A rhyming romp of a tale about a badger and a band of bunnies.
Lavinia the badger loves vegetables and tends her garden with care, but one morning she discovers that her lettuce has been nibbled and her potatoes and beans have disappeared! She decides to set a snare for the culprit, who turns out to be a frightened bunny. When Lavinia threatens to turn him into stew, the bunny pleads for his life, promising a rich reward if she lets him go.
The next night, when the moon rises, Lavinia is amazed to see dozens and dozens of bunnies in her garden, carrying banjos, bassoons, harps, ukuleles, trumpets, bagpipes, fifes and drums. Night after night, the bunnies play enchanting music, and Lavinia’s vegetables grow and grow and grow. At the end of the season, Lavinia lays her table with a wonderful vegetable feast for the bunny band, who promise they’ll return in the spring.
Once again, Bill Richardson and Roxanna Bikadoroff bring us a story full of old-fashioned charm and humor — a pure delight.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
A rhyming romp of a tale about a badger and a band of bunnies.
Lavinia the badger loves vegetables and tends her garden with care, but one morning she discovers that her lettuce has been nibbled and her potatoes and beans have disappeared! She decides to set a snare for the culprit, who turns out to be a frightened bunny. When Lavinia threatens to turn him into stew, the bunny pleads for his life, promising a rich reward if she lets him go.
The next night, when the moon rises, Lavinia is amazed to see dozens and dozens of bunnies in her garden, carrying banjos, bassoons, harps, ukuleles, trumpets, bagpipes, fifes and drums. Night after night, the bunnies play enchanting music, and Lavinia’s vegetables grow and grow and grow. At the end of the season, Lavinia lays her table with a wonderful vegetable feast for the bunny band, who promise they’ll return in the spring.
Once again, Bill Richardson and Roxanna Bikadoroff bring us a story full of old-fashioned charm and humor — a pure delight.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Sep 6, 2018 |
Specifications | 32 pages | 8.25 in x 8.25 in |
Keywords | sharing; neighborhood and community; woodland animals; stories in verse; poetry for children; unexpected friendship; harvest; music; animals; friends and friendship issues; fairness; cooperation; forgiveness; figurative language; rhyme; summarizing; determining importance; Common Core aligned; CC Literature Key Ideas and Details; CC Literature Craft and Structure; grade 1; grade 2; picture book; humor; |
Written By |
BILL RICHARDSON, winner of Canada’s Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, and former radio host, has written several highly acclaimed books for children. They include The Aunts Come Marching, illustrated by Cynthia Nugent, winner of the Time to Read Award; After Hamelin, winner of the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award; and The Alphabet Thief, illustrated by Roxanna Bikadoroff, named among New York Library's Best Books for Kids. Bill lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
Illustrated by |
ROXANNA BIKADOROFF’s illustrations have been published internationally for more than twenty-five years. She has won numerous awards, many of them National Magazine Awards, including Best Illustration (Gold). She recently collaborated with Bill Richardson on a collection of poems for adults as well as on her first children’s book, The Alphabet Thief. Roxanna lives in Vancouver. |
Written By |
BILL RICHARDSON, winner of Canada’s Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, and former radio host, has written several highly acclaimed books for children. They include The Aunts Come Marching, illustrated by Cynthia Nugent, winner of the Time to Read Award; After Hamelin, winner of the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award; and The Alphabet Thief, illustrated by Roxanna Bikadoroff, named among New York Library's Best Books for Kids. Bill lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
Illustrated by |
ROXANNA BIKADOROFF’s illustrations have been published internationally for more than twenty-five years. She has won numerous awards, many of them National Magazine Awards, including Best Illustration (Gold). She recently collaborated with Bill Richardson on a collection of poems for adults as well as on her first children’s book, The Alphabet Thief. Roxanna lives in Vancouver. |
Audience | ages 4 to 7 / grades K to 2 |
Reading Levels |
Guided Reading M
Lexile AD590L Fountas & Pinnel Text Level M |
Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 |
“. . . plenty of small details for children to study. Singsong-y and sweet.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[A] rhyming story of theft, mercy and enchantment illustrated with quirky good humor by Roxanna Bikadoroff.” —Wall Street Journal
“This fun rhyming text is a great, read-aloud choice . . .” —School Library Journal