{My thoughts} – Cynthia Lord has done it again. She is a brilliant writer when it comes to stories that include animals. I have read her Pet Squad Series in the past and loved it. When I saw this book was coming out I just had to have it. I am definitely not disappointed.

Emma is a sweet girl that has been home-schooled her entire life. Now she is about to start the 5th grade and has decided that she would rather go to a real school. The night before her first day of school her dad and her rescue a trapped rabbit. The rabbit instantly bonds with her.

When Emma has her first day of school all she can do is hope that it turns out alright and then when she gets home her and her dad are suppose to take the rabbit to the local shelter. Her first day doesn’t really go as great as she would have liked, but she does try to make the best of it, since it’s a huge learning experience for her. Once she gets home she’s quickly reminded that the rabbit has to go to the shelter.

Emma and her dad go to the shelter and find out that no one is looking for the rabbit, so she ends up taking it home and keeping it. Her dad agrees she can take care of it until it’s owners are found. At this point however, she is extremely attached to the rabbit and doesn’t want to consider it not being with her. She continues going to school and continues to struggle with the social ladder.

I think this is a great book for any child that is starting their first day of school. Even if it isn’t because they had been home-schooled in the past. The first day of school can be scary and challenging and hard on any child. I remember what a couple of my first days were like and I had just as rough a time as Emma did within the pages of this book. I also was very dependent on my animals for comfort as I was growing up, I think that is normal for any child. An animal always knows exactly how you feel and exactly what you need in order to feel better when things feel really bad.

I can’t wait to read this book with my younger daughters. I also look forward to having my older three read it and seeing what they think about it. Hopefully they won’t be asking for a pet rabbit once they are through reading it! ( )

1. Written by Newbury Honor-winning author Cynthia Lord
2. Recommended for rabbit lovers that are looking for an intermediate-leveled text
3. While this story is a work of fiction, there are some educational facts about rabbits and other animals sprinkled in the story
4. Neurodiversity representation through Jack's character - Jack has highly sensitive senses, knows a lot of interesting facts about animals, and works with an aide at school. Jack's disability was never named in the story, but that's okay - he does not need to be labeled. However, in the author's note, Lord mentions that her son has autism, so that he may have inspired Jack's character
5. I can make a personal connection to this book because my family adopted a bunny this past Christmas. There were many anecdotes from this story that I related to my bunny Morris - similarly to Emma's bunny Lapi, Morris chins items that he claims as his, he binkies when he is excited, and he stands on his hind legs when he wants something that is up high. Because of my background knowledge on rabbits, I was able to clearly picture the descriptions that the author wrote about in this book. ( )

I think this book has broad appeal, both boys and girls in the targeted age range can appreciate the characters and their struggles and triumphs. I love the multi-generational family aspect brought in by the grandfather's tales, how his love and stories still have impact on Emma and her family. I appreciated the way Jack was written and loved his friendship with Emma. A sweet but real-feeling story. ( )

Altogether, I think this is a fine book, and probably extremely appealing to 3rd-5th graders. I found Emma a bit hard to relate to -- not sure if it was the reader/audiobook format or not. I liked the inclusivity of the book, the homeschooling to school background the cute bunny and the lessons. It all just felt quite heavy handed to me. ( )