My Friend Rabbit

Last updated
My Friend Rabbit
CM friend rabbit.jpg
The front cover of the book My Friend Rabbit
Author Eric Rohmann
IllustratorEric Rohmann
Cover artistEric Rohmann
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's picture book
Publisher Roaring Brook Press and Millbrook Press
Publication date
2002
Publication placeUnited States
Pages32 pages
ISBN 978-1-59643-080-8
Preceded by The Three Pigs  
Followed by The Man Who Walked Between the Towers  

My Friend Rabbit is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann and first published in 2002. The illustrations in the book earned Rohmann the Caldecott Medal in 2003. [1] My Friend Rabbit was adapted into an animated television series in 2007.

Contents

Description

My Friend Rabbit is a 32-page children's picture book, which follows the adventures of a mouse and a rabbit.

Rohmann used "thick-lined colored woodcuts" to illustrate his book. [2] The reader needs to turn the book sideways to look at one image properly, making "the climax [...] even more dramatic". [3] According to a reviewer in Booklist , the book's "[t]remendous physical humor delivers a gentle lesson about accepting friends as they are". [4]

Synopsis

A mouse loans his new airplane to his best friend, Rabbit, resulting in a series of troublesome events. When the airplane gets stuck in a tree, Rabbit gathers a group of animals in an attempt to retrieve it. The plan goes awry and the animals fall, causing them to become angry with Rabbit. Despite this, Mouse remains loyal to his friend and demonstrates the true nature of friendship. In the end, Rabbit comes up with a new idea to retrieve the airplane, leading to further adventures.

Television series

My Friend Rabbit
My Friend Rabbit title card.png
Genre Adventure
Animation
Comedy
Educational
Family
Directed byJason Groh
Voices of Peter Oldring
Richard Binsley
Theme music composerJohn Welsman
Cherie Camp
Opening themeWe Can Do it Together by Cherie Camp
Ending themeWe Can Do it Together (Instrumental)
ComposerJohn Welsman
Country of originCanada
No. of series2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producersEric Rohmann
Paul Robertson
Scott Dyer
Doug Murphy
ProducersLan Lamon
Jamie Piekarz
Animator 9 Story Entertainment
Running time30 minutes
Production company Nelvana Limited
Original release
Network Treehouse TV
Qubo
ReleaseOctober 4, 2007 (2007-10-04) 
2008 (2008)

In the autumn of 2007, Nelvana produced an animated children's television show based on My Friend Rabbit. [5] The program was recognized with several awards, including the Pulcinella Award for Best Preschool TV Series in 2008 and the Alliance of Children's Television Award for Best Preschool Series in 2009. The show was also nominated for three Gemini Awards in categories that included Best Direction, Best Musical Scoring, and Best Screenwriting. The nominees were Jason Groh for Best Direction,[ citation needed ] John Welsman for Best Musical Scoring, and Steve Westren for Best Screenwriting. Ultimately, Steve Westren won the award. [6]

This show aired on Qubo (first on the programming blocks on NBC and Telemundo on October 4, 2007, and the network on October 6 and continued until July 25, 2020. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelvana</span> Canadian animation studio and entertainment company

Nelvana Limited is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment since 2000. Founded in July 1971 by Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith, it was named after Nelvana of the Northern Lights, the first Canadian national superhero, who was created by Adrian Dingle. The company's production logo is a polar bear looking at Polaris, the North Star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Rohmann</span> American childrens author and illustrator (born 1957)

Eric Rohmann is an American author and illustrator of children's books. He is a graduate of Illinois State University and Arizona State University. He won the 2003 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing My Friend Rabbit, and he was a runner-up in 1995 for Time Flies. Rohmann also won the Sibert Medal as the illustrator, for Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carole Boston Weatherford</span> American author and critic (born 1956)

Carole Boston Weatherford is an American author and critic. She has published over 50 children's books, primarily non-fiction and poetry. The music of poetry has fascinated Weatherford and motivated her literary career. She has won multiple awards for her books, including the 2022 Coretta Scott King Award for Author for her book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre. As a critic, she is best known for her controversial criticism of Pokémon character Jynx and Dragon Ball character Mr. Popo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Lionni</span> Dutch-Italian artist and childrens writer

Leo Lionni was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Born in the Netherlands, he moved to Italy and lived there before moving to the United States in 1939, where he worked as an art director for several advertising agencies, and then for Fortune magazine. He returned to Italy in 1962 and started writing and illustrating children's books. In 1962, his book Inch by Inch was awarded the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.

<i>Maisy</i> 1999 British TV series or programme

Maisy is a British preschool animated children's television series based on the book series of the same name by Lucy Cousins. The series aired for one season of 26 episodes, with each episode being made up of four segments. It won the British Academy Children's Award for Pre-School Animation in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qubo</span> Former childrens television network

Qubo was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel", associated website with games and programs available through video on demand, and a weekly programming block on Ion Television, along with Ion Life, later known as Ion Plus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Henkes</span> American author and illustrator (born 1960)

Kevin Henkes is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. As an illustrator he won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (2004). Two of his books were Newbery Medal Honor Books, Olive's Ocean in 2004 and The Year of Billy Miller in 2014. His picture book Waiting was named both a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book. It was only the second time any author has won that combination of awards.

<i>Elliot Moose</i> (TV series) 1999 multi-national TV series or program

Elliot Moose is an American-Canadian children's live-action-animated television series co-produced by Nelvana Limited for TVOntario and Télé-Québec. The series was developed by Jed MacKay and produced in association with PBS. It aired from September 6, 1999 until September 20, 2000, based on Andrea Beck's children's book series, Elliot Moose. 104 episodes were produced.

