THE TOUGH WINTER

Mr. Lawson's latest animal story takes the characters on The Hill through a humorous if hard three months and still proves he can personalize his animals without being in the least sentimental. Now the tale focusses on the Rabbit family- Uncle Analdas, crotchety and country-wise, Father who's often flustered despite flowery phrases, and Georgie who's still learning. They and Phewie the skunk, Willie the field-mouse and all the others are in a spot when the Folks who own the land move for the winter and a new mean Caretaker takes over but doesn't care. Fire, flood and famine follow but the animals pull through to be rewarded by the Folks' return in spring. And the reader's reward is Mr. Lawson's matchless description of incident, in words and pictures.