The Rabbit Problem

How does 1+1 = 288? A family of rabbits soon supplies the answer in this funny story! Hop along to Fibonacci's Field and follow Lonely and Chalk Rabbit through a year as they try to cope with their fast expanding brood and handle a different seasonal challenge each month, from the cold of February to the wet of April and the heat of July. This extraordinary picture book is packed with gorgeous details and novelty elements including a baby rabbit record book, a carrot recipe book and a surprise pop-up ending.

School Library Journal

Gr 1 5—If a pair of rabbits is put together under certain conditions ("NO Rabbits may leave the field"), how many will there be in one year? This puzzle, posed by Fibonacci in the 13th-century, is the premise for Gravett's latest work. The cover depicts a bemused rabbit calculating at a blackboard. The endpapers cast a wider view, with more of the problem shown visually and verbally. Readers follow a rabbit through an underground tunnel (title page) and emerge from a die-cut hole into a field—at the top of a calendar. As always, Gravett's design choices are perfect for enhancing the narrative. Now viewers turn the book lengthwise and watch the effects of the ever-multiplying bunnies in watercolor scenes on the top, while the hand-lettered notes and novelty items glued to the dates below reveal seasonal challenges. In March, while the stressed parents learn infant care, a baby book showcases a tiny ultrasound of the twins. July depicts bored bunnies watching carrots grow. A miniature newspaper (The Fibber) includes biographical information on the famous mathematician, personals, birth announcements, graphs, and horoscopes. Under an empty, snow-covered field and through the die-cut hole that follows December 31, a peek and a page turn reveal the population explosion leaping, literally, off the page in a sturdy pop-up spread. This hilarious (and accurate) tale can be enjoyed by the numerically challenged and gifted alike.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

Emily Gravett is the author and illustrator of The Rabbit Problem, Dogs, Spells, The Odd Egg, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal), Monkey and Me and Meerkat Mail. Her first book, Wolves, was the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Award for Illustration. Her second book, Orange Pear Apple Bear, a Quills Award finalist and on the shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. Emily lives in Brighton, England, with her partner, their daughter, and the family dog. Visit her at emilygravett.com.