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Rabbit Hill
The Tough Winter
This book tells the story of how the rabbits in the Rabbit Hill suffered from the unprecedented cold and freezing winter in Connecticut, America. However, the terrible weather didnt ward off the joy and love in the Rabbit Hill.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
3 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lawson
122 books76 followersBorn in New York City, Lawson spent his early life in Montclair, New Jersey. Following high school, he studied art for three years under illustrator Howard Giles (an advocate of dynamic symmetry as conceived by Jay Hambidge) at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (now Parsons School of Design), marrying fellow artist and illustrator Marie Abrams in 1922. His career as an illustrator began in 1914, when his illustration for a poem about the invasion of Belgium was published in Harper's Weekly. He went on to publish in other magazines, including the Ladies Home Journal, Everybody's Magazine, Century Magazine, Vogue, and Designer.
During World War I, Lawson was a member of the first U.S. Army camouflage unit (called the American Camouflage Corps), in connection with which he served in France with other artists, such as Barry Faulkner, Sherry Edmundson Fry, William Twigg-Smith and Kerr Eby. In his autobiography, Faulkner recalls that Lawson had a remarkable "sense of fantasy and humor", which made him especially valuable when the camoufleurs put on musical shows for the children of the French women who worked with them on camouflage
After the war, Lawson resumed his work as an artist, and in 1922, illustrated his first children's book, The Wonderful Adventures of Little Prince Toofat. Subsequently he illustrated dozens of children's books by other authors, including such well-known titles as The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (which later became an animated film by the Walt Disney Studios) and Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. In total, he illustrated as many as forty books by other authors, and another seventeen books that he himself was author of, including Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin By His Good Mouse Amos and Rabbit Hill. His work was widely admired, and he became the first, and so far only, person to be given both the Caldecott Medal (They Were Strong and Good, 1941) and the Newbery Medal (Rabbit Hill, 1945). Ben and Me earned a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1961.
Lawson was a witty and inventive author, and his children's fiction is no less engaging for grown-ups. One of his inventive themes was the idea of a person's life as seen through the eyes of a companion animal, an approach that he first realized in Ben and Me. Some of his later books employed the same device (which was compatible with his style of illustration) to other figures, such as Christopher Columbus (I Discover Columbus) and Paul Revere (Mr. Revere and I). Captain Kidd's Cat, which he both wrote and illustrated, is narrated by the feline in the title, named McDermot, who tells the story of the famous pirate's ill-starred voyage, in the process of which he is shown to have been a brave, upright, honest, hen-pecked man betrayed by his friends and calumniated by posterity. His artistic witticism and creativity can be seen in The Story of Ferdinand the Bull, where he illustrates a cork tree as a tree that bears corks as fruits, ready to be picked and placed into bottles.
In the early 1930s, Lawson became interested in etching. One of the resulting prints was awarded the John Taylor Arms Prize by the Society of American Etchers.
Lawson died in 1957 at his home in Westport, Connecticut, in a house that he referred to as Rabbit Hill, since it had been the setting for his book of the same name. He was 64. He is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. An annual conference is held in his honor in Westport.
The Robert Lawson Papers are in the University of Minnesota Children's Literature Research Collections.
During World War I, Lawson was a member of the first U.S. Army camouflage unit (called the American Camouflage Corps), in connection with which he served in France with other artists, such as Barry Faulkner, Sherry Edmundson Fry, William Twigg-Smith and Kerr Eby. In his autobiography, Faulkner recalls that Lawson had a remarkable "sense of fantasy and humor", which made him especially valuable when the camoufleurs put on musical shows for the children of the French women who worked with them on camouflage
After the war, Lawson resumed his work as an artist, and in 1922, illustrated his first children's book, The Wonderful Adventures of Little Prince Toofat. Subsequently he illustrated dozens of children's books by other authors, including such well-known titles as The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (which later became an animated film by the Walt Disney Studios) and Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. In total, he illustrated as many as forty books by other authors, and another seventeen books that he himself was author of, including Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin By His Good Mouse Amos and Rabbit Hill. His work was widely admired, and he became the first, and so far only, person to be given both the Caldecott Medal (They Were Strong and Good, 1941) and the Newbery Medal (Rabbit Hill, 1945). Ben and Me earned a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1961.
Lawson was a witty and inventive author, and his children's fiction is no less engaging for grown-ups. One of his inventive themes was the idea of a person's life as seen through the eyes of a companion animal, an approach that he first realized in Ben and Me. Some of his later books employed the same device (which was compatible with his style of illustration) to other figures, such as Christopher Columbus (I Discover Columbus) and Paul Revere (Mr. Revere and I). Captain Kidd's Cat, which he both wrote and illustrated, is narrated by the feline in the title, named McDermot, who tells the story of the famous pirate's ill-starred voyage, in the process of which he is shown to have been a brave, upright, honest, hen-pecked man betrayed by his friends and calumniated by posterity. His artistic witticism and creativity can be seen in The Story of Ferdinand the Bull, where he illustrates a cork tree as a tree that bears corks as fruits, ready to be picked and placed into bottles.
In the early 1930s, Lawson became interested in etching. One of the resulting prints was awarded the John Taylor Arms Prize by the Society of American Etchers.
Lawson died in 1957 at his home in Westport, Connecticut, in a house that he referred to as Rabbit Hill, since it had been the setting for his book of the same name. He was 64. He is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. An annual conference is held in his honor in Westport.
The Robert Lawson Papers are in the University of Minnesota Children's Literature Research Collections.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 28, 2022
The fun sequel to Rabbit Hill, this book won't disappoint it's readers.
Uncle Analdas, an old rabbit, predicts that it's going to be a tough winter but the animals of Rabbit Hill don't believe him and chock it up to his old age. They soon find out who was right and who was wrong. With touching moments and some giggles scattered throughout, this will be a good next read for your family.
While Rabbit Hill comes first, it's not necessary to read in order.
Ages: 5 - 12
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
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Uncle Analdas, an old rabbit, predicts that it's going to be a tough winter but the animals of Rabbit Hill don't believe him and chock it up to his old age. They soon find out who was right and who was wrong. With touching moments and some giggles scattered throughout, this will be a good next read for your family.
While Rabbit Hill comes first, it's not necessary to read in order.
Ages: 5 - 12
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
January 20, 2024
In this sequel to Rabbit Hill, gloomy rabbit Uncle Analdas and all the other animals on the Hill are dreading a tough winter. The Folks have gone to the Bluegrass country to weather the colder months, and they have left a Caretaker and his mean dog to look after their property. The Caretaker doesn't put out any garbage worth eating, and once the snow begins to fall, food becomes more and more scarce. When some of the animals are forced to leave the Hill in search of food, Uncle Analdas decides he's had enough, and he sets out to find the Folks and bring them home again.
Though its text and illustrations are quite good, The Tough Winter is just not as distinctive as Rabbit Hill. In Rabbit Hill, details were revealed in such a way that the reader had a clear motivation to keep reading: to find out what sort of people the Folks would turn out to be. Because the characters were uncertain about the Folks, the ending, in which their kindness toward animals was revealed, was an emotional moment and a satisfying one. By contrast, The Tough Winter lacks an overarching conflict to carry the story. Yes, the animals are faced with surviving a difficult winter, but the reader doesn't really doubt that they will survive it. The animals miss the Folks, but there is also no question that they will eventually return. There is a bit of tension surrounding the question of whether Porkey the groundhog will see his shadow, but even this loses its gravity because the reader knows groundhogs don't actually predict the weather. This lack of suspense undoubtedly appeals to a certain type of child reader (I was such a reader as a kid), but it was frustrating for me as an adult.
It also bothers me to be asked to believe that the Folks, who take such good care of the animals the rest of the year, would be so lackadaisical about who looks after their home and property during their winter vacation. In some ways, it felt like their behavior in this book negated the message of Rabbit Hill. Surely such a generous animal-loving family would be at least mildly concerned about what happens to their animal neighbors during bad weather.
Overall, The Tough Winter is definitely well-written and it was fun to revisit these characters and their different quirks. While Rabbit Hill is clearly the superior book, this is still worth reading, especially for kids who love animal stories and enjoy reading seasonal tales during the holidays.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
Though its text and illustrations are quite good, The Tough Winter is just not as distinctive as Rabbit Hill. In Rabbit Hill, details were revealed in such a way that the reader had a clear motivation to keep reading: to find out what sort of people the Folks would turn out to be. Because the characters were uncertain about the Folks, the ending, in which their kindness toward animals was revealed, was an emotional moment and a satisfying one. By contrast, The Tough Winter lacks an overarching conflict to carry the story. Yes, the animals are faced with surviving a difficult winter, but the reader doesn't really doubt that they will survive it. The animals miss the Folks, but there is also no question that they will eventually return. There is a bit of tension surrounding the question of whether Porkey the groundhog will see his shadow, but even this loses its gravity because the reader knows groundhogs don't actually predict the weather. This lack of suspense undoubtedly appeals to a certain type of child reader (I was such a reader as a kid), but it was frustrating for me as an adult.
It also bothers me to be asked to believe that the Folks, who take such good care of the animals the rest of the year, would be so lackadaisical about who looks after their home and property during their winter vacation. In some ways, it felt like their behavior in this book negated the message of Rabbit Hill. Surely such a generous animal-loving family would be at least mildly concerned about what happens to their animal neighbors during bad weather.
Overall, The Tough Winter is definitely well-written and it was fun to revisit these characters and their different quirks. While Rabbit Hill is clearly the superior book, this is still worth reading, especially for kids who love animal stories and enjoy reading seasonal tales during the holidays.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
September 24, 2020
A sequel to Rabbit Hill, The Tough Winter is almost as good. And maybe it's just my dislike of winter that makes me say so. I love Little Georgie and his family and watching them suffer through this long and harsh winter was agonizing. I loved Uncle Adalmas's journey to try and reach the Bluegrass and how that all turned out made me laugh. A sweet pair of books that every young person should read.
July 16, 2011
Ten years after the 1944 release of the Newbery Medal-winning Rabbit Hill, Robert Lawson produced a sequel to that classic, The Tough Winter. For those of us with fond memories of reading the first book and growing to love the story's ambience and warm, pleasant characters, I would say that The Tough Winter is as close to a must-read as you'll ever find. Whether or not they've been lucky enough to previously be introduced to the joys of Rabbit Hill, though, readers will be enriched by experiencing this sequel. No one tells a story of good old-fashioned humor and family adventure better than Robert Lawson.
Some time after the fitting conclusion to Rabbit Hill, when the animals living on the hill and in nearby areas learned that the new folks moving into the big house were even more welcoming to animals than the previous tenants had been, the young rabbit Little Georgie's Uncle Analdas declares that he senses the approach of a fierce winter on the horizon, maybe worse than any he's ever lived through before. No one's sure that Analdas's prognostications of particular hardship in the days ahead are accurate, but Little Georgie, his father and the rest of the animals do their part to store up extra reserve food for the coming cold season, just in case it might prove to be a more brutal one than usual.
The first bad news comes when Georgie and his best friend, Willie Fieldmouse, learn that the new folks are headed south for the winter. For as long as they're away, the animals of Rabbit Hill won't be able to rely on their frequent ample handouts of food, but that in and of itself isn't a crushing blow; the animals had always foraged on their own before these folks moved in, and there's no reason that they can't do so again. Worse than the departure of the generous folks, however, is the ornery caretaker who moves into their house, and his mean, growly dog. Neither man nor beast cares to get along with the animals, and that ever-present animosity isn't going to help things at all when the bleakest winter weather begins to hit.
