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Serendipity
Leo the Lop
Leo the rabbit whose ears are different from all the other rabbits learns that "normal is whatever you are."
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
March 9, 2017
We loved this book! Poor Leo feels so abnormal cause his ears won't stand up like all the other bunnies. He tries everything to get them to stand up but nothing works. It then occurs to him, that maybe HE is the one that is normal and all the other bunnies abnormal, and shares this revelation with all the other bunnies. They all think, hey, what if Leo is right? We laughed at the bunnies trying to do everything to get THEIR ears to stay down, like Leo's. They all discover at the end what is normal for everyone is how each happens to be. It is a very cute book. : )
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2012
Leo, the bunny with drooping ears, decides that his ears should point up instead of down. Through his efforts, and the hijinx of the group, he discovers that normal is whatever you are.
The illustrator of Leo the Lop is Robin James. The cover art for the book shows a soft brown bunny closing his eyes to enjoy the smell of a flower. This shows Leo as a kind and thoughtful creature.
The illustrations are in the cartoon style. When each image is looked at, the reader will pay more attention to the character’s actions than to examining the characters themselves. An example of this is the image of Leo trying to get his ears to stand up. You can see the strain in his face as he works to move his ears. Another example is the image of the bunnies laughing. They are in a pile, rolling in the grass, holding their bellies. You can clearly see the mirth in each bunny.
The illustrator appears to have used water color paint. The colors are soft which gives the images a traditional feel. The cartoon style provides the bunnies with large, luminous eyes and the forest with green grass and plants for the bunnies to play in. The forest feels close and safe, which would appeal to children. They would imagine life as a bunny to be secure and fun.
The bunnies are illustrated as individuals, each with different coloring. The forest is detailed, showing plants, flowers, trees and birds. These elements allow the reader to feel like they are in the forest with the bunnies.
The main character is a bunny named Leo the Lop. Leo is the only bunny in his part of the forest with ears that droop instead of standing up. In his innocence, he is perfectly unaware of how different he looks until the other bunnies start to laugh at him. Leo has a soft heart and finds that their laughter is hurtful. However, he is determined to make things right. He is resourceful, and comes up with plans to teach his ears which way to go. When the possum finds that he looked funnier with ears going up, Leo listens attentively and thinks about what the possum said. His sense of humor kicks in as he realizes that the other bunnies may be the ones with ears that go the wrong way. Leo is sensible. After realizing that the ears will go where they want to, he concludes that all their ears are normal just the way they are.
The story is set in the warm, gentle corner of a soft, green forest. It gives a realistic setting to show a day in the life of a bunny. The forest provides the tools with which the rabbits try to change their appearance. They use tree branches to hang from and rocks to tie down their ears as well. The forest also provides the wise possum. The narrative doesn’t discuss the setting as much as the illustrations show it. They provide images of a lovely, peaceful forest and bunnies that are different colors. Children would enjoy the safety of a forest that allows bunnies to explore and have fun.
The story is written in third person. It is written with vocabulary that would be easy for children to understand. There is a comical lilt to much of the narrative while it remains direct and simple. The dialogue in the story sounds like normal children’s speech, which makes the characters relatable.
The prevailing theme is that our differences are what make us unique, and that there really is no normal. We are each as we were intended to be and we should accept all people as they are.
I have an original edition from 1977 from my childhood. This was a much loved book in our family. I find the story to be well written, with fluid transitions from one part of the story to the next. The silliness of trying to look like everyone else comes across in such direct fashion that it isn’t to be ignored. Sometimes we over-complicate concepts like acceptance, when it truly is quite simple. This would be a good addition to a library accessed by children. It would be particularly good for schools or classes that include students with special needs or students from other countries and cultures. It would provide a vehicle to promote acceptance of differences in appearance, culture, or custom.
The illustrator of Leo the Lop is Robin James. The cover art for the book shows a soft brown bunny closing his eyes to enjoy the smell of a flower. This shows Leo as a kind and thoughtful creature.
The illustrations are in the cartoon style. When each image is looked at, the reader will pay more attention to the character’s actions than to examining the characters themselves. An example of this is the image of Leo trying to get his ears to stand up. You can see the strain in his face as he works to move his ears. Another example is the image of the bunnies laughing. They are in a pile, rolling in the grass, holding their bellies. You can clearly see the mirth in each bunny.
