The Rabbits

A great book that you can really create a conversation with your child about a hard topic.

Excellent book for looking at how colonization has harmed and still harms indigenous people, specifically in Australia.I took off one star only because my children found the illustration style a bit difficult to follow, but the story is excellent and the illustrations are astounding upon very close review. The story is very much along the lines of  The Wump World , but more specific to what was done to Indigenous Australians. I'm very happy to have both books in my home library.

Even if it’s used it is in great condition. It’s wider than I expected. The pages have a nice child-like feel to it. Love the illustrations. Quite eerie yet totally true to our real world.

Shaun Tan is one of the most talented artists in the picture books/graphic novels. This short book with huge pictures stands as one of his best. Each image is full of small details, beautiful colors, and creativity. It may be too dark for young children but anyone who enjoys beautiful paintings or art in general should find something to love in this book.If you would like to see more of Shaun Tan's work I highly recommend his recent graphic novel release: The Arrival. It reads like an old silent film and there's no one else's words to get in the way.

Surprising number of layers to this book. The artwork is very stimulating as well. The book has intrigued a range of age groups in our family. Highly recommended.

This book, imho, is too stylized for young children. It is similar in vein to Dr. Seuss'  The Lorax (Classic Seuss)  and Bill Peet's The Wump World , but quite frankly, they do it better.

Nice book, in great shape. The price was much less expensive for the paperback than the hard cover book, but was just as sturdy.

First of all, I'm going to admit right here and now that I was seriously depressed as a child by Dr. Suess's, "The Lorax". A great book with a great story and a great moral and it brought me down low. But that's okay. I got over it. I was doing all right. Then I idly picked up John Marsden's, "The Rabbits" in my local lending library. Suddenly all the feelings I'd ever felt after reading "The Lorax" were back, but stronger. I came to the realization that this book was better than the Seussian creation. It carries a different message, but the idea behind the tale (and the method of teaching it) is the same. Once you've read "The Rabbits", you can't unread it. It sticks in your brain and you start to see its scenes replaying themselves in your mind at the oddest of times. The best word I can conjure up to describe this book is "haunting". It's like nothing you've ever read before.To read this book requires understanding a little about its background. Originally published (as far as I could ascertain by the nationalities of the author and illustrator) in Australia, the book is about the effects of colonization. As you may recall, rabbits were once a foreign species that was introduced to the Australian wildlife with disastrous results. Devouring the native resources and spreading like mad, both they and cane toads are considered dangerous pests. Taking that idea as a starter, we follow the arrival of civilized rabbits on a vaguely Australian-like land. The story is told from the point of view of some brown curly tailed spear carrying native animals. As the book begins the native animals say, "At first we didn't know what to think. They looked a bit like us. There weren't many of them". Time passes and more and more rabbits come to the land. They build their own kinds of houses and introduce their own animals. When the native creatures (bush babies, perhaps?) fight back they loose because there are too many rabbits. The rabbits destroy the land and (in the worst and most heart-wrenching scene in the book) they, "Stole Our Children". Rabbit driven planes fly away with little baby creatures in kites trailing behind as they parents run along the ground, their arms extended. In the end, the land is bare and all the animals are gone. In a final picture, a native creature sits across from a rabbit next to a tiny puddle that reflects the stars, the ground littered with trash. The animals asks, "Who will save us from the rabbits?"Sad? You don't know the half of it. It was delightful seeing how many details in this tale were particular to the Australian aboriginal people. The fact that their children were taken by the white settlers to be taught in white schools. Pictures of the fights (natives destroying the rabbit proof fences). Symbols repeat in illustration after illustration. The rabbit's flags look British, until you realize that the lines on them are arrows pointing everywhere. The guns and houses of the rabbits are inscribed with the words, "Might = Right". If author John Marsden is clever, illustrator Shaun Tan matches him pound for pound. This tale is artistically and morally interesting. I've spent more time than I like to think about poring over these pages. The book is covered in the most minute and fascinating details. Notice the single yellow flower that grows in the rabbits' town. The fact that the rabbits are partitioning out the land, even as they draw topographic lines on the ground. The cows that are permanently attached to milking machines and that already have their tasty parts outlined on their bodies.It all comes down to that final question: Is this a book for children? Originally I said no and my husband said yes. Then I looked closely at the book. It's not without a glimpse of hope, you know. Even as the little creature at the end asks, "Where is the rich dark earth brown and moist?", there's a rabbit sadly dropping the dry rotten dust of the ground from its hand. The final shot of the two creatures facing one another across the tiny pond suggests that the only one to save them from the rabbits are the rabbits themselves. If enough see what has gone wrong, that is. Some children will understand this story intrinsically while others will be brought down low by it. Know your child before you decide whether or not to share this book with them. If you decide they might not be ready yet, buy it anyway for yourself. Books like this one are rare pieces of art that disappear so quickly. This tale is ideal for those adults that are learning to read as well. Honestly, I don't know what more I can say to make you want to buy this book. If I have to, I'll beg you. Please. To read this is to experience something deeply touching. People so rarely get a chance to see books this well made. Take the chance and find it.

I throughly enjoy this book. It is such a good context starter to foster empathy before starting your indigenous studies unit.

I came to know this book when I traveled Australia three years ago.And I asked the nearest library to buy one, then I bought one to keep.Beautiful. Very good not only for children but also for adults.

I was a little disappointed when the book arrived as it's a bit on the thin side. The illustrations are great & you get the gist of the story. I have read other reviews which criticised the statement "they didn't live in the trees like we did" & while I agree with the criticism (if he'd just changed the word to 'with' rather than 'in' it would have been fine) I wouldn't let that detract from the book itself.

A great book to read with children 5 and under in beginning to think about colonialism. But, it has to be read responsibly with young children.

端的に言えば、ウサギの侵略戦争を描いた絵本です。内容も、ここで説明出来てしまえそうほど簡潔にまとめれた物語で、それゆえページ数も多くありません。読み終えた人は皆、内省を促されるのではないでしょうか。絵柄自体も、どこかキュビズムを思わせるような幾何学的なデザインで、それが一層作品の不穏さを演出します。やはりどちらかといえば子供向けというより大人向けの絵本でしょうか。文も簡単な英語で書かれていますし、絵を眺めているだけでも内容は把握できますので、読むのにそれほど苦労はないと思います。本のサイズは大きめですが、日曜版の新聞くらいの厚さなので、本棚に空きのある方は手にとられてみては？