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Serendipity
Leo the Lop Tail Two
Leo proves that he is really brave when he leads the other animals to safety from a forest fire.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 11, 2025
This was published in 1982 (or, at least, the edition I read at the Internet Archive was) and I can't help but wonder if all was not sunshine and roses in Serendipity land. There was a huge disconnect between Stephen Cosgrove's text and Robin James' illustrations. Usually they go together harmoniously, with perhaps one slight hiccough. This time, the screw ups were impossible to ignore:
* The teacher owl is described as grey. He's painted brown.
* A "brown squirrel" sounds the alarm. What color does James paint him? Grey.
* There's supposed to be a bear at "creature school."
Cosgrove seemed to phone this one in. There was almost zero attempt to make the story about a rabbit in the woods instead of a small child at school (like the target audience of this book.) At one point, Leo urges his friends in the woods to "hold hands and follow me."
I was waiting for one of the creatures to say, "None of us have hands" because NONE OF THEM HAD HANDS.
And a predatory owl being the teacher of a captive group of small birds and tiny furry mammals? Anyone who's seen the Paul McCartney episode of "The Simpsons" can picture exactly what will happen to all of the students once they graduate from Bovine, er, Woodland University. Would make Lolita look like Green Eggs and Ham.
I gave this two stars instead of one because of the illustrations, which were vastly better than the text. The illustration of a sleeping doe and fawn alone is worth the price of admission.
As to bunnies being fierce ... this is true. Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of trying to pick up a pissed off rabbit will know that they are powerfully strong and can quickly fuck you all the way up. The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" wasn't too off the mark.
* The teacher owl is described as grey. He's painted brown.
* A "brown squirrel" sounds the alarm. What color does James paint him? Grey.
* There's supposed to be a bear at "creature school."
Cosgrove seemed to phone this one in. There was almost zero attempt to make the story about a rabbit in the woods instead of a small child at school (like the target audience of this book.) At one point, Leo urges his friends in the woods to "hold hands and follow me."
I was waiting for one of the creatures to say, "None of us have hands" because NONE OF THEM HAD HANDS.
And a predatory owl being the teacher of a captive group of small birds and tiny furry mammals? Anyone who's seen the Paul McCartney episode of "The Simpsons" can picture exactly what will happen to all of the students once they graduate from Bovine, er, Woodland University. Would make Lolita look like Green Eggs and Ham.
I gave this two stars instead of one because of the illustrations, which were vastly better than the text. The illustration of a sleeping doe and fawn alone is worth the price of admission.
As to bunnies being fierce ... this is true. Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of trying to pick up a pissed off rabbit will know that they are powerfully strong and can quickly fuck you all the way up. The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" wasn't too off the mark.
January 5, 2020
I'd thinned out my Serendipity books already, then slightly regretted getting rid of them before I added actual reviews to remind myself why I'd chosen to let go of certain ones. Fortunately, I guess Past Me had thought ahead a little, since they were still sitting in the trunk of my car, instead of joining the library donation pile from the summer. So here we go!
This book was never one of my favorites as a child. It's not bad and not great - it's just somewhere in the "average, largely forgettable" category. The art isn't as exceptional as James's best work, and the story is fairly thin and feels even more quickly wrapped up than usual.
There's one cute illustration, where Leo tries to look "tough" in the mirror. None of the other illustrations stand out, though, and I'm not even completely sure what the moral of the story's supposed to be. Leo's unhappy because he's a small, cute, fluffy bunny and he was to be big and tough like a tiger. Everyone (including the owl-teacher) laughs at him when he describes himself as "brave" when he should be saying "fluffy or cute." Leo runs off in tears, then eventually comes back to save them all from a forest fire, because he's both (a) brave and (b) small enough to get low to the ground and see under the smoke.
It's intended to be a message about how you can be both cute AND brave, which is theoretically great but not necessarily conveyed all that well here.
It's also "Tail Two," which means there was a first Leo book...which I know I've read at some point but never owned, so I don't remember it at all. I'm a little curious what Leo was like in the first book - was he trying to be big and tough and brave then too? - but not really interested enough to search it out.
This book was never one of my favorites as a child. It's not bad and not great - it's just somewhere in the "average, largely forgettable" category. The art isn't as exceptional as James's best work, and the story is fairly thin and feels even more quickly wrapped up than usual.
There's one cute illustration, where Leo tries to look "tough" in the mirror. None of the other illustrations stand out, though, and I'm not even completely sure what the moral of the story's supposed to be. Leo's unhappy because he's a small, cute, fluffy bunny and he was to be big and tough like a tiger. Everyone (including the owl-teacher) laughs at him when he describes himself as "brave" when he should be saying "fluffy or cute." Leo runs off in tears, then eventually comes back to save them all from a forest fire, because he's both (a) brave and (b) small enough to get low to the ground and see under the smoke.
