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THE APRIL RABBITS by David Cleveland

THE APRIL RABBITS

By

Pub Date: Oct. 30th, 1978
Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

On his way to school on the first day of April, Robert sees a rabbit nibbling on a bush; and on the second he ""scared two rabbits across the road as he walked to his tuba lesson."" So far so good, but when on the third day Robert sees three rabbits in skirts dancing on the classroom windowsill, you begin to wonder. This goes on, alas, for 29 days, which add up to a disappointing lot of rabbits for those who had hoped that the first several sightings would lead to some kind of action or develop some continuity. On the 30th, Cleveland sends all 29 packing, suitcases in hand, and on the 31st gives Robert one day without a single rabbit before night comes and a hippopotamus follows him home. Meanwhile the rabbits' antics--eleven of them whizzing down Elm Street on skateboards; 15 in line ahead of Robert at the eye doctor's when his mother fears that he is seeing things; 28 roasting a giant head of lettuce at a campfire--are diverting enough to make this offbeat counting book worth considering.