BEYOND THE BRAMBLE THICKET

In McDonald’s illustrated children’s book, a rabbit and a fox become unlikely friends and must face a mutual enemy.

Cottontip, a young rabbit, has always been warned to stay out of the forest bordering his meadow home. The warning is rooted in a dubious tale about bloodthirsty foxes spread by his late grandfather. Cottontip is skeptical: As small prey animals, the meadow folk must stay alert in their daily life, he knows, but they “don’t avoid the riverbank for fear of drowning, or the sky for fear of owls and eagles. So why avoid the forest?” When Cottontip does venture into the forest, he encounters a curious, bouncy young vixen named May and her family. Cottontip is moved by their hospitality and by May’s gift of a “grace,” a token of safe passage she makes from cedar wood and a tuft of her own fur, and their meeting becomes the catalyst for profound change in the meadow. In this thoughtful coming-of-age tale, communication and like-minded feelings about home, family, and friendship outweigh natural instincts that divide predator and prey. (The animals’ natural environment is woven into a fantastical yet believable world in which flat caps and scarves are common critter outerwear, and the animals work as anglers, foragers, traders, woodcarvers, and healers.) When a pack of renegade wolves threatens forest and meadow dwellers alike, a volunteer army of foxes, rabbits, otters, birds, chipmunks, and other species goes on the offensive—the creatures are handy with “fishing spears, porcupine quill daggers, and the like,” and they make clever use of spider egg sacs, vine traps, and collapsing tunnels. McDonald’s yarn is distinguished by creative worldbuilding, high-stakes action, and relatable characters. The author avoids graphic violence but doesn’t sugarcoat the battle or its emotional toll; there are injuries and losses, and in the aftermath, the lives of many are forever changed. For Cottontip, claiming his independence as an adult means a moving, bittersweet goodbye to childhood.

A lively, warmhearted children’s story.