Dragon is a stop-motion-animated children's television series based on the books by best-selling children's author Dav Pilkey. A total of 78 episodes were produced and broadcast on Treehouse TV.

<i>Hondo & Fabian</i> 2002 childrens book by Peter McCarty

Hondo & Fabian is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Peter McCarty. It was released by Henry Holt & Co. in 2002 for ages 2-5. The book follows a day in the life of a dog, Hondo, and a cat, Fabian. Hondo goes on an adventure to the beach and Fabian stays at home with the baby. The story is told through minimal and simple present-tense text and complemented with warm and soft illustrations drawn in pencil and watercolor. Hondo & Fabian was very well received and was recognized with multiple awards including a Caldecott Honor. A sequel, Fabian Escapes, was released in 2007.

<i>Iggy Arbuckle</i> Television series

Iggy Arbuckle is an animated sitcom created by Guy Vasilovich, which aired on Teletoon in Canada from June 29 to October 10, 2007. Based on a comic strip from National Geographic Kids, the series focuses on a pig named Iggy Arbuckle, who happens to be a forest ranger, known in the series as a "Pig Ranger", and his best friend, a beaver named Jiggers. The plot involves Iggy's attempts to protect the environmental structure of the Kookamunga National Park, a fictional national park that takes place in a world of anthropomorphic animals. The series was produced by Blueprint Entertainment, in association with C.O.R.E. Toons and National Geographic Kids. Worldwide, it was distributed by Oasis International.

<i>The Lion & the Mouse</i> 2009 picture book by Jerry Pinkney

The Lion & the Mouse is a 2009 nearly wordless picture book illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. This book, published by Little, Brown and Company, tells Aesop's fable of The Lion and the Mouse. In the story, a mouse's life is a spared by a lion. Later, after the lion is trapped, the mouse is able to set the lion free. Adapting the fable, with the moral that the weak can help the strong, as a wordless picture book was seen as a successful way of overcoming the brief plot generally found in the source stories. While it was Pinkney's first wordless picture book, it was not the first time he had told the story, having previously included it in his Aesop's Fables, published in 2000. Pinkney, who had received five Caldecott Honors, became the first African American to win the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in this book. His illustrations were generally praised for their realism and sense of place. The cover illustrations, featuring the title characters but no text, drew particular praise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Heaton</span> Canadian screenwriter

Dennis Heaton is a Canadian screenwriter working in film and television. He formerly executive produced and show-ran The Order for Netflix. Other recent credits include executive producing and writing on Ghost Wars for SYFY and Netflix, executive producing and showrunning Motive on CTV/NBCU, Call Me Fitz, The Listener (CTV/NBC), JPOD (CBC), Blood Ties (Lifetime/Space) and the feature film Fido.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Rocco</span> American illustrator of book covers and childrens books

Christopher John Rocco, simply known as John Rocco is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books. He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He is the sole creator of some children's picture books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Klassen</span> Canadian writer and illustrator (born 1981)

Jon Klassen is a Canadian writer and illustrator of children's books and an animator. He won both the American Caldecott Medal and the British Kate Greenaway Medal for children's book illustration, recognizing the 2012 picture book This Is Not My Hat, which he also wrote. He is the first person to win both awards for the same work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candace Fleming</span> American childrens writer (born 1962)

Candace Groth Fleming is an American writer of children's books, both fiction and non-fiction. She is the author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize-honored The Family Romanov and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Brown (illustrator)</span> American writer and illustrator

Peter Brown is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's picture books. He won a Caldecott Honor in 2013 for his illustration of Creepy Carrots!

When You Trap a Tigeris a 2020 children's book by Tae Keller. The novel tells the story of a biracial girl, Lily, who learns about her heritage when her family moves in with Lily's Korean grandmother. The book was well received and won the 2021 Newbery Medal as well as the 2021 Asian/Pacific American Award for Children's Literature.

<i>Seven Blind Mice</i> 1992 childrens picture book by Ed Young

Seven Blind Mice is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Ed Young. Based on the Indian fable of the blind men and an elephant, the book tells the story of seven mice who, each day, explore and describe a different part of the elephant. It was well received by critics and received a Caldecott Honor for its illustrations.

<i>My Friend Rabbit</i> (TV series) 2007 Canadian TV series or program

In the autumn of 2007, Nelvana produced an animated children's television show based on My Friend Rabbit. The program was recognized with several awards, including the Pulcinella Award for Best Preschool TV Series in 2008 and the Alliance of Children's Television Award for Best Preschool Series in 2009. The show was also nominated for three Gemini Awards in categories that included Best Direction, Best Musical Scoring, and Best Screenwriting. The nominees were Jason Groh for Best Direction, John Welsman for Best Musical Scoring, and Steve Westren for Best Screenwriting. Ultimately, Steve Westren won the award.

References

  1. "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938 to present" (PDF). ala.org. Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023. 2003 Medal Winner: My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann (Roaring Brook Press/Millbrook Press)
  2. "Kirkus Reviews: My Friend Rabbit". Kirkus Reviews . Kirkus Media, LLC. May 19, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  3. Hinckley, Kristie (2017). "My Friend Rabbit". Children's Book and Media Review. 38 (6). Brigham Young University . Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  4. Fletcher, Connie. "My Friend Rabbit By Eric Rohmann". Booklist . American Library Association . Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  5. Ball, Ryan (April 12, 2007). "Nelvana Hops to MIPTV with Rabbit". Animation Magazine . Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  6. "24th Annual Gemini Awards Full List of Nominations & Winners" (PDF). Archived on the Wayback Machine . Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. Ball, Ryan (August 9, 2007). "qubo Adds Rabbit for Fall". Animation Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
Awards
Preceded by Caldecott Medal recipient
2003
Succeeded by