Squish Rabbit

by Katherine Battersby

Squish Rabbit is a book that is a perfect read for the youngest in your family because sometimes as adults, I guess we forget how big the world can seem when we were young and small. In mind of that, I recently drove slowly down the street where I grew up. It was a revelation. As an adult everything seemed so small. Driveways I roller-skated down as a child seemed unbelievably wide and steep. But as I looked at them that day through adult eyes, the driveways seemed narrow. And as for steepness, there was barely any elevation at all!

Well here in Katherine Battersby’s Squish Rabbit, Squish is decidedly at that same stage of life when being small and hard to see makes it seem as if life is passing you by. Everyone is busy with grown up things, so even Squish’s stories are ignored. Being lonely, Squish sews a friend literally out of blue plaid cloth but quickly finds this pretend friendship can only fill half the gap. Trees are nice too as potential friends, but somehow fall short of expectations.

How Squish in a moment of pique, kicks an apple and finds a friend, echoes the moment of discovery for each child when he or she finds someone to share and play with.

And when the friendship starts with a rescue, so much the better. Squish Rabbit is a gentle book for the shy child who longs to join the group, but may have trouble getting his feet wet or making the first awkward moves towards, “Wanna be friends?”

His persona can definitely help your child bridge the gap toward the first proffered open heart and hand.

Taking a first step in a big world where connections help us navigate life needs to begin at a very early age.

And making that transition from comfort toy to the human equivalent is a necessary uptick to ties of the human kind that can begin to bind us closer; one to another.

And Squish Rabbit can help make that transition for your young reader, a happy, playful and nurturing one.

Hey! Wanna be friends?