Author: Ira Alice
Editors: Fiction-Atlas Press
Genre : Children’s book
The trouble came to Zippy’s family – his younger sister got sick. The little hare learned from his mother that medicine could only be taken from people. But what to do if hares are considered to be cowards? How to help a little hare? But Zippy decided to make a courageous step – to save his sister at all costs. Overcoming obstacles, the hare has not only proven that he can be brave but also showed true love for his closest ones.
[First Article of this blog to be writing directly in English instead of being translated from French, I really hope I don’t make any mistake]. Since the coronavirus situation isn’t improving and Macron just announced more time indoors, I wanted to read something that would take my mind of it, even for ten minutes. And guess what ? I received an adorable little message on Instagram, asking if I’d like to read this children’s book and review it on my blog. How could I say no ? That’s EXACTLY what I was looking for. And, best thing ever : it’s about a cute little bunny, named Zippy. And I read it during Easter. So yeah, perfect timing indeed !
« The cart creaked as if it had been cut to the heart »
At first, I was confused to see so much text. I really though that children’s books were filled with pictures and some sentences here and there, so when I opened the file I was like : « whut ? ». But it’s a really quick read (only 54 pages long) and the story is really interesting and well written. This is the kind of story that will make any kid love literature and reading. Most importantly, reading GOOD books. The kind of books that makes you question, and think, and love, and laugh, and cry, and fill you with too much love for fictional characters. THOSE books. So, Zippy. Well, it reminded me of a trailer I saw a long ago, for the movie « Peter Rabbit ». I didn’t see the movie in the end, but I did enjoy some of the jokes and landscapes. And Zippy reminded me of this trailer, with the whole « cabbage field » and the humanized rabbit thing. My heart truly broke when Zippy was told by his mom that he couldn’t find the medicine he needed for his sister because the « dangerous people » had it (it’s us by the way). I also laughed a bit when he said that when HE was sick, all his mom had to do what to gave him some carrot and he felt better. That cracked me up !
And then, the adventure started. Zippy, trying to make his sister feel better, meets Jumper the grasshopper on the way (can we just appreciate that the animal’s name ressemble their kind ? Like ZippY the bunnY, JumPER the grasshopPER…). It’s basically Zippy’s Jiminy Cricket. Then you have Snout the wild baby boar and he’s adorable. Then Ginger, the cat, who’s veeerryy fluffy, but also very cynical about everything. He’s like… The adult of the book. Always thinking everything is going to go sideways. And then Fleecy the sheep who’s just way to cute and adorable for my own sake. I hope the next book is about him because I love him way too much and he’s here for like two pages ! And in the end, like a Disney movie, everyone get his or her happy ending. I have to say, I think it would make a great Disney animated movie. The plot is simple, but filled with cute baby animals that totally could become moods at some point (the cynical cat, the scared little hare, the nonchalant sheep etc…) and there’s a great moral, teaching kids about the fact that being a « coward » isn’t really a thing because there always something or someone you’ll be taking a risk for.
« Cowardice can be overcome despite everything ! »
AND DID I TALK ABOUT THE DRAWINGS ? Of course, I did say there weren’t much of those. And it’s true. Mostly, there’s one every time a new character get introduced, just in case you don’t know which kind of animal the author is talking about (I have to say, I wasn’t sure what a wild boar was until I saw the drawing… Oups ?). So, the artist really did a fantastic job. All the animals look super cute, baby-like, with tiny smiles and great details and just make the whole story even better. I really regret that I had no children at home to read this story to, because I would have love to have a child’s feedback on it. But I spent a really nice time reading it, I couldn’t wait to talk about it afterwards and I couldn’t be happier that the author trusted me to review it. If you’re not sure what to read, READ IT.
Quelques mots en français, pour finir : C’est un livre pour enfants en anglais. Il n’y a pas vraiment plus simple au niveau du vocabulaire, l’histoire n’est pas très compliqué et il y a des dessins pour vous montrer les personnages, donc honnêtement si vous aimeriez commencer à lire en Anglais mais que vous ne savez pas par quoi commencer, c’est un très bon début. Il n’y a aucun honte à lire des romans pour enfants, personnellement j’adore ça, ça me détend et je passe une super journée par la suite !
