To rebuild their broken family, a pair of audacious tween cousins must confront the long-buried secrets that destroyed it in this upper middle grade novel told from dual perspectives.
Twelve-year-olds Alice and Bee are practically strangers when their grandparents’ anniversary party reunites their estranged families and ignites their own fast friendship.
But their reunion doesn’t last long—Bee’s mother and grandfather are dead set on keeping the liberal Seattle faction of the family away from the conservative Minnesota crew. “It’s complicated,” the grown ups tell them over and over (and over!) again.
Bee and Alice grow closer despite their geographical distance, determined to keep their friendship going—and to uncover the big family secret. What happened all those years ago, and why did it tear their family apart?
Just when they've started to make progress, the COVID pandemic strikes. Bee and Alice watch as the world shuts down and their loved ones grow further divided along their fractured lines. Somehow, it’s up to the twelve-year-olds to clean up the mess that the grown ups have made.
This powerful, timely story cuts deep, touching on recent historic events and intimate family details alike. With an age-appropriate approach, Rabbit Rabbit tackles religion, sexuality, bodily autonomy, and other juicy stuff you're not supposed to talk about at Thanksgiving.
Readers will fall headfirst for Alice and Bee as the unforgettable tweens make space for their friendship and shifting identities while standing up to their far-from-perfect family, with all the love and grace they can muster.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Relatable, age-appropriate, and more important now than ever. —Kirkus Reviews
It offers readers excellent opportunities for debate and meaningful discussion on a wide variety of topics, particularly in a classroom setting. Ultimately, the story’s message to respectfully communicate and be open-minded regardless of one’s personal beliefs is a lesson worth learning. —Booklist
Alice and Bee tackle heavy topics with care, respect, and persistence—while their discussions about abortion, sexuality, race, and religion can be prickly and difficult, the cousins always loop back to patience and honesty. Their meaningful connection, forged through affection, grief, and a determination to be a better model of family than their own mothers were, evolves authentically, and their friendship is one that readers will likely become deeply invested in. —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
[A] powerful and often funny exploration of a scenario that has become all too common. Butler and Bacon show how a little curiosity and a lot of determination might be the key to healing even the deepest of rifts. RabbitRabbit is bold and sensitive and spotlights the necessity of compassion, inquisitiveness, and openness. —Shelf Awareness
Dori Hillestad Butler is the author of more than 55 books for young readers including the two-time Geisel Honor award winning King & Kayla series, Edgar award winning Buddy Files series, the Treasure Troop series, the Dear Beast series, and the Haunted Library series. She grew up in southern Minnesota, spent 19 years in Iowa, and now lives in the Seattle area.
Sunshine Bacon was born a lover of stories in Ohio’s only square county. She read books to escape her unhappy childhood and began writing to create everything she craved: big families, adventures, and unconditional friendship. Sunshine has published two YA novels. She lives in Seattle with her partner, three growing children, bulging bookshelves, toppling stacks of tabletop games, and the scent of something delicious baking in the oven.
To rebuild their broken family, a pair of audacious tween cousins must confront the long-buried secrets that destroyed it in this upper middle grade novel told from dual perspectives.
Twelve-year-olds Alice and Bee are practically strangers when their grandparents’ anniversary party reunites their estranged families and ignites their own fast friendship.
But their reunion doesn’t last long—Bee’s mother and grandfather are dead set on keeping the liberal Seattle faction of the family away from the conservative Minnesota crew. “It’s complicated,” the grown ups tell them over and over (and over!) again.
Bee and Alice grow closer despite their geographical distance, determined to keep their friendship going—and to uncover the big family secret. What happened all those years ago, and why did it tear their family apart?
Just when they've started to make progress, the COVID pandemic strikes. Bee and Alice watch as the world shuts down and their loved ones grow further divided along their fractured lines. Somehow, it’s up to the twelve-year-olds to clean up the mess that the grown ups have made.
This powerful, timely story cuts deep, touching on recent historic events and intimate family details alike. With an age-appropriate approach, Rabbit Rabbit tackles religion, sexuality, bodily autonomy, and other juicy stuff you're not supposed to talk about at Thanksgiving.
Readers will fall headfirst for Alice and Bee as the unforgettable tweens make space for their friendship and shifting identities while standing up to their far-from-perfect family, with all the love and grace they can muster.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Praise
Relatable, age-appropriate, and more important now than ever. —Kirkus Reviews
It offers readers excellent opportunities for debate and meaningful discussion on a wide variety of topics, particularly in a classroom setting. Ultimately, the story’s message to respectfully communicate and be open-minded regardless of one’s personal beliefs is a lesson worth learning. —Booklist
Alice and Bee tackle heavy topics with care, respect, and persistence—while their discussions about abortion, sexuality, race, and religion can be prickly and difficult, the cousins always loop back to patience and honesty. Their meaningful connection, forged through affection, grief, and a determination to be a better model of family than their own mothers were, evolves authentically, and their friendship is one that readers will likely become deeply invested in. —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
[A] powerful and often funny exploration of a scenario that has become all too common. Butler and Bacon show how a little curiosity and a lot of determination might be the key to healing even the deepest of rifts. RabbitRabbit is bold and sensitive and spotlights the necessity of compassion, inquisitiveness, and openness. —Shelf Awareness
Author
Dori Hillestad Butler is the author of more than 55 books for young readers including the two-time Geisel Honor award winning King & Kayla series, Edgar award winning Buddy Files series, the Treasure Troop series, the Dear Beast series, and the Haunted Library series. She grew up in southern Minnesota, spent 19 years in Iowa, and now lives in the Seattle area.
Sunshine Bacon was born a lover of stories in Ohio’s only square county. She read books to escape her unhappy childhood and began writing to create everything she craved: big families, adventures, and unconditional friendship. Sunshine has published two YA novels. She lives in Seattle with her partner, three growing children, bulging bookshelves, toppling stacks of tabletop games, and the scent of something delicious baking in the oven.
