Et cetera : Library Book Review: Huge Harold

Huge Harold, Written and illustrated by Bill Peet

Reviewed by Connie Bennett, Vinton Public Library Clerk
Children's book
Easy; pictures!

     I first discovered Bill Peet when my oldest children were growing up in the seventies.  My personal favorite was The Caboose Who Got Loose, although I loved them all!  There are many other selections, and we read them all, repeatedly!  At the present time, Vinton Public Library has my favorite, as well as Cowardly Clyde, and three new acquisitions.  Jennifer and Josephine is a story about a cat and an old car;  Kermit the Hermit tells the tale of an old Hermit crab who repays a boy's kindness; and Huge Harold recounts the adventure of a very large and unusual rabbit!
     Some of the books are written in a rollicking rhyme format, while others are warm and delicious tales, complete  with wonderful drawings by the author.  In Huge Harold, a newborn bunny is predicted by his father to be tall, due to the size of his feet. As it turns out, Father knows best.  The opening lines read:

     "When Harold the rabbit was tiny and small
     His feet started growing and thats about all.
     "Oh, gracious!" his mother exclaimed in surprise. 
      They're two times too big for a rabbit your size!"
     "That's a sign," said his father, he'll grow to great heights."
     And Father's prediction turned out to be right!

     These books caught my children's attention, and the books were immediate favorites.  Share these books soon and often with the young people in your life!
               Published 1961 by Clarion Books
                an imprint of Harper Collins

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