The Rabbits' Rebellion

by Ariel Dorfman (Author) Chris Riddell (Illustrator)

The Rabbits' Rebellion
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

The story of a mean and narcissistic king is both uproariously funny and distressingly on point, will be enjoyed by children and their parents.

Rabbits don't exist. So decrees the new king, the Wolf of all Wolves, after conquering the rabbits' homeland. He refuses to allow even one small, fluffy tail or long, soft ear into his kingdom. He orders the birds to broadcast this message far and wide. And he summons the old monkey to photograph him in his royal finery, performing his royal deeds. But in his darkroom, the monkey sees something strange developing in the photos. Is that a floppy ear? Whose grinning bunny teeth are those? How could it be? Ariel Dorfman's first children's book, THE RABBITS REBELLION, is a remarkable and mischievous allegory of truth and justice triumphing over political chicanery.

Set in a magical animal kingdom and illustrated by the great Chris Riddell, this is a story that will have children roaring with laughter and parents raising an eyebrow with recognition.

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Publishers Weekly

Argentine-Chilean-American novelist Dorfman's only children's book, which was written in the 1970s and published in the U.K. in 2001, makes its uncannily timed arrival on U.S. shores. After wolves conquer the land of the rabbits, their pompous leader proclaims himself King of the Wolves and decrees that rabbits have "ceased to exist," going so far as to eradicate them from literature. The deluded narcissist summons an elderly monkey photographer to record him flexing his muscles, frightening pigeons, and sitting atop his absurdly elevated throne. He orders them to be displayed "on every wall in the kingdom" and sent abroad, "so those silly foreign papers will stop attacking me." But when the photos are developed, rabbits are brazenly posing in the foreground, and the bewildered photographer is tasked with erasing their images. In prose that speaks volumes, Dorfman's eerily prescient allegorical gem shapes a resounding portrait of power abused and censorship foiled, reinforced by Riddell's (the Goth Girl series) droll, spot-on line drawings. A tale for the ages--and for all ages. Ages 7-up. (Nov.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"A wickedly funny allegory for today's post-truth era." —Kirkus Reviews

"Uncannily timed ... In prose that speaks volumes, Dorfman's eerily prescient allegorical gem shapes a resounding portrait of power abused and censorship foiled, reinforced by Riddell's droll, spot-on line drawings. A tale for the ages—and for all ages." —Publishers Weekly

"It's near perfect ... a wondrous little volume - immediate and clever enough for a young readership, and so telling it can only invoke a grudging nod of truth (and a smile) from adults." —The Bookbag (UK)
Ariel Dorfman
ARIEL DORFMAN is the author of many novels, poems, plays, essays, and films, often set in his native South America. His plays have been staged in over a hundred countries and his books translated into more than thirty languages. He has received numerous international prizes, including the Laurence Olivier and the Time Out Awards for best play of the year for Death and the Maiden. His first book, How to Read Donald Duck, which shows the beloved Disney character to be an agent of American cultural imperialism, and which was banned in Chile upon its publication in 1971, was published in English for the first time in Fall 2018. His most recent novel is Darwin's Ghost (Seven Stories Press, 2018). The Rabbits' Rebellion, first published in the 1980s, is Dorfman's only book for children, and is being published in North America now for the first time. A prominent human rights activist, Dorfman lives with his wife Angélica in Chile and Durham, North Carolina, where he is the Walter Hines Page Emeritus Professor of Literature at Duke University. Seven Stories publishes a great number of Dorfman's books in English and Spanish, including the Spanish language edition of Death and the Maiden, La muerte y la doncella.

CHRIS RIDDELL is best known as the author and illustrator of the acclaimed The Edge Chronicles series, written with Paul Stewart. He has illustrated many other books including the award-winning children's book, Pirate Diary, 100 Hugs, and several titles with Neil Gaiman, the most recent of which is Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World. He is also the political cartoonist for the Guardian and Observer newspapers. He lives in England.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781609809379
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Triangle Square
Publication date
January 14, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002210 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Rabbits
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV039120 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Prejudice & Racism
JUV061000 - Juvenile Fiction | Politics & Government
Library of Congress categories
Rabbits
Animals
Fables
Kings, queens, rulers, etc
Wolves
Kings and rulers

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