It's intended to be a message about how you can be both cute AND brave, which is theoretically great but not necessarily conveyed all that well here.
It's also "Tail Two," which means there was a first Leo book...which I know I've read at some point but never owned, so I don't remember it at all. I'm a little curious what Leo was like in the first book - was he trying to be big and tough and brave then too? - but not really interested enough to search it out.
April 12, 2021
Another Serendipity favorite. This time Leo the Lop wants to look brave instead of cute and fluffy. Then he learns (while demonstrating some basic fire safety) that you don't have to look a certain way to be brave or, more broadly, who you are on the inside isn't dictated by your appearance. The illustrations are still near and dear to my heart.
March 19, 2018
A beautiful childrens story wrapped in magnificent artistry. My goal in 2018 is to read the complete Serendipity series from my youth. It brings back the nostaligic childhood feel of my Mom reading me a bedtime story...or two.
September 9, 2021
This is part of a series from the ‘70s (Serendipity). Colorful pictures and a little lesson in each story. About one paragraph a page alongside a full page picture.
June 23, 2015
This book is about a fuzzy bunny named Leo. He wanted to be scary like a bear, not cute like a bunny. He tried to be scary but everyone laughed at him. He also tried to be brave, and everyone laughed at him. While Leo was being sad, a fire was raging though the woods. He went and found all the animals and led them to safety. He became a very brave bunny.
I like this book because there is text on one side of the page, and there is a detailed picture on the other side of the page. The text and pictures complement one another. There is also a moral to be learned at the end of the story. Which make this book a very worthy read.
I would use this book to teach my children. They would enjoy looking at the pictures, and they would also learn some great life lessons. They would be better kids for reading this book.
I like this book because there is text on one side of the page, and there is a detailed picture on the other side of the page. The text and pictures complement one another. There is also a moral to be learned at the end of the story. Which make this book a very worthy read.
I would use this book to teach my children. They would enjoy looking at the pictures, and they would also learn some great life lessons. They would be better kids for reading this book.
July 3, 2017
A cute little tale with several different lessons to learn with one of the first being that you can be whatever you want to be even if others want to laugh at you just as long as you believe that of yourself. And the main lesson is you don't have to be too small, too cute, too fluffy, etc. to not be able to prove others wrong or that you aren't without courage.
Children will love the pictures in this and will be excited by the simple writing. A quick read full of good lessons for the little ones.
Children will love the pictures in this and will be excited by the simple writing. A quick read full of good lessons for the little ones.
November 16, 2015
Hurrah for this message and this book! Leo the Lop returns (with absolutely no mention of his earlier adventures, so don't worry about having to catch up) and he wants very much to be fierce. I don't blame him; bunnies aren't so much impressive. An opportunity arises for him to be brave in exactly the body he has, proving that it's how you use what you have and also that traits like bravery and kindness and whatnot are internal things.
It is so good to be reminded of this right now. You be you, Leo. I believe in your ability to be fierce.
It is so good to be reminded of this right now. You be you, Leo. I believe in your ability to be fierce.
May 12, 2025
Basic plot: A bunny proves his bravery.
I think I got my first Serendipity book through a Scholastic book order or book fair. I quickly became obsessed and collected a ton and a half of them as a child. I would spend hours just looking at the pictures because the art is simply gorgeous. The stories were whimsical and fun, and always ended with some sort of life lesson for kids. I kept reading these books long after other picture books had been set aside.
I think I got my first Serendipity book through a Scholastic book order or book fair. I quickly became obsessed and collected a ton and a half of them as a child. I would spend hours just looking at the pictures because the art is simply gorgeous. The stories were whimsical and fun, and always ended with some sort of life lesson for kids. I kept reading these books long after other picture books had been set aside.
December 12, 2011
I changed all the pronouns to female. It was so weird how you never see the owl's face. A little on the scary side, i thought, but considering the heavy text-to-illustration ratio, she loved it and wanted a repeat.
July 4, 2010
This is a great book. This is a great book to read to children to teach them about diversity and how we should embrace everyone's differences.
April 26, 2012
My second grade teacher read us the books from this series. I thought the illustrations were beautiful and the stories magical. I can still enjoy them today.
December 22, 2013
This is a very cute bunny story with a good message.
December 10, 2015
A very good lesson on Fire Safety. This should be added to a Fire Departments curriculum when teaching children.
February 21, 2016
So message, much wow. I enjoy the art, though.
September 9, 2014
A cute story with great morals.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews