Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby
Squish is such a little rabbit that no one seems to see him or hear him. So he made himself a stuffed rabbit friend. But that only helped his loneliness for a little bit. He tried playing with the trees, but they didn’t play fair. Finally, Squish lost his temper and threw a tantrum. He kicked an apple high into the air, and someone saw and thought it was a game. Squish saw that the squirrel was heading for a cliff chasing the apple and finally found his voice. And a new friend.
Battersby has created a picture book with an exceptional amount of appeal. Her text is simple and understated, allowing the pictures to tell the rest of the story at times. And what pictures they are! Done in mixed media collage, the illustrations are winningly simple. They have a charming ease to them, especially the depiction of Squish, done in white with free black lines. The mixed media comes in with cut paper, fabrics, and watercolors that give great texture and color.
Highly recommended, this is a superb picture book that small children will relate to and that is also beautiful and stylish. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from copy received from Viking.
Waking Brain Cells 