2000 KIND Children's Book Award Recipient

Night Rabbits
By Lee Posey
Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, Ltd. 1999; Ages 4-8

Posey's first children's book, Night Rabbits is the story of a girl who teaches her father about the wonders of nature.

When it's too hot to sleep, Elizabeth goes out to the porch to watch the rabbits leap across the lawn. But her wonder turns to worry when she notices they're eating the grass her father has so carefully planted and groomed. Gentle father-daughter communication and a mutually respectful relationship lead to a peaceful resolution for all. Told in quiet, contemplative, first-person narration, the details of this story reveal themselves in soothing, luminous illustrations.

Night Rabbits is based on the author's memory of summers spent in her family's cabin in Alabama. There, the nights were alive with the sights and sounds of wildlife—beavers, deer, lizards. "I realized that even in this huge, huge world," says Posey, "nature is a close, comforting presence. As children," she adds, "we have a quick reaction to animals. We're immediately drawn to them, immediately interested in knowing more about them. As adults, it's up to us to nurture that attraction, by teaching children to be compassionate and to treat animals well."

Posey, who has worked as an education policy analyst for the Georgia State Senate, currently serves as a human services policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Her responsibilities include monitoring federal legislation on child welfare and education. She has already begun planning her next two children's books.

Other titles worth adding to your shelf:

 Batty Hattie (New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1999) by Virginia Nielsen; Ages 4-8. When Harriet has to go live with her Uncle Mike, she’s not happy about it. Changing schools in the middle of sixth grade, moving to a ghost town, living with a scientist who studies bats. What could be worse? Poor Harriet is confused and misunderstood. When she meets a tiny critter in the same predicament, things change for both of them.

 Canoe Days (New York: Doubleday, 1999) by Gary Paulsen, with illustrations by Ruth Wright Paulsen; Ages 4-8. What’s a canoe day? Climb aboard an open boat and see. Serene, realistic artwork and poetic text transport young readers to a “green magic” place shared by fawns and foxes, snakes and sunfish, herons and humans.

 A Dog Like Jack (New York: Holiday House, 1999) by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan; Ages 4-8. Mike’s family adopts eight-year-old Jack from an animal shelter. Boy and dog become fast friends and remain best friends as Mike grows up and Jack grows older. This heartwarming tale celebrates the joys of having an older pet and tenderly portrays a family coping with the loss of their furry friend.

 Gorilla Walk (New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1999) by Ted and Betsy Lewin; Ages 4-8. In the 1940s, when the authors were kids, the only mountain gorillas they’d seen were those who had been hunted and captured on film. They hoped to one day see these gentle giants alive and free. In 1997, the Lewins’ long-awaited dream became a reality. Gorilla Walk is the real-life adventure story of their journey to Uganda, into the gorillas’ Impenetrable Forest.

 Wolf Christmas (New York:Marshall Cavendish, 1998) by Daniel Pinkwater, with illustrations by Jill Pinkwater; Ages 4-8. We didn’t see any humans. They were inside the wooden things with the light shining out…and the snow on top… They were singing. We listened. It was nice, I thought. Even if they are dangerous, they are animals, just like we are. Then we threw back our heads and, sitting on the hillside above the place where the humans live, we wolves sang too. Join this fanged, fun-loving family as they bound through the woods and come to rest on a snowy peak for a better look at us and our world.

 Wringer (New York: HarperCollins, 1997) by Jerry Spinelli; Ages 9-12. Palmer LaRue should be looking forward to his birthday. In his hometown, turning ten enters him into a circle of tough new friends, tests of strength and daring, and a proud tradition he dreads: Boys his age become “wringers.” At the annual pigeon shoot, they are the ones who wring the necks of wounded birds. At once humorous and sensitive, this well-crafted Newbery Honor novel follows Palmer as he grapples with pressure from his peers, his parents, and, ultimately, his conscience.