Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present is a wonderful collaboration between author Charlotte Zolotow and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The book won the 1963 Caldecott Honor and is considered a well-loved classic with many teachers and families.
In the story, a little girl asks Mr. Rabbit for help. She’s looking for birthday present for her mother. Mr. Rabbit agrees to help. The little girl says the mother likes red. The rabbit replies that you can’t give “red”. So the little girl says “Something red, maybe.” And the two try to think of something red. Mr. Rabbit suggests red underwear. That line is guaranteed to get a laugh out of most preschoolers. Mr. Rabbit goes on to suggest red roofs, fire engines, and red cardinals. The little girl says the mother likes birds in trees. They finally decide that red apples are good, and the pick a few, but the little girl wants something else to go with the apples.
The story continues the color yellow. Mr. Rabbit suggests the sun, a canary bird, butter, and finally bananas. They pick some bananas off an abandoned picnic blanket. For green, Mr. Rabbit suggest parrots and emeralds. The little girl can’t afford emeralds. Mr. Rabbit suggest peas and spinach, but the little girl says they have those for dinner all the time. Mr. Rabbit then suggest caterpillars, but the little girls says her mother doesn’t care for caterpillars. They finally pick some Bartlett pears off the tree. And on they go with blue. At the end they put the fruit in a basket and it makes a lovely present.
This is a great book for teaching colors. My own children always argued that stars aren’t blue, and that grapes are purple, not blue. But even with the arguments, they were enchanted by the story.
The repetitive text makes Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present a great read aloud as well as a good book for early readers. It is recommended for preschoolers through early elementary aged children.
Also See:
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – Judith Viorst
Mr. Gumpy’s Outing – John Burningham