The Rabbit with the Sky Blue Ears

When the rabbit with sky-blue ears realizes that no one else has ears like his, his embarrassment is so great that he runs away. To cover them up, he dons, in turn, the hats of a chimney sweep, a chef, a gardener, a clown and a tramp, and learns several new trades in the process. Every time his hat falls off, however, he succumbs to humiliation and accepts the laughter of others. Then the rabbit realizes that it is his embarrassment about his ears, and not the ears themselves, that are causing him problems, and so he returns home. Simply by appearing confident and comfortable, the rabbit faces all those who have laughed at him, and this time, no one utters a word. The commendable message of this tale is helped along by Obrist's elegant illustrations. Using skewed perspectives in each carefully composed painting, the artist gives what could have been an ordinary story an extra, witty dimension. No ages given. (Mar.)