Rabbit and Bear: Rabbit's Bad Habits

Name: Rabbit and Bear: Rabbit's Bad Habits
Author: Julian Gough

by Julian Gough

Ages 5–8 Reading age 6 Short chapters Set in outdoors and wild places funnywarm

Bear wakes early from hibernation and meets a rude, lonely rabbit. Between them they build a snowman and outwit a wolf, and become friends by accident.

A story about animals, funny and warm in tone. We would put it with children of 5–8, and at a reading age of about 6 for reading alone.

Nothing flagged

We have not flagged any content in this one that a parent would usually want warning about.

Part of a series

This is book 1 of the Rabbit and Bear series, so there is more to read if it goes down well — which is worth a great deal with a reluctant reader.

Our take on this book

Bear wakes early from hibernation to find her snow-stash stolen and an opinionated, self-important Rabbit for company — and this odd couple, one grumpy and vain, one wise and calm, blunder into a friendship while dealing with a hungry wolf and the great question of where poo goes. Julian Gough and Jim Field's series is a small marvel: genuinely, snortingly funny, gorgeously illustrated, and quietly wise about friendship, resilience and seeing the world differently. It is short, richly pictured and perfect for a newly independent reader or a read-aloud, and the comedy — much of it gloriously scatological — is exactly pitched at what makes young children laugh. The wolf provides mild peril, briskly and comically resolved. For a five- to eight-year-old it is close to ideal: a book that makes children laugh out loud while slipping in real warmth and a little philosophy, and one of the most charming early-reader series of recent years.