The illustrator appears to have used water color paint. The colors are soft which gives the images a traditional feel. The cartoon style provides the bunnies with large, luminous eyes and the forest with green grass and plants for the bunnies to play in. The forest feels close and safe, which would appeal to children. They would imagine life as a bunny to be secure and fun.
The bunnies are illustrated as individuals, each with different coloring. The forest is detailed, showing plants, flowers, trees and birds. These elements allow the reader to feel like they are in the forest with the bunnies.
The main character is a bunny named Leo the Lop. Leo is the only bunny in his part of the forest with ears that droop instead of standing up. In his innocence, he is perfectly unaware of how different he looks until the other bunnies start to laugh at him. Leo has a soft heart and finds that their laughter is hurtful. However, he is determined to make things right. He is resourceful, and comes up with plans to teach his ears which way to go. When the possum finds that he looked funnier with ears going up, Leo listens attentively and thinks about what the possum said. His sense of humor kicks in as he realizes that the other bunnies may be the ones with ears that go the wrong way. Leo is sensible. After realizing that the ears will go where they want to, he concludes that all their ears are normal just the way they are.
The story is set in the warm, gentle corner of a soft, green forest. It gives a realistic setting to show a day in the life of a bunny. The forest provides the tools with which the rabbits try to change their appearance. They use tree branches to hang from and rocks to tie down their ears as well. The forest also provides the wise possum. The narrative doesn’t discuss the setting as much as the illustrations show it. They provide images of a lovely, peaceful forest and bunnies that are different colors. Children would enjoy the safety of a forest that allows bunnies to explore and have fun.
The story is written in third person. It is written with vocabulary that would be easy for children to understand. There is a comical lilt to much of the narrative while it remains direct and simple. The dialogue in the story sounds like normal children’s speech, which makes the characters relatable.
The prevailing theme is that our differences are what make us unique, and that there really is no normal. We are each as we were intended to be and we should accept all people as they are.
I have an original edition from 1977 from my childhood. This was a much loved book in our family. I find the story to be well written, with fluid transitions from one part of the story to the next. The silliness of trying to look like everyone else comes across in such direct fashion that it isn’t to be ignored. Sometimes we over-complicate concepts like acceptance, when it truly is quite simple. This would be a good addition to a library accessed by children. It would be particularly good for schools or classes that include students with special needs or students from other countries and cultures. It would provide a vehicle to promote acceptance of differences in appearance, culture, or custom.
June 30, 2015
The last of my Serendiptiy hardbacks, Leo the Lop is as old as me. Robin James' charming art lends itself especially well to the smooth and soft shapes of bunny rabbits, and the story is a simple delight. In more earthy colours, the tale is told of Leo, one of a very large bunny litter whose ears go down, instead of up. He feels perfectly happy and normal - until the other bunnies begin to notice and start to laugh at him. This leads him into a period of insecurity, and feeling that he not normal at all, until a possum puts him right.
"If we're normal and Leo is normal, then normal is whatever you are!"
A lovely book for any child who might be starting school/preschool and who is being teased by others because they are different.
"If we're normal and Leo is normal, then normal is whatever you are!"
A lovely book for any child who might be starting school/preschool and who is being teased by others because they are different.
January 4, 2021
I don't know how Stephen Cosgrove has flown under the radar of literary acclaim the way he mostly has since his authorial debut in 1974. His Serendipity stories are as good as any comparable classic one could point to, as perceptive and profound as Aesop's fables of old, but softer and sweeter. Stephen Cosgrove's parables are direct and effective but state their case with winsome mildness, and few of them do it better than Leo the Lop. Countless books for kids address issues of accepting differences in others and in ourselves, but this brief story sneaks behind the reader's defenses with nary a misstep to deliver the message that in life, there are almost limitless legitimate versions of normal. The possum's sagacious advice to our favorite lop-eared bunny and his pals is imparted so insightfully that it leaves a lasting impact, linked to an unforgettable image that should persist in reminding us why it isn't so bad to diverge from the standard normal.
