IN THE RABBITGARDEN

Nothing less than a revision of Genesis is what Lionni is up to in this liberating fable (with just a hint as well of Peter Rabbit) about two little rabbits who are warned not to eat apples from the tree (or "the fox will get you") but who, in their father's absence, are induced to do so by a serpent who not only picks them the ripest apples but also plays with them and even chases the fox away. And so, when the old rabbit returns, instead of punishing the little ones he becomes a convert to their happy ways. Lionni's serenely simple illustrations represent a pleasing reversal of his recent drift toward sophistication, and his "dragon," really the serpent with the two rabbits hiding inside him, an ingenious but elegant delight. And children as yet innocent of the constraining original will find the story as natural and satisfying as the author intended.