by Ariel Dorfman (Author) Chris Riddell (Illustrator)
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.
WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
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.