Rabbit Hill - A Book Review

It was the slow, southern drawl of father that I most enjoyed.

Megan and I recently finished Rabbit Hill. We had read aloud the book in less than a week.  The tale was very cute, but we loved the characters.

Rabbit Hill is the story of the wild animals that live on a hill.  When new people move into the house, the animals are all abuzz with excitement and fear about what the consequences will be for them. Will the new people have dogs?  Will they set out poison or traps?  Will they grow a garden? Even the condition of the garbage is a point of wonder.

We meet Father, Mother, Georgie, and Uncle Analdas, along with a large cast of characters in this story.  Father, a rabbit that grew up in the Kentucky bluegrass, was an interesting character to add in a fun voice.  I've lived in the south, and enjoy giving characters a southern accent. 

I loved the vocabulary in this book.  Robert Lawson, the author, uses an extensive vocabulary that is wonderful in children's books.  I noticed that he did the same thing in Ben and Me.  The use of words that may be above a child's level works.  Megan would ask me what a word meant, but often she could tell by the context.  This is not a dumbed down book, and yet the story is so very engaging.

I have a feeling we will eventually move on to other Robert Lawson novels.  Whether is was Amos the mouse in Ben and Me or Georgie Rabbit in Rabbit Hill, the personification of the animals will have you cheering them on as they adventure in a world of humans.