Leo is born in a quiet corner of the forest along with many other fuzzy bunnies, all of them cute and high-spirited. Leo's lop ears are his only unconventional physical attribute; they drag in the dirt while his friends' ears stick up high and straight. This doesn't trouble Leo at first—he can't even tell his ears hang in an unusual manner—but the other bunnies notice, and start making fun of Leo for it as they grow up. Leo doesn't like not being normal once he realizes the reason for the teasing; he wants to fit in, not be singled out as weird because he's not identical to his peers. So he tries to change the natural direction of his loppy ears, mustering the energy of the tiny muscles at their base to hold them straight up; when that fails, he hangs upside down from a tree limb to let gravity do the work. If not being normal is shameful enough to elicit scorn from his friends, Leo will do anything to get his ears right.
But nature has its own normals, irrespective of what people decide are acceptable ways to look and act. Should outlier tendencies be a problem? If one member of society doesn't conform to the behavior of the rest, is he or she the abnormal person, or could the lone soul marching to their own drummer be, in fact, the only normal one? How is normal defined, and who gets to set the definition? If we're all naturally our own people with individualized needs and desires that must be met in order for us to be happy, then surely normal comes in varying shades, a diverse color palette that includes us all, with no need for the eccentric in appearance or attitude to be excluded. It's the possum who puts it best, as he observes Leo dangling upside down from the tree: "What's normal?...Before, when I saw you on the ground, your ears looked normal. Now they look upside down." The possum frames the question perfectly, for Leo's friends look equally strange when they hang by their feet from the tree with their ears tied to the limb to make them appear lop-eared. When we act like someone we're not, caving in to pressure to conform to peer standards and forfeiting the parts of us that make us unique and exceptional, that's when we stop being normal. We can't present a synthesized version of ourselves and expect to be happy or effective in the world. It's important to acknowledge the ways we're different, and have the courage to stand up for them, recognizing that some people will ridicule us for who we are, but their lack of understanding doesn't mean we're wrong. Fidelity to ourselves will take us far, and before we know it we'll be more comfortable with our own version of normal than we ever expected to be. Learn from Leo, and, as Dr. Seuss writes, "Kid, you'll move mountains!"
The moral of Leo the Lop is simple and probably overused in children's lit, but Stephen Cosgrove conveys it so memorably that none of that can be held against this book. Whenever I feel pressure to lower my profile and go along with what the crowd expects of me because of my age, gender, or any other distinguishing characteristic, I'll recall the possum's observation that Leo looked normal until he went bottoms up to get his ears to stay straight over his head, and the relevance of the connection won't be lost on me. We can't be normal if we're bending over backwards to look like everybody else to avoid mean-spirited judgment. We have to let others accept or reject us for who we truly are, not a false version of ourselves concocted to please people who aren't even our friends. If we stay true to our heart, we'll find real friends sooner or later, and it'll be such a relief not to have to contort ourselves to curry their favor. I marvel at Stephen Cosgrove's ability to say all this in such a short, basic story, and Robin James's illustrations are as lovely and adorable as ever. I deeply love the Serendipity series, and Leo the Lop is deservedly one of its most well-known books. I think I'll give it the full three stars, and certainly my fond recommendation. Peace to all other readers and creatures of the land of Serendipity. You are dear to me.
Leo is born in a quiet corner of the forest along with many other fuzzy bunnies, all of them cute and high-spirited. Leo's lop ears are his only unconventional physical attribute; they drag in the dirt while his friends' ears stick up high and straight. This doesn't trouble Leo at first—he can't even tell his ears hang in an unusual manner—but the other bunnies notice, and start making fun of Leo for it as they grow up. Leo doesn't like not being normal once he realizes the reason for the teasing; he wants to fit in, not be singled out as weird because he's not identical to his peers. So he tries to change the natural direction of his loppy ears, mustering the energy of the tiny muscles at their base to hold them straight up; when that fails, he hangs upside down from a tree limb to let gravity do the work. If not being normal is shameful enough to elicit scorn from his friends, Leo will do anything to get his ears right.