As problems compound and winter storms become worse and worse so that even Uncle Analdas admits he's never seen anything like it, loyal animal residents of Rabbit Hill are forced to leave their homes until spring returns. Little Georgie and his family are eventually the last ones left on the hill, hunkered down in their burrow with a quickly dwindling supply of foodstuffs. Can they survive through the harshest winter that anyone on Rabbit Hill has ever seen?
The Tough Winter is a very nice book written and illustrated by a personal favorite author of mine, whose aptitude for the creation of lovely stories is a rare and valuable commodity in the world of literature for young readers. Anyone who enjoyed Rabbit Hill will surely want the chance to revisit those beloved characters again and take in another story about their lives, learning what exactly happened to them after the installation of the St. Francis of Assisi statue that so changed everything. All in all, I would give two and a half stars to this book.
Some time after the fitting conclusion to Rabbit Hill, when the animals living on the hill and in nearby areas learned that the new folks moving into the big house were even more welcoming to animals than the previous tenants had been, the young rabbit Little Georgie's Uncle Analdas declares that he senses the approach of a fierce winter on the horizon, maybe worse than any he's ever lived through before. No one's sure that Analdas's prognostications of particular hardship in the days ahead are accurate, but Little Georgie, his father and the rest of the animals do their part to store up extra reserve food for the coming cold season, just in case it might prove to be a more brutal one than usual.
The first bad news comes when Georgie and his best friend, Willie Fieldmouse, learn that the new folks are headed south for the winter. For as long as they're away, the animals of Rabbit Hill won't be able to rely on their frequent ample handouts of food, but that in and of itself isn't a crushing blow; the animals had always foraged on their own before these folks moved in, and there's no reason that they can't do so again. Worse than the departure of the generous folks, however, is the ornery caretaker who moves into their house, and his mean, growly dog. Neither man nor beast cares to get along with the animals, and that ever-present animosity isn't going to help things at all when the bleakest winter weather begins to hit.
As problems compound and winter storms become worse and worse so that even Uncle Analdas admits he's never seen anything like it, loyal animal residents of Rabbit Hill are forced to leave their homes until spring returns. Little Georgie and his family are eventually the last ones left on the hill, hunkered down in their burrow with a quickly dwindling supply of foodstuffs. Can they survive through the harshest winter that anyone on Rabbit Hill has ever seen?
The Tough Winter is a very nice book written and illustrated by a personal favorite author of mine, whose aptitude for the creation of lovely stories is a rare and valuable commodity in the world of literature for young readers. Anyone who enjoyed Rabbit Hill will surely want the chance to revisit those beloved characters again and take in another story about their lives, learning what exactly happened to them after the installation of the St. Francis of Assisi statue that so changed everything. All in all, I would give two and a half stars to this book.
May 26, 2013
In The Tough Winter, written in 1954, Robert Lawson brings us back to the setting of his Newbery Medal winning 1945 book Rabbit Hill. Set on a small hillside near Danbury Connecticut, the book tells the story of a rabbit family and their animal neighbors as they face a tough winter. The kind Folks, who live in the Big House and love and respect the animals, are going south for the winter, and all the animals are concerned about how the Caretakers, who will spend the winter in the house, will treat them. In addition, Uncle Analdas has predicted that they are in for a tough winter.
Analdas' prediction takes on increasing importance at defining events as bad things start to happen. A major ice storm starts the winter off badly, and the uncaring Caretakers arrive with a dog who threatens the animals and their homes. Yet they show a response of communal support to all hardships that prevents tragedy from overcoming them. Lawson lovingly contrasts the wisdom of the older rabbits to the exuberance of the young Little Georgie and his friend Willie the field mouse.
