LION VS. RABBIT

Lion’s a real bully, but he may have met his match when wily Rabbit takes him on.

Tired of Lion’s bullying but not brave enough to confront him, all the animals advertise for someone to “make Lion stop bullying us.” A bear, a moose and a tiger respond, but Lion quickly defeats each. When Rabbit arrives, Lion’s confident he’ll win and tells Rabbit to pick the contest, so Rabbit chooses a marshmallow-eating competition and wins. Disgruntled, Lion complains he was sick, so Rabbit offers a quiz contest. Rabbit wins this, as well as hopping and painting competitions, but as Lion always has some excuse for losing, Rabbit tells him to choose a final competition. Knowing he’s faster, stronger and a better climber, Lion suggests a race to the top of the mountain, but no matter how fast Lion runs, clever Rabbit always seems to get ahead. Precise, digitized pencil illustrations utilize simple lines, patterns and colors to highlight Lion’s mean and silly bullying antics, his prowess in competitions against the bear, moose and tiger, and his humiliating defeats against wily Rabbit. Readers with sharp eyes will be rewarded with numerous amusing visual details, including hidden hints about how Rabbit outwits Lion.

A droll, nonthreatening tale of bullying in the guise of a modern fable.