What do you think?
Rate this book
Seven Little Rabbits
"Seven little rabbits walkin' down the road,
walking down the road to call on old friend toad."
Over half a million children have counted their way to sleep with these beloved seven little rabbits.
Available in its original hardcover format for the first time in twenty years, this delightful first counting book, chock full of gloriously endearing illustrations and humorous asides by two-time Caldecott-Medal-winner Barbara Cooney, is sure to be a bedtime favorite for a new generation of bunny lovers. Just the right size for little hands, the repetition and rhyme invite reader participation—right up until the moment it lulls its unsuspecting audience into slumberland.
walking down the road to call on old friend toad."
Over half a million children have counted their way to sleep with these beloved seven little rabbits.
Available in its original hardcover format for the first time in twenty years, this delightful first counting book, chock full of gloriously endearing illustrations and humorous asides by two-time Caldecott-Medal-winner Barbara Cooney, is sure to be a bedtime favorite for a new generation of bunny lovers. Just the right size for little hands, the repetition and rhyme invite reader participation—right up until the moment it lulls its unsuspecting audience into slumberland.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
4 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 8, 2012
So, I think this is mainly a book to learn how to count backward from seven. The text is rhyming and repeating (for the most part):
"Seven little rabbits
Walkin' down the road
Walkin' down the road
Seven little rabbits
Walkin' down the road
To call on old friend toad."
That is, until a rabbit gets tired, they find a mole hole, and leave the one sleepy rabbit there, which means:
"Six little rabbits
Walkin' down the road"
etc.
Then another rabbit gets tired, gets left at the Mole's house, and... and you get the idea.
There's really little more to the text, but the pictures are so adorable! And there's a "secondary storyline" that is quite funny and sweet which takes place in the captions of the illustrations, about Mole slowly growing parental toward the rabbits.
"Seven little rabbits
Walkin' down the road
Walkin' down the road
Seven little rabbits
Walkin' down the road
To call on old friend toad."
That is, until a rabbit gets tired, they find a mole hole, and leave the one sleepy rabbit there, which means:
"Six little rabbits
Walkin' down the road"
etc.
Then another rabbit gets tired, gets left at the Mole's house, and... and you get the idea.
There's really little more to the text, but the pictures are so adorable! And there's a "secondary storyline" that is quite funny and sweet which takes place in the captions of the illustrations, about Mole slowly growing parental toward the rabbits.
August 10, 2013
This was a much loved book of mine when I was little, and my copy is very old and although it's slightly battered it's in remarkably good condition. I bought a copy for my nieces a couple of years ago (which was a US import copy, as it seems it's sadly no longer published in the UK), and it's become a favourite of the younger of the sisters. It's nice to see someone else enjoying it as much as I used to. We read it together last night as a bedtime story (she's 4 now), and then she had to read it once more 'by herself' and she can practically 'read' the whole thing from memory. It was very sweet, listening to her 'reading' it to herself. :)
October 3, 2024
Book was alright the pictures wher nice i had to reas this for english so sence i had to do it for school i took off 2 stars
October 31, 2023
I found this book at our local library and I was excited to see a book illustrated by Barbara Cooney that I've never read before. She once lived in my hometown and I am a big fan of her book Miss Rumphius. I was not disappointed, as the pictures really are the highlight of the book.
The images of the anthropomorphic bunny family are nicely detailed and I love the floral frames for each page of narrative. The bunnies are adorable, but the mole is my favorite.
The narrative is very repetitive and if it weren't for the adorable illustrations and the witty dialogue among the characters, I'd have been a bit annoyed by the lack of variation in the lyrics.
Overall, it's a timeless tale that will likely appeal to young children and I am very happy to have discovered another gem illustrated by Ms. Cooney.
After reading other reviews of this book, I discovered a YouTube video that really helps to bring the story to life. (Thanks, Kayla!) I think playing the audio along with the book is a great way to engage younger children.
The images of the anthropomorphic bunny family are nicely detailed and I love the floral frames for each page of narrative. The bunnies are adorable, but the mole is my favorite.
The narrative is very repetitive and if it weren't for the adorable illustrations and the witty dialogue among the characters, I'd have been a bit annoyed by the lack of variation in the lyrics.
Overall, it's a timeless tale that will likely appeal to young children and I am very happy to have discovered another gem illustrated by Ms. Cooney.
After reading other reviews of this book, I discovered a YouTube video that really helps to bring the story to life. (Thanks, Kayla!) I think playing the audio along with the book is a great way to engage younger children.
April 23, 2012
This little book was a good way to help with counting. It is the story of a family of seven little rabbits and their journey to visit a relative.Along the way things happen and we lose rabbits along the way. In the end they all end up back together. The illustrations are very nicely done and compliment the story line. I would use this book in my classroom for a nice story with the message of counting as well.
August 10, 2014
I have had the same copy of his book for over 30 years. I received it as part of a free book program for underprivileged kids in kindergarten. My name is printed in HUGE block letters on the inside. It has moved with me from house to house. I often read it to my own daughter when she was still small enough to curl up on my lap. It's a very simple, repetitive book that has lovely drawings. I will always cherish this story.