Written three years before the author's death at the age of 64, this book is about threats and obstacles overcome and how community and cooperation are vital to this process. Its portrayal of a tough Connecticut winter is excellently done. Beautifully illustrated with black and white drawings of rabbits, this was a book I enjoyed reading.
Analdas' prediction takes on increasing importance at defining events as bad things start to happen. A major ice storm starts the winter off badly, and the uncaring Caretakers arrive with a dog who threatens the animals and their homes. Yet they show a response of communal support to all hardships that prevents tragedy from overcoming them. Lawson lovingly contrasts the wisdom of the older rabbits to the exuberance of the young Little Georgie and his friend Willie the field mouse.
Written three years before the author's death at the age of 64, this book is about threats and obstacles overcome and how community and cooperation are vital to this process. Its portrayal of a tough Connecticut winter is excellently done. Beautifully illustrated with black and white drawings of rabbits, this was a book I enjoyed reading.
December 1, 2010
Year after year I read this book to my classes of sixth- and fourth-graders. Even those who totally disliked reading and books fell in love with "The Tough Winter" and wanted to hear it again and again. How can such a book go out of print? I want so much to give this book as a Christmas gift but it is not available.
Now, a question, please. I was in Barnes & Noble and checked to see if it might be back in print. It is listed at B&N but is "not available". The gentleman suggested I contact the publisher which I had planned to do. Now I sit here trying to remember the publisher's name and cannot. It was a two-name group and the first name is very short.
Can anyone please give me a clue to who this publisher might be? I do know it is an old company that has been in the publishing business for years. Thank you all very much.
Before I sign off, since I still have not figured out how to post originals at this site (my embarrassment), might I mention another very good old book? "Mouse House". I do not recall the author but a girl had put her no-longer wanted doll house in the basement and a family of mice took over. A darling story.
With that, I shall end my verbosity. :-)
Now, a question, please. I was in Barnes & Noble and checked to see if it might be back in print. It is listed at B&N but is "not available". The gentleman suggested I contact the publisher which I had planned to do. Now I sit here trying to remember the publisher's name and cannot. It was a two-name group and the first name is very short.
Can anyone please give me a clue to who this publisher might be? I do know it is an old company that has been in the publishing business for years. Thank you all very much.
Before I sign off, since I still have not figured out how to post originals at this site (my embarrassment), might I mention another very good old book? "Mouse House". I do not recall the author but a girl had put her no-longer wanted doll house in the basement and a family of mice took over. A darling story.
With that, I shall end my verbosity. :-)
March 21, 2025
In 1979 Penguin Books published Robert Lawson’s novel “The Tough Winter.” This novel is about the bonding of 9 animals that live on the Folk’s family estate in Danbury, Connecticut. The Folk’s home is staffed with a caretaker, cook, and gardener. There are two estate homes that are adjacent to the Folk home that are featured in the novel. One of the homes was at the cross roads down the hill from the Folk estate. The Folk’s animals called the owner of the neighbor’s home “the fat man,”. The other adjacent home featured a neighbor who owns a cabin on an incline called Pine Hills. The novel begins with Uncle Analdas, who is an old rabbit that predicts the Folk animals will suffer from a large number of extreme winter weather events. These events will cause the animals to be food famished, sleep deprived by Ice storms, victims of the Folk caretaker’s mad dog attacks, and a number of events that destroy the animal’s burrow nests. In November the Folks leave their home and travel to Kentucky to avoid the difficult Connecticut East Coast winter months. While they are away, the animals on the Folk estate tightly bond, and they help each other cope with awful weather, mad dog attacks, a horrible prairie fire, and a food famine. One of the animals is Phewie the skunk who tricks a mad dog to attack him in a burrow where the dog gets skunk sprayed. Willie a field-mouse, Foxy a red fox, Porky a very fat pig, and Father Fox are tightly bonded and look after each other during the winter storms. When Xmas comes Folk gardener Tim McGrath brings to the estate baskets of seeds, animal bones, buckets of animal treats, and bales of hay. Tim provides a celebration feed for the animals in the Folk’s estate garden. The garden has a beautiful statue of Saint Francis who was an Italian mystic and minister for the poor, nature, and animals. The Xmas celebration is very important for the animals. Also the Xmas celebration helps the animals survive the awful winter and prepares them for the return of the Folks from their stay in Kentucky. The book explores the power of community bonding, commitments to overcome adversaries, and resilience to the challenges of tough winter events. I enjoyed very much reading Lawson’s wonderful book. (P)
March 13, 2018
Analdas spoke of a horrible winter that was to come and it finally did. A new grounds keeper and his horrible dog was in charge of taking care of Rabbit Hill. The animals are faced with an ice storm and a food shortage, Uncle Analdas wasn’t wrong after all. Everyone had to work together to figure out what to do next. I would not recommend this book, I wish they had more action in the winter adventures the horrible winter brings the animals on.
November 13, 2018
When the winter storms become too much and the food supply too scarce, most of the animals abandon the hill for more hospitable lands. A few stay behind and tough it out. Weird inconsistencies in the anthropomorphism of the animals distracted from the story. Why do they celebrate human holidays? All the field animals are friends (even the fox and the mice), but the human-owned cat and dog are strangely antagonistic towards the wild animals.
January 30, 2020
Like it's predecessor, the Newbery winning Rabbit Hill, The Tough Winter is a sweet and simple story of a group of animals working together to survive a difficult winter. The animal-loving folks, who live on The Hill, have gone away for the winter, leaving behind a cantankerous couple and their boisterous dog as caretakers. Without the folks there to provide their usual food, and with an extremely bad winter upon them, the animals will need all their wits and lots of teamwork to survive.
September 26, 2020
This is the sequel to Rabbit Hill that I’d been meaning to read for years and finally got around to doing. All the beloved characters return but with more worries as the good folks on the hill leave for the winter and the animals are left on their own to struggle through a very hard winter. The irascible Uncle Analdas has more of a role this time which will probably delight readers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
June 15, 2019
A rare case in which the sequel is better than the original. Rabbit Hill introduced readers to the wildlife of Lawson's rural Connecticut home. Here we see them undergo harsh trials: weather; a fierce dog; a neglectful caretaker and more. The sheer beauty of the endpapers, a frozen winter landscape, wins an extra star. Lawson at his very best!
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December 18, 2022I searched for this book for years with nothing to go off of except "it was about rabbits and winter." My second grade teacher gave us all a copy of this for Christmas, and it was one of my favorite childhood memories. Great fun to find again.
Probably shouldn't have read it just after reading the amazing Watership Down, but I am happy to have found it again.
Probably shouldn't have read it just after reading the amazing Watership Down, but I am happy to have found it again.
January 20, 2020
Read-Aloud: Wren, Willow
The girls loved this. And I love that they are learning to know, appreciate, observe, and enjoy nature and animals.
The girls loved this. And I love that they are learning to know, appreciate, observe, and enjoy nature and animals.
June 20, 2024
My kids and I enjoyed this more than Rabbit Hill. I am not quite sure why though. But We thought there was more humor in this book than the first.
April 1, 2014
"'Goodness, Georgie,' said Willie Fieldmouse, 'here when I ought to be fat and sleek for the winter I'm worn to skin and bone gathering food and hiding it, and probably all for nothing. I don't think it's going to be a bad winter. Here's November almost gone and it's still like summer.'
'I don't either,' Little Georgie agreed. 'I think Uncle Analdas is just getting old and full of notions. And here's all the nice fall weather gone and nobody's had any fun at all.'
Father Rabbit also protested mildly, but each morning Uncle Analdas would go to the mouth of the burrow, squint up at the warm hazy sky, and pronounce, 'Deceitful, that's what it is. Plain deceitful. The deceitful ones is always the worst, and this is the deceitfulest I've seen in years. Wait till December and January - and you'll see who's right.'
And so he drove them all to still more effort until shortly before Thanksgiving, when the storeroom was so tightly packed that not another twig or bunch of clover could be jammed in. Not content with this, he stowed away a great deal of fodder under his bed, which caused even Mother to protest.
'Never you mind,' the old gentleman chuckled. 'Come February or March there'll be plenty of people a-peekin' and a-pokin' under my bed, lookin' for a handout.'"
'I don't either,' Little Georgie agreed. 'I think Uncle Analdas is just getting old and full of notions. And here's all the nice fall weather gone and nobody's had any fun at all.'
Father Rabbit also protested mildly, but each morning Uncle Analdas would go to the mouth of the burrow, squint up at the warm hazy sky, and pronounce, 'Deceitful, that's what it is. Plain deceitful. The deceitful ones is always the worst, and this is the deceitfulest I've seen in years. Wait till December and January - and you'll see who's right.'
And so he drove them all to still more effort until shortly before Thanksgiving, when the storeroom was so tightly packed that not another twig or bunch of clover could be jammed in. Not content with this, he stowed away a great deal of fodder under his bed, which caused even Mother to protest.
'Never you mind,' the old gentleman chuckled. 'Come February or March there'll be plenty of people a-peekin' and a-pokin' under my bed, lookin' for a handout.'"
February 6, 2018
Good story in the style of 'Watership Down.' Wonderful Read Aloud.
January 27, 2011
I must have liked this book as a child, or at least read it, because I remembered that it existed. But I don't think as a grown-up thinking back I recalled even one scene from the book; nothing about the book seemed very familiar, and I quickly realized why. This book possessed none of the charm of Rabbit Hill, and all of its strange flaws. The Town Mouse vs. Country Mouse type of attitude that in Rabbit Hill seemed sort of cute and harmless was bitter and disconcerting in The Tough Winter. Uncle Analdas, whose crotchedly old man-ness seems charming in Rabbit Hill seems bitter and unpleasant in The Tough Winter. He's a complete a******. I never quite got who the audience for this book was (not kids) and what the point was. If you want to read about a truly tough winter, stick to Laura Ingalls Wilder.
September 14, 2011
Another book about the same animals as in "Rabbit Hill". I was lucky I guess that I happened to pull them out of my bag in order, because I didn't bother to see what choices I had and didn't know they were related when I pulled them off the shelf.
I liked the first one better - Uncle Analdas was more highly irritating in this one. However, there was a nice theme of friendship between Willie and Georgie that I found really sweet, rather Pooh and Piglet-like. The pictures were even more beautiful than before.
I liked the first one better - Uncle Analdas was more highly irritating in this one. However, there was a nice theme of friendship between Willie and Georgie that I found really sweet, rather Pooh and Piglet-like. The pictures were even more beautiful than before.
April 2, 2014
We interspersed reading this more cheery and funny book with the unexpectedly intense The Egypt Game. We'd read Rabbit Hill, the precursor to this one, twice. Lawson's dialog is fun and easy to read aloud and just begs for a southern accent.
March 26, 2008
This is one of my favorite books to read if I am bored. It goes very smooothly...
December 27, 2009
Besides Rabbit Hill, an excellent read out loud. You want expression to shine through, have a kid read it to you. They really get into it. I love the black and white drawings too.
February 28, 2012
Even better than Rabbit Hill. Somebody make a film and for gooodness sake use as little CGI as possible!
April 7, 2012
3 1/2 stars. I love the illustrations!
October 26, 2014
I laugh (and sniffle) at the antics of this rabbit community ...
January 11, 2015
I loved this book as a kid. And it's a lot of fun to read aloud because the dialog is so natural and I found myself doing some kind of southern accent without thinking about it.
February 23, 2015
I love this book!
September 3, 2015
A sequel to Rabbit Hill, which I loved as a kid.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews