The Flat Rabbit

August 4, 2014
Bittersweet subject matter is handled with dark Scandinavian wit as a scraggly cartoon dog and rat regard a flattened rabbit lying in the street. Author-illustrator Oskarsson, who hails from the Faroe Islands, is discreet about how the rabbit has arrived at her two-dimensional state, but her shocked expression and outstretched limbs make the scene funny rather than grisly. "I think she's from number 34," says the dog. "I've never talked to her, but I peed on the gate a couple of times, so we've definitely met." The rabbit's plight moves the dog and the rat to act. They carefully remove her from the road, and, after a night of hard work, produce a kite, tape her to it, and send her aloft: "The kite was now so high up in the air they almost couldn't see the rabbit on it anymore." The rat takes a turn on the kite with her, and the last image shows the town from above. It's a touching scene of liberation from gravity, Earth, and city livingâthough also a startlingly abrupt ending for the story. Ages 4âup.

Starred review from August 1, 2014
Upon seeing a flattened rabbit on the road, a dog and rat try to honor her in this secular story about compassion and respect. Walking along, a dog notices something; a rat stops, too. As they stare at a carcass in the street, a halting, awkward conversation ensues. Together, the dog and rat contemplate the rabbit's existence-and what to do for her now. With a plan in place, the two gently peel the rabbit off the road and bring her to the dog's house, where they work all night long. In the morning, they reveal a kite, with the rabbit attached. After much effort, the kite is airborne, and as it soars, they wonder if the rabbit is enjoying herself. Not sure of the answer, they let go, and the kite flies aloft, up and over the city. The artist's pencil, pen and watercolor illustrations are raw and spare. Done in a faded, pastel palette, they thoughtfully convey different perspectives from both the visual and narrative standpoints. Although they depict a gruesome subject (roadkill), there's nothing grotesque about the images. Spot illustrations on the left-side pages give context to the animals' environment or foreshadow events to come. Oskarsson offers a pleasing vision of the afterlife, as the dog and rat try to give the rabbit a gift-an experience it didn't have during its lifetime.As perfectly, honestly childlike in its approach as Margaret Wise Brown and Remy Charlip's classic The Dead Bird, this title should provoke both thought and discussion. (Picture book. 4-7)

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October 1, 2014

Gr 1-3-Spare illustrations by the author are the highlight of this quirky picture book dealing with the death of a neighbor. Pen-and-ink and watercolor pictures in blue and brown show a pot-bellied dog and a kinky-tailed rat contemplating a dead rabbit lying in the street, clearly flattened by a large vehicle. The two ponder what they should do with the dead animal: "Where could they move her? And what if somebody found her and ate her?" Deciding on a plan to send her to a better place, they tape her to a kite and sail her aloft. Readers might cringe as the rat and dog gently peel the dead rabbit, pink tongue lolling, off the pavement. Although the author may have intended to spark readers' compassion, the bizarre decision about what to do with the rabbit is odd and may have trouble finding an appreciative audience.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2014
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Plenty of people are going to want nothing to do with this book. Intrigued? The ostensible subject is icky but overdue: roadkill. A dog and rat come upon a dead rabbit in the street and, with the shrugging melancholy that often comes with such a sight, wonder about it. She is totally flat, the rat observes. They both recognize hershe is from apartment unit 42, they thinkand that's enough closeness to make them feel an obligation. After all, what if somebody found her and ate her? So they peel her from the pavement and, with the assiduous use of some doghouse tools, attach the rabbit to a kite. Yes, if sensitive readers (probably adults) haven't bailed yet, they might at the animals' curious, though weirdly tender, crucifixion-by-tape upon kite crossbars. Believe it or not, it's moving. Faroese author Oskarsson refuses to go zany, keeping his ruminative characters in arm's-length compositions that deny too much insight into their emotions. It's unusually corporealthat is a carcass they're toting aboutbut it's this very tactile wrestling with death that feels so honest. Do you think she is having a good time? the rat asks, looking up at the kite. Isn't this the question we all wonder? In a subtle, final flourish, the rabbit is gone from the kite. What happened? Says the dog, I don't know. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)