But nature has its own normals, irrespective of what people decide are acceptable ways to look and act. Should outlier tendencies be a problem? If one member of society doesn't conform to the behavior of the rest, is he or she the abnormal person, or could the lone soul marching to their own drummer be, in fact, the only normal one? How is normal defined, and who gets to set the definition? If we're all naturally our own people with individualized needs and desires that must be met in order for us to be happy, then surely normal comes in varying shades, a diverse color palette that includes us all, with no need for the eccentric in appearance or attitude to be excluded. It's the possum who puts it best, as he observes Leo dangling upside down from the tree: "What's normal?...Before, when I saw you on the ground, your ears looked normal. Now they look upside down." The possum frames the question perfectly, for Leo's friends look equally strange when they hang by their feet from the tree with their ears tied to the limb to make them appear lop-eared. When we act like someone we're not, caving in to pressure to conform to peer standards and forfeiting the parts of us that make us unique and exceptional, that's when we stop being normal. We can't present a synthesized version of ourselves and expect to be happy or effective in the world. It's important to acknowledge the ways we're different, and have the courage to stand up for them, recognizing that some people will ridicule us for who we are, but their lack of understanding doesn't mean we're wrong. Fidelity to ourselves will take us far, and before we know it we'll be more comfortable with our own version of normal than we ever expected to be. Learn from Leo, and, as Dr. Seuss writes, "Kid, you'll move mountains!"
The moral of Leo the Lop is simple and probably overused in children's lit, but Stephen Cosgrove conveys it so memorably that none of that can be held against this book. Whenever I feel pressure to lower my profile and go along with what the crowd expects of me because of my age, gender, or any other distinguishing characteristic, I'll recall the possum's observation that Leo looked normal until he went bottoms up to get his ears to stay straight over his head, and the relevance of the connection won't be lost on me. We can't be normal if we're bending over backwards to look like everybody else to avoid mean-spirited judgment. We have to let others accept or reject us for who we truly are, not a false version of ourselves concocted to please people who aren't even our friends. If we stay true to our heart, we'll find real friends sooner or later, and it'll be such a relief not to have to contort ourselves to curry their favor. I marvel at Stephen Cosgrove's ability to say all this in such a short, basic story, and Robin James's illustrations are as lovely and adorable as ever. I deeply love the Serendipity series, and Leo the Lop is deservedly one of its most well-known books. I think I'll give it the full three stars, and certainly my fond recommendation. Peace to all other readers and creatures of the land of Serendipity. You are dear to me.
February 6, 2019
I was at my doctor's office yesterday and noticed this book. I was strangely happy that the Serendipity books are still around, and so I read this one. While it doesn't match the greatness that is Serendipity, it was still pretty good.
Leo the Lop has ears that are strange - or are they - and the book chronicles his desire to fit in. It is a good look at the importance of why differences don't really matter.
Illustrations are beautiful.
Leo the Lop has ears that are strange - or are they - and the book chronicles his desire to fit in. It is a good look at the importance of why differences don't really matter.
Illustrations are beautiful.
January 12, 2022
I don't know how Stephen Cosgrove has flown under the radar of literary acclaim the way he mostly has since his authorial debut in 1974. His Serendipity stories are as good as any comparable classic one could point to, as perceptive and profound as Aesop's fables of old, but softer and sweeter. Stephen Cosgrove's parables are direct and effective but state their case with winsome mildness, and few of them do it better than Leo the Lop. Countless books for kids address issues of accepting differences in others and in ourselves, but this brief story sneaks behind the reader's defenses with nary a misstep to deliver the message that in life, there are almost limitless legitimate versions of normal. The possum's sagacious advice to our favorite lop-eared bunny and his pals is imparted so insightfully that it leaves a lasting impact, linked to an unforgettable image that should persist in reminding us why it isn't so bad to diverge from the standard normal.
Leo is born in a quiet corner of the forest along with many other fuzzy bunnies, all of them cute and high-spirited. Leo's lop ears are his only unconventional physical attribute; they drag in the dirt while his friends' ears stick up high and straight. This doesn't trouble Leo at first—he can't even tell his ears hang in an unusual manner—but the other bunnies notice, and start making fun of Leo for it as they grow up. Leo doesn't like not being normal once he realizes the reason for the teasing; he wants to fit in, not be singled out as weird because he's not identical to his peers. So he tries to change the natural direction of his loppy ears, mustering the energy of the tiny muscles at their base to hold them straight up; when that fails, he hangs upside down from a tree limb to let gravity do the work. If not being normal is shameful enough to elicit scorn from his friends, Leo will do anything to get his ears right.
