and a twig tied onto his tail. He tells them: "I can change. I promise I can change. I can be a cow or a horse. But please be my real mom and pop." Milfoil and Sedge assure him that they are his parents and love him and that they don't want him to change. Pastel-colored illustrations invoke a feeling of calm and tranquility. This touching story will amuse readers as they, along with Twitchy, discover that being in a family is about love and acceptance.–Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL --Kristin de Lacoste (Reviewed December 1, 2003) (School Library Journal, vol 49, issue 12, p114)
Section source used to find the material: Adoption Books | Monroe County Public Library, Indiana.
Recommended age: Ages 3-8
May 9, 2012
I loved this book! I thought it had the perfect recipe for telling a story about adoption. Twitchy is a fun-loving, adorable young bunny. One day, he realizes his mom and dad don't really hop like he does. It's time for his parents to tell him -- they're not his real bunnymom and bunnypop. They're actually a cow and a horse. At first, Twitchy sees nothing but how they all have the same kind brown eyes, but eventually he realizes they're different species and he gets upset and runs off. His parents search and search for him, and right as they're coming home they find him in their "burrow," with a make-shift horse get-up on. They gently wipe the mud off of him and undo the clothespins on his ears and remind him that it doesn't matter what he looks like, or what they look like. What matters is that they love him, and he loves them, and it's that love that makes them a family. As someone who has had very personal experiences with adoption, I thought this book handled it very well. It was sweet and touching, and conveyed that wonderful message that your family is made up of people who love you unconditionally, even if they don't look like you. Not to mention, the illustrations were adorable! All in all, I loved this book.
August 4, 2016
I bought this incredibly charming children's book years ago when I was a bookseller at Barnes & Noble and saw it on the kids' new book display. The illustrations are so colorful and in such a large format, and yet there are tiny details to enthrall any reader young or old, such as the very funny troop of ants who appear occasionally throughout the book.
But this is not just a pretty book. It carries an important message that applies directly to human interracial adoptions and essentially any adoption. Twitchy is a little blue bunny who was adopted shortly after birth by his cow mom and horse dad. At the beginning of the book he is just starting to realize that he is different from them. His journey, and that of his parents, to full integration into the family regardless of differences in appearance heartens the soul.
However, this is not just a book for families with adoption issues. It is so bright and beautiful that anyone will enjoy reading it again and again over the years, as I have... It is also a great book to read aloud to groups of children, which I have done. It really holds their attention.
But this is not just a pretty book. It carries an important message that applies directly to human interracial adoptions and essentially any adoption. Twitchy is a little blue bunny who was adopted shortly after birth by his cow mom and horse dad. At the beginning of the book he is just starting to realize that he is different from them. His journey, and that of his parents, to full integration into the family regardless of differences in appearance heartens the soul.
However, this is not just a book for families with adoption issues. It is so bright and beautiful that anyone will enjoy reading it again and again over the years, as I have... It is also a great book to read aloud to groups of children, which I have done. It really holds their attention.
December 2, 2013
Our Twitchy, by Kes Gray and Mary McQuillan, is a fiction picture book starring field animals. Twitchy is a young rabbit who finds out that his mom, a cow, and his dad, a horse, are not his birth-parents. Twitchy has a hard time accepting this revelation, but in the end he realizes that the family that loves and cares for him is more important than his birth family. Our Twitchy provides a different view of adoption than many texts I have read on the subject. It encounters feelings felt when a child is already in a loving, caring home and finds out that they are not his “real” family. This book can be used to explain that the family who cares for an individual is indeed the individual’s “real” family. The illustrations are colorful and bright. This book is adorable, and I would recommend it to families and teachers. It can be used, not only to help children who have been adopted, but to teach children the emotions that adopted children feel.
January 23, 2012
A very touching story about Little twitchy who finds out his mum and dad aren't bunnies like him. They're a cow and a horse. Once he realizes that, he cries and runs away . They look for him everywhere and ask every animal till they find a very miserable strange creature looking half cowy half horsey. Lil bunny promises them to change and become either a cow or a horse but Bunny's mum and dad say they love him just the way he is.
I loved the lines in the paintings! Wonderfully bright illustrations.
I loved the lines in the paintings! Wonderfully bright illustrations.
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May 16, 2017Readers will fall in love with this heartwarming tale of love and family. Twitchy is a young bunny, living happily with his parents . . . who turn out to be a cow and a horse. When his own parents did not have the means to take care of him, they gave him to new parents who would be able to love him. This story fearlessly and poignantly deals with the issues of adoption, but more importantly, it points out its boundless rewards of love and acceptance. - Karen
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January 10, 2019This is a sweet story that helps introduce the idea that we are each our own person, and we don't have to "look like" someone else to share the love.
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Get more of our review here. While you’re there, add a link to your review of the book.
July 21, 2014
Twitchy is a sweet bunny who doesn't know he is adopted. The loving Mama Cow and Daddy Horse who have raised him explain why they all look so different but when Twitchy sees the differences in the River's reflection he runs away. The end result has family members working together to respect their differences. It is a short story with a lasting message.
March 13, 2015
The most perfect story to explain adoption to children. Adorable, funny, heartbreaking then heartwarming, this is definitely one of my favourite picture books of all time. The illustrations perfectly capture Twitchy's struggle to understand his circumstances, and the happy ending is simply beautiful.
January 26, 2010
Great book for children ages 4-7. Story of rabbit that comes to realize that he doesn't look like his adoptive parents and tries to change his appearance. His parents reassure him that parents and children don't have to look alike to be a family.
September 14, 2007
Very cute and would be a good book for younger children dealing with adoption issues and feelings of not fitting in.
February 27, 2008
Great book about adoption.
The rabbit has adoptive parents that are other animals and he sees that they are different and they talk about it...
The rabbit has adoptive parents that are other animals and he sees that they are different and they talk about it...
March 26, 2008
Twitchy finds out that he's adopted.
November 12, 2008
A very cute story for younger kids about adoption.
January 19, 2010
A sweet story for parents discussing adoption with young kids.
August 18, 2013
adoption
December 17, 2013
This is an adorable book about adoption. It is hard not to get choked up as you read it to your adopted kids.
November 27, 2015
Sweet story about adoption.
March 16, 2017
This is the best children's adoption story picture book I have seen. The story is lovely.
January 10, 2022
A cute story that has a sweet message about families, and how families are made. A great resource for discussing or explaining adoption to little ones!
June 2, 2016
Sweet story of family love. Good pick for families with an adopted child.
August 20, 2016
Cute and clever tail/tale of adoption.
December 30, 2017
A unique adoption story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews