Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear

by Nadine Brun-Cosme (Author) Olivier Tallec (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

A picture book about three best friends who do everything together, until they each realize that sometimes having time alone can be nice too.

Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear are best friends. They do everything together and go everywhere together except for one place. They never go down the long and winding path together.

But this winter, when Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear go skating on the frozen pond, Rabbit loses control and barrels straight down the path. What she finds there is one of the most beautiful places she has ever seen, but to her surprise, Big Bear and Duck both admit they sometimes go there when they want to be alone. And while she sits in the quiet calm, Rabbit begins to understand why. In this story rich with social emotional learning, young readers will see the importance of balancing time with friends and time spent on their own.

Nadine Brun-Cosme and Olivier Tallec perfectly pair to create a fun story with lovable characters and an important message. This book is the ideal read-aloud to help little ones wind down before quiet time.

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Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
As sublime as sitting under a magnificent fir tree in quiet contemplation.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
charming picture book portraying the rewards of friendship and solitude.

Publishers Weekly

In a long, leisurely setup to this reflective picture book by previous collaborators Brun-Cosme and Tallec (the Big Wolf and Little Wolf series), affectionate lines establish that Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear are both best friends and constant companions: "They play together, eat together, and chop wood together. They run, hide, and chase each other." Pencil and acrylic paint spreads show lean Duck, long-eared Rabbit, and wide-eyed Big Bear cavorting happily together through spring, summer, and fall. There's one place they never go, though: a path that leads deeper into the forest. In the winter, having not yet learned how to stop on ice skates, Rabbit inadvertently travels down the path and finds a forest sanctuary beneath a majestic fir, where she "inhales the rich, earthy scent. She listens to the wind's smooth sound." The revelation that Big Bear and Duck have been there before, and regularly visit the glade alone, both surprises Rabbit and leads to a further kind of magic: that of contemplative solitude found and appreciated. Ages 4-8. Agent (for author and illustrator): Kirsten Hall, Catbird Productions. (Feb.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

★ "The lovingly crafted prose gives this plenty of storytime potential, and the moral of needing (and respecting) space from one's friends and family sits at just the right level of subtlety."—The Bulletin, starred review 

Nadine Brun-Cosme
Nadine Brun-Cosme lives in France, where she has written many books for children. Her books have been published in over twenty countries. She is the author of the series Grand Loup et Petit Loup and Moi devant, published by Flammarion and illustrated by Olivier Tallec. Her work was recently acknowledged by the Prix des Libraires Indépendants du Quebec. She is the recipient of the Andersen Italy Prize and the prize of France Télévision.

Olivier Tallec has illustrated many books for children, including Sealed with a Kiss by Beth Ferry and This Book Will Not Be Fun by Cirocco Dunlap. He is also the author of It's MY Tree, I Always Wanted One, Who Done It? and Louis I, King of the Sheep. He lives and works in Paris, France.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780593486986
Lexile Measure
560
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Random House Studio
Publication date
February 14, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV002000 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | General
Library of Congress categories
Bears
Friendship
Rabbits
Picture books
Ducks
Animal fiction
Relaxation

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