But nature has its own normals, irrespective of what people decide are acceptable ways to look and act. Should outlier tendencies be a problem? If one member of society doesn't conform to the behavior of the rest, is he or she the abnormal person, or could the lone soul marching to their own drummer be, in fact, the only normal one? How is normal defined, and who gets to set the definition? If we're all naturally our own people with individualized needs and desires that must be met in order for us to be happy, then surely normal comes in varying shades, a diverse color palette that includes us all, with no need for the eccentric in appearance or attitude to be excluded. It's the possum who puts it best, as he observes Leo dangling upside down from the tree: "What's normal?...Before, when I saw you on the ground, your ears looked normal. Now they look upside down." The possum frames the question perfectly, for Leo's friends look equally strange when they hang by their feet from the tree with their ears tied to the limb to make them appear lop-eared. When we act like someone we're not, caving in to pressure to conform to peer standards and forfeiting the parts of us that make us unique and exceptional, that's when we stop being normal. We can't present a synthesized version of ourselves and expect to be happy or effective in the world. It's important to acknowledge the ways we're different, and have the courage to stand up for them, recognizing that some people will ridicule us for who we are, but their lack of understanding doesn't mean we're wrong. Fidelity to ourselves will take us far, and before we know it we'll be more comfortable with our own version of normal than we ever expected to be. Learn from Leo, and, as Dr. Seuss writes, "Kid, you'll move mountains!"
The moral of Leo the Lop is simple and probably overused in children's lit, but Stephen Cosgrove conveys it so memorably that none of that can be held against this book. Whenever I feel pressure to lower my profile and go along with what the crowd expects of me because of my age, gender, or any other distinguishing characteristic, I'll recall the possum's observation that Leo looked normal until he went bottoms up to get his ears to stay straight over his head, and the relevance of the connection won't be lost on me. We can't be normal if we're bending over backwards to look like everybody else to avoid mean-spirited judgment. We have to let others accept or reject us for who we truly are, not a false version of ourselves concocted to please people who aren't even our friends. If we stay true to our heart, we'll find real friends sooner or later, and it'll be such a relief not to have to contort ourselves to curry their favor. I marvel at Stephen Cosgrove's ability to say all this in such a short, basic story, and Robin James's illustrations are as lovely and adorable as ever. I deeply love the Serendipity series, and Leo the Lop is deservedly one of its most well-known books. I think I'll give it the full three stars, and certainly my fond recommendation. Peace to all other readers and creatures of the land of Serendipity. You are dear to me.
Leo is born in a quiet corner of the forest along with many other fuzzy bunnies, all of them cute and high-spirited. Leo's lop ears are his only unconventional physical attribute; they drag in the dirt while his friends' ears stick up high and straight. This doesn't trouble Leo at first—he can't even tell his ears hang in an unusual manner—but the other bunnies notice, and start making fun of Leo for it as they grow up. Leo doesn't like not being normal once he realizes the reason for the teasing; he wants to fit in, not be singled out as weird because he's not identical to his peers. So he tries to change the natural direction of his loppy ears, mustering the energy of the tiny muscles at their base to hold them straight up; when that fails, he hangs upside down from a tree limb to let gravity do the work. If not being normal is shameful enough to elicit scorn from his friends, Leo will do anything to get his ears right.
But nature has its own normals, irrespective of what people decide are acceptable ways to look and act. Should outlier tendencies be a problem? If one member of society doesn't conform to the behavior of the rest, is he or she the abnormal person, or could the lone soul marching to their own drummer be, in fact, the only normal one? How is normal defined, and who gets to set the definition? If we're all naturally our own people with individualized needs and desires that must be met in order for us to be happy, then surely normal comes in varying shades, a diverse color palette that includes us all, with no need for the eccentric in appearance or attitude to be excluded. It's the possum who puts it best, as he observes Leo dangling upside down from the tree: "What's normal?...Before, when I saw you on the ground, your ears looked normal. Now they look upside down." The possum frames the question perfectly, for Leo's friends look equally strange when they hang by their feet from the tree with their ears tied to the limb to make them appear lop-eared. When we act like someone we're not, caving in to pressure to conform to peer standards and forfeiting the parts of us that make us unique and exceptional, that's when we stop being normal. We can't present a synthesized version of ourselves and expect to be happy or effective in the world. It's important to acknowledge the ways we're different, and have the courage to stand up for them, recognizing that some people will ridicule us for who we are, but their lack of understanding doesn't mean we're wrong. Fidelity to ourselves will take us far, and before we know it we'll be more comfortable with our own version of normal than we ever expected to be. Learn from Leo, and, as Dr. Seuss writes, "Kid, you'll move mountains!"
The moral of Leo the Lop is simple and probably overused in children's lit, but Stephen Cosgrove conveys it so memorably that none of that can be held against this book. Whenever I feel pressure to lower my profile and go along with what the crowd expects of me because of my age, gender, or any other distinguishing characteristic, I'll recall the possum's observation that Leo looked normal until he went bottoms up to get his ears to stay straight over his head, and the relevance of the connection won't be lost on me. We can't be normal if we're bending over backwards to look like everybody else to avoid mean-spirited judgment. We have to let others accept or reject us for who we truly are, not a false version of ourselves concocted to please people who aren't even our friends. If we stay true to our heart, we'll find real friends sooner or later, and it'll be such a relief not to have to contort ourselves to curry their favor. I marvel at Stephen Cosgrove's ability to say all this in such a short, basic story, and Robin James's illustrations are as lovely and adorable as ever. I deeply love the Serendipity series, and Leo the Lop is deservedly one of its most well-known books. I think I'll give it the full three stars, and certainly my fond recommendation. Peace to all other readers and creatures of the land of Serendipity. You are dear to me.
January 2, 2016
This has always been one of my favourite children's books, and upon re-reading it, I remember exactly why. It's an excellent book about being "normal" using Leo's ears as an example. Leo's a rabbit whose ears droop down, while all the other rabbits' ears go straight up. After hearing that they are not normal, both Leo and the other rabbits try to change their ears to fit what they think they "should" look like. The book has an excellent message about self-acceptance (not to mention very cute illustrations!). It's too bad this book does not seem to be more widely known.
September 16, 2023
This is a fun and somewhat silly tale about accepting yourself as you are. The narrative is short enough to keep the attention of you g children and the illustrations are colorful and feature adorable bunnies.
April 29, 2025
Cutest kids book
December 6, 2017
A great book on what "normal" actually is. One star deducted because Buttermilk could have let the other bunnies speak.
March 16, 2021
A book from my childhood, I found it in my parents’ house and then read it to my children. Love this one.
July 3, 2017
A wonderful start to a collection of stories with Leo the Lop as the main character. Children will fall in love with this cute bunny who seems to have so many problems with wanting to fit the crowd or to be someone else while in this first adventure of his he and his fellow bunnies finds the pretty wise lesson of "what is normal?".
The collection of cute bunnies along with slightly poetic and simple writing will fascinate kids to the magic of the bunny known as Leo.
The collection of cute bunnies along with slightly poetic and simple writing will fascinate kids to the magic of the bunny known as Leo.
February 24, 2016
very gud leooo the loop m8
October 1, 2021
Leo the Lop by Stephen Cosgrove.
This book is part of The Serendipity series of books by Stephen Cosgrove.
Leo is a lopped eared rabbit. A rabbit whose ears hang straight down. Leo lives with other lopped eared rabbits. Rabbits whose ears stand straight up.
The other rabbits tease Leo about his droopy ears, telling him he isn't normal. Leo decides to try and get his ears to stand straight up like the other rabbits. He tries several different ways to do so; one way by hanging upside down in a tree so his ears fall straight down. Another animal of the forest, a possum, asks him what he is doing hanging upside down in a tree. Leo explains that he trying to look normal like the other rabbits. The possum then asks, "What is normal?" He thought Leo looked normal when he was on the ground.
Wow, what if his ears are normal and the other rabbits ears are the ones that are different? Now the other rabbits are worried about being normal. So they decide to try and get their ears to droop down like Leo's. After trying several different ways they end up hanging in the tree with their ears tied to the branches. Sure enough their ears are now hanging down like Leo's. After hanging there for a while the possum asks them what they are doing. After explaining to him what they are doing he asks them the same question, "What is normal"? He thought they looked normal standing on the ground with their ears straight up.
So if Leo is normal with his droopy ears and they are normal with their ears straight up, maybe normal is whatever they each are.
A cute story about acceptance and being yourself. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the lovely illustrations by Robin James.
I highly recommend this book and give it 5 stars. And even better than giving it to a child to read; read it with them, aloud. After all it's never too early to help a child discover the love of reading and the power of a good story.
My Rating System:
* not worth finishing, ** would not recommend, *** would recommend, **** would highly recommend, ***** have/would read again.
August 12, 2025
Once upon a time, I sold or donated the copy I had when I was younger, in a very shortsighted attempt to scale down how much stuff I had to move, but after some regrets, I acquired a new copy...
...that is both faded and SMALLER than the original. I know this, because I hung onto Little Mouse on the Prairie (the very slightest bit cuter), and they were both the same size. I got a couple of others in the same pseudo-series that match, but this one? Nope!
Kind of put off by the idea of buying them up to gamble on finding one that matches, though. *Maybe* if I'm lucky enough to find one in a used bookstore vs. online.
My opinion hasn't changed much from my prior review, though; weird idea that bunnies would bully each other, or notice Leo's ears lop. I guess because rabbits are often depicted as being able to "lop" on command as a visual cue of sadness? (That, and prey animals really don't have time to bully EACH OTHER with a thousand enemies as is.)
Cute, though mostly regrets about ever letting the original book go.
...that is both faded and SMALLER than the original. I know this, because I hung onto Little Mouse on the Prairie (the very slightest bit cuter), and they were both the same size. I got a couple of others in the same pseudo-series that match, but this one? Nope!
Kind of put off by the idea of buying them up to gamble on finding one that matches, though. *Maybe* if I'm lucky enough to find one in a used bookstore vs. online.
My opinion hasn't changed much from my prior review, though; weird idea that bunnies would bully each other, or notice Leo's ears lop. I guess because rabbits are often depicted as being able to "lop" on command as a visual cue of sadness? (That, and prey animals really don't have time to bully EACH OTHER with a thousand enemies as is.)
Cute, though mostly regrets about ever letting the original book go.
June 18, 2023
I used to have the hardcover edition, but I don't know where it went. I found a (used) paperback edition, which differs from the hardcover by
1. having the "moral" posted ON THE COVER before one even OPENS the book,
2. including some kind of perforated insert at the beginning (disadvantage of a used copy, this was missing except for a blank part that conspicuously sticks out), and
3. including a list of books in the same series at the end (including two sequels).
The quality of the hardcover is better, of course, but this version is fine for everyday reading. The artwork is the cutest I've ever seen, too!
Why dock a star, then? ...I don't know. I've loved this story for so many years, but the idea of bunnies teasing one of their own is still weird, I guess. Also, I guess I'm unfairly penalising the copy I have for missing the insert. Designing something to have something obviously be removable takes away from its niceness, I think, even if the thing is intact.
...I'm tempted to tag this with "disabilities" since he's a lop, too, which (as I suspected) affects his ability to hear, but on the other hand that feels like devaluing the meaning of the word, like someone being slightly deaf vs. fully deaf. I'm not really sure, since I don't feel like I have a disability, even though I wear glasses. (Exception: if I can't find my glasses, haha)
1. having the "moral" posted ON THE COVER before one even OPENS the book,
2. including some kind of perforated insert at the beginning (disadvantage of a used copy, this was missing except for a blank part that conspicuously sticks out), and
3. including a list of books in the same series at the end (including two sequels).
The quality of the hardcover is better, of course, but this version is fine for everyday reading. The artwork is the cutest I've ever seen, too!
Why dock a star, then? ...I don't know. I've loved this story for so many years, but the idea of bunnies teasing one of their own is still weird, I guess. Also, I guess I'm unfairly penalising the copy I have for missing the insert. Designing something to have something obviously be removable takes away from its niceness, I think, even if the thing is intact.