February 10, 2011
"Shannon 1988." Wild, I didn't know the illustrator of Miss Rumphius did the art for this book! I love repetitive books like this for read alouds.
June 13, 2012
Repetitive style - seven little rabbits, then six little rabbits...old school pictures.
August 1, 2014
My ALL time favorite children's book. I read it until I had it memorized and then read it some more.
September 6, 2018
A good book for young children as there is repetitive rhyming.
September 12, 2024
I really wanted to like this book. It is proudly displayed as "A Blue Ribbon Book", with the back cover boasting that "Only the Best Books Win Blue Ribbons", and the illustrations by Barbara Cooney were lovely, and even contained some cute little snippets of dialogue. The story was interesting (a family of rabbits are on a walk to visit their friend toad, and each time one little rabbit gets tired they turn around and leave the little with a mole. They invite themselves in, and the mole is a very polite (if reluctant) host who eventually says 'Welcome home!' (in the picture dialogue). The reason this gets 2 stars is because I found the text so tedious to read. I enjoy a bit of poetic repetition but this was so much and so many times and so boring. 4 or 5 stars for the illustrations and 1 for the text, levelling out at a 3!
October 23, 2018
I get why some readers are charmed. I'm just not, very much. Though I do like the captions, and mole's growing fondness of the invading family. However I feel bad for Toad who (spoiler) never does get his visit.
January 16, 2022
It's a very simple and repetitive story/poem. Because of this, I would have rated this lower because reading it gets dull fast. BUT my 3 year old toddler found it memorable and fun, so that's why I'm giving it a 4.
August 1, 2022
Book with repetitive text. Seven rabbits are off to visit Mr. Toad, but they the walk is long for those with short legs, so they make a detour to the Mole's hole. With so much back and forth, even the rabbits with the long legs get tired. There's a lot of counting in this book.
October 29, 2017
Tiresome.
April 19, 2018
Book teaches to count backwards.
February 17, 2019
This book is great for young children. It teaches math and how to count. it is also catchy so that children can easily memorize it.
December 14, 2019
I love the artworks. But holy goodness, after two iterations of the rhyme, I start to question my resolve to finish the book.
April 3, 2021
What a great book
March 30, 2024
Zander (age 8) and I both loved the strong strong rhythm of this book and the predictability of it.
March 19, 2017
I picked this up because I enjoy Barbara Cooney's, but I didn't care for this story. Kids might. There's too much repetition here for me.
September 30, 2015
This is my all time favorite book to read to my pre schoolers because I play a YouTube video in the background that also reads the story to them and they love it! They "sing" which they don't realize is reading the pages right along with me. The voice on the reading is awesome and it gets them so excited. It is something we read when we have some extra time and want the kids to be engaged in something because like I mentioned they love it! It is definitely something I will be using in my future classroom one way or another, because no matter what age this book is a hit.
Here is the voice recording I play with the book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV2Ug...
Here is the voice recording I play with the book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV2Ug...
April 20, 2015
Seven Little Rabbits
1. I enjoyed the moles role, at first he is irritated to find that these rabbits are coming to his house, you can see this in his face. But over time he comes to expect that these rabbits will be back to rest, which you can see by him rocking in the chair close by watching over the rabbits. The mole takes on a parental role for the rabbits, putting them to bed.
2. Each rabbit’s clothing shows that each rabbit has a distinct personality.
1. I enjoyed the moles role, at first he is irritated to find that these rabbits are coming to his house, you can see this in his face. But over time he comes to expect that these rabbits will be back to rest, which you can see by him rocking in the chair close by watching over the rabbits. The mole takes on a parental role for the rabbits, putting them to bed.
2. Each rabbit’s clothing shows that each rabbit has a distinct personality.
Read
June 12, 2010I love the rhythm of this little book. A teaching friend has a tape that goes along with it and if I had listened to it as a book on tape first I don't think I would enjoy it as much since I have set my own "pace" with it. Detailed pictures give it some depth too.
June 15, 2012
The illustrations in this book are simply adorable. I thought the story was cute enough, and my three-year-old loved it, but as an adult, I soon wearied of reading all that repetition out loud. Still, though, it's charming.
July 14, 2014
If you are looking for a repeating, rhyming picture book, I think you would be better served reading Audrey Wood's Napping House rather than this book. Illustrations are average and the story isn't as charming as I would like.
December 19, 2014
I loved the rhythm of this chant and the pictures were cute. (But the poor seventh bunny, having trekked the same piece of road 14 times!) I think my five year old liked it but I will not be sure whether he'll ask for it again.
February 26, 2008
I can still remember this book word for word (almost). One of my daughter's favorites!
November 21, 2008
Loved this book as a kid, used to read (or sing) along with the tape. My cousin says I used to read it to him when we were younger.
September 17, 2009
I distinctly remember my Grandma reading me this book over and over and over again. And I don't think they ever got to their friend Toad's house. They were all just toooooo tired.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews