Maybelle, Bunny of the North

Maybelle is a young rabbit who lives in Homer, Alaska (and no, she can't see Russia from her house). Rather, debut author Patterson offers his serenely confident heroine as a guide to the seasons in a landscape where “the winter days are short and cold.... but the summer days are long and sunny.” With snow-covered mountains as her constant backdrop, Maybelle makes the most out of her environs: she sleds, sloshes through puddles, jauntily greets grownups around town (“Hiya”), wanders through fields of lavender fireweed in search of a moose (who keeps a safe distance) and snuggles with her dad as the cold gathers. Patterson's unassuming watercolor vignettes manage to be both winsome and reportorial, which gives them an intriguing staying power—this is one of those books capable of quietly working its way into a child's imagination and staying there. One quibble: Patterson can't seem to decide how old Maybelle is. On most of the pages, she's a self-reliant preschooler, while in others, she's still a baby who rides in a carriage and bathes in the sink. Ages 3–5. (Apr.)