The Rescue Rabbits

A quartet of rabbit first responders handle emergencies with ingenuity, aplomb, and an array of their own branded products in this picture book sendup. When Edgar Elephant gets a thorn in his foot, the Rescue Rabbits extract it by elevating him in their Rescue Rabbits Super-Excavator. When ducklings need to cross the road, the do-gooders block the crosswalk with their Rescue Rabbits Limo. But Prince Rex the Rhino presents the team with a trifecta of troubles after breaking his royal mother’s ant farm—as Seltzer (Arf! Buzz! Cluck! A Rather Noisy Alphabet) recounts, Rex has “ants in his royal pants and chopsticks up his royal nose, AND he’s stuck up a tree.” With a comic focus on the bunnies’ branded goods, including their rabbit-shaped HQ, Garrigue’s (Princess Kevin) digital cartooning efficiently builds tension surrounding this mother of all rescue missions (which involves Prince Rex’s mother in a key role), while trotting out such inventions as Rescue Rabbits Monogrammed Hankies and the Rescue Rabbits Super-Chopper 9000. Readers will see in these pages a gentle spoof of cartoons and blockbