Summery: This is an adorable little story about two friends, Mouse and Rabbit, who seem to find trouble wherever they go. When Rabbit accidently gets Mouse's toy plane stuck in a tree, he comes up with a plan to get it down. He gathers a variety of animals--alligators, ducks, rhinos, and even squirrels--to stack up next to the tree so little Mouse can stand on top and get his plane back. This plan fails when the animal holding Mouse slips, and everyone falls. No one is happy with Rabbit, and they begin to chase him. Mouse comes flying to his rescue in the toy plane, and saves Rabbit. Rabbit is so grateful he hugs Mouse so tightly he crashes right back into the tree.

Reflection: I can't help but read this story and think about all the times my friends and I have gotten ourselves in trouble by putting a plan into motion that just got us into more trouble than we started out with. Mouse and Rabbit stick by each other's side and try to help one another, even in the worst of situations. This book reminds me, even in the simplest sense, how important friendship is.
As far as the illustrations...they are incredible. I think I spent more time looking at pictures than I did reading the words. The colors are bright, and you can almost feel the motion.

Extension ideas: I would have the children write about and draw their best friend. I'd perhaps play a game where a partner was involved and teamwork was required.

Mouse has a big friend full of good intentions, but he manages to get them or maybe himself, into lots of troubles. Every time something happens, Rabbit comes up with “great” ideas that works better to get him into more trouble. Eric Rohmann makes use of excellent images that speaks better than words to depict what Mouse and Rabbit is doing and/or planning, providing evidence to what is coming next.

The story of the friendship between a mouse and a rabbit and the calamities that occur when the rabbit tries to help the mouse remove his plane from a tree. ( )

This is a great fantasy because animals don't play with planes and stack on top of each other. Rabbit is a round character, because we first know that he causes trouble, and as the story progresses, we see him come up with an idea and carry it out. Of course, more trouble is caused, and we are left assuming that more and more trouble will continue to be caused. This is a great picture book for the little ones, and they will have a chance to describe what is happening on the pages with no text. The illustrations are incredible and vibrant.

Media: Acrylic paint?

This book is a great example of fantasy because the rabbit in the story carries animals such as hippo's, elephants and rhino's. We know that in real life these animals would not all interact, nor a little rabbit carry a large animal. The plot has a simple beginning, middle and end sequence. Rabbit gets his plane stuck in the tree. Then he has an idea to get it down, he starts recruiting the help of other very large animals. It is humorous as he stacks and stacks animals on top of each other to try to reach his plane. The rabbit and his friend mouse climb to the very top and try to retrieve it when the whole stack of animals collapses. The solution comes when the plane flies down from the big tumble. The theme of the story is that rabbit is mouse's friend even though he sometimes has silly ideas. The illustrations are great and even won a Caldecott medal. The media used in the pictures is ink and paint. Each page is encompassed with a black border that makes the pictures contrast and stand out. A fun book that will keep kids guessing at what is going to happen on the next page.