...I'm tempted to tag this with "disabilities" since he's a lop, too, which (as I suspected) affects his ability to hear, but on the other hand that feels like devaluing the meaning of the word, like someone being slightly deaf vs. fully deaf. I'm not really sure, since I don't feel like I have a disability, even though I wear glasses. (Exception: if I can't find my glasses, haha)
June 27, 2024
This was the first book I borrowed from the Open Library at the Internet Archive website. I had read the book before, decades ago, and I don't think there was any difference in the two versions, except for no picture of the back cover on the e-book version.
This was one if the more light-hearted of the Serendipity books. Even author Stephen Cosgrove wasn't taking it completely seriously, using a more conversational style than usual.
Which works. If you've ever seen lop-eared bunnies in real life, they are one of the most comical-looking animals you can imagine. Robin Cosgrove did an excellent job in giving the comical bunnies just the right ammmount of realism.
The moral is nothing new, but there is a twist -- it can be inconvenient to be normal. I think that's a great lesson to teach kids. I wish I had someone tell me that when I was little.
I also love it that Leo the Lop is based on a real bunny.
Recommended book, no matter what your age or ear shape.
This was one if the more light-hearted of the Serendipity books. Even author Stephen Cosgrove wasn't taking it completely seriously, using a more conversational style than usual.
Which works. If you've ever seen lop-eared bunnies in real life, they are one of the most comical-looking animals you can imagine. Robin Cosgrove did an excellent job in giving the comical bunnies just the right ammmount of realism.
The moral is nothing new, but there is a twist -- it can be inconvenient to be normal. I think that's a great lesson to teach kids. I wish I had someone tell me that when I was little.
I also love it that Leo the Lop is based on a real bunny.
Recommended book, no matter what your age or ear shape.
July 15, 2022
I picked this book up, and several other in this series, simply because of the whimsical cover art; and the pages within are just as gorgeous! The story is your average run-of-the-mill main character is physically slightly different than their peers, so they get heckled over it. I do like this version a lot better than the Rainbow Fish, where the main character doesn't have to maim themselves for the betterment of their peers.
Simple, well told, amazingly illustrated, and with a cute rhyming lesson at the end.
Simple, well told, amazingly illustrated, and with a cute rhyming lesson at the end.
October 5, 2020
This was the most cliche, most time-wasting story I've ever come across. Not only was Leo completely idiotic, the rabbits that mocked him were completely gullible, what a stupid story. I give it one star just because it taught me what a lopped-ear bunny was. I guess if you stretch it out, it could be about erectile dysfunction bullying, or a nasal issue, or it could be that Leo is just a huge transgender queen that's being mocked by straighties. Either way it wasn't that creative.
November 7, 2025
Another classic Serendipity book, where a bunch of bunnies make fun of Leo for having long, floppy ears instead of perky ears that point up. A possum sets them all straight. Notably, one of Leo's tormentors is named Buttermilk, but doesn't look like the illustrations I remember from Buttermilk, the book (I remember a yellow bunny with spots who is afraid of the dark).
April 12, 2021
I loved the Leo the Lop books as a kid. I remember looking at the pictures over and over. It's been fun to re-read them and see how they hold up. This one is still an adorable look at realizing that you are normal, however you are.
September 5, 2022
I found this book in my classroom and read it to my class today, since it's about a bunny and Easter is coming up. It was a very good lesson in how people (okay, I guess rabbits) are different and "normal is whatever you are." I just really liked this book. :)
January 28, 2023
Loved this as a kid- it was given to me as a gift at age 3 and I can still remember asking my mother to read this one over and over. Cutest bunny illustrations ever and a heartwarming story about accepting our differences (no such thing as normal).
February 9, 2024
Recently found my childhood copy!!! A very cute story of accepting yourself the way you are! Its best if read right after "The Ugly Duckling" or "The Velveteen Rabbit" 100000/10 would read again! :DDD
January 2, 2020
My favorite book as a kid, I still have it on a bookshelf at home.
March 21, 2021
This book will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the only book I was able to read to my infant son before he died.
May 14, 2021
how everyone's normal is the normal
May 29, 2021
Cute vintage book about a rabbit with floppy ears that are just as normal as the rabbits with straight ears.
November 12, 2021
When you have child that feels that they don't fit in try having them read this.
March 24, 2022
This is my daughter’s favorite book of all time. Highly recommend
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