The Hare Who Wouldn't Share

by Steve Small, Steve Small (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Sharing is caring, but Hare doesn't think that's fair. The latest from the author of Brave Little Bear is best enjoyed out loud.

From internationally acclaimed picture book creator Steve Small comes an “entertaining...delightful” (Booklist, starred review) story of unexpected friendship and the happiness that sharing can bring.

Hare is proud of his turnip patch and doesn’t want to share it with anyone. When the rabbits move in nearby, they invite Hare for carrot soup but he’s much happier being alone. Still, when a huge boar comes to the woods in search of his next meal, Hare feels he should warn his neighbors. Can they find a way to help each other stay out of danger?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665972932
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	02/04/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Steve Small has worked in animation for over thirty years as a director, designer, and animator. The work has varied from working on Disney features to designing and directing shorts, TV series, and commercials. He’s the illustrator of I’m Sticking with You and the author and illustrator of The Duck Who Didn’t Like Water, Wellington’s Big Day Out, Brave Little Bear, and The Hare Who Wouldn’t Share. Steve lives in London, and when he’s not painting and drawing, you’ll likely find him feeding the crows on Blackheath Common.

Steve Small has worked in animation for over thirty years as a director, designer, and animator. The work has varied from working on Disney features to designing and directing shorts, TV series, and commercials. He’s the illustrator of I’m Sticking with You and the author and illustrator of The Duck Who Didn’t Like Water, Wellington’s Big Day Out, Brave Little Bear, and The Hare Who Wouldn’t Share. Steve lives in London, and when he’s not painting and drawing, you’ll likely find him feeding the crows on Blackheath Common.

Editorial Reviews

10/28/2024

In one word—“crotchety”—Small (Brave Little Bear) aptly describes the big, orange, scowling Hare who stars in this visually sumptuous fable. When a rabbit family moves into the woods, all the other animals help fill their cupboard except Hare, who won’t part with a single one of his beloved turnips. The rabbits later invite him to a neighborly party, and Hare wonders, “Why would these rabbits give away so much of something they had worked so hard for when they had so little?” Then the protagonist encounters Boar heading to eat the rabbits’ carrot crops, and the way the porcine creature looms over Hare and steals his turnips seems to rout the crotchetiness: Hare feels small, vulnerable, and immediately empathic to the rabbits’ pending plight. Hare helps the family hide their carrots, and in yet another striking image, huddles with them in the darkness of their burrow and cautions “Shhh...” as Boar’s snout protrudes through the entry. Hare’s selflessness costs him his entire turnip crop, but his compensation is considerable: he is embraced, for the first time, by the entire forest community—and learns to embrace others in return. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

*In entertaining, enjoyable fashion, this delightful read conveys a positive message about caring, sharing, and what it means to be good neighbors and friends.

2/1/25 - STARRED review Booklist

★ 2024-10-25
Hare is certain that sharing is pointless. Can anything cause a change of heart?

Turnips bring Hare great pleasure, and the cranky, enormous-eared orange creature greedily hoards them: “The more I give away, the less there is for ME.” When newly arrived rabbits inquire if Hare can spare some produce until they get settled, the protagonist doesn’t relent. Other animals pitch in, however, and the newcomers cook stew for all. Their generosity perplexes Hare: Why would anyone with such meager resources offer food to others? Small’s descriptive, third-person narrative contrasts well with the rhyming dialogue. His animation background shines through in clean compositions that are by turn whimsical (a stovetop espresso maker accompanies Hare during nighttime gardening stints) and dramatic. Set against black backgrounds, these nocturnal views showcase vibrant vegetation patterns and introduce danger in the form of a greedy boar who steals the turnips Hare is carrying. As the boar heads toward the rabbits’ carrot crop, Hare hatches a plan to foil the thief and save the day. The sight of the tip of the boar’s menacing snout pushed into the rabbit warren as the new friends cower together is a cinematic marvel. Hare’s transformation is believable, and although our hero’s selflessness results in an empty turnip patch, what the character gains more than compensates.

Giving has never been so gratifying.(Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews