The Carrot War

Everyone knows that carrots are serious business for rabbits, and in this action-packed first book Norman shows how far some bunnies go when their crop is raided. One morning the Rabbits wake to find a trail of their carrots leading to Fort Hare, home of the greedy Horrible Hares and their ruler Black Ear, an obese cotton-tailed dictator who tortures his subjects by tickling their feet with a feather. Understandably perturbed, the ordinarily passive Rabbits carve a ``Trojan Carrot'' out of a tree trunk and with it invade the fort. This book plays into kids' own fantasies of building forts and staging mock-violent battles; Fort Hare is shown in magnificent bird's-eye perspective so that readers can watch the Hares stash their loot and arm their carrot-catapult. Like miniature soldiers in a diorama, many rabbits appear on each page, and their activities prove diverting. Even parents reluctant to promote such militaristic behavior cannot fail to see humor in the giant carrot and distinctly unbunnylike behavior. Ages 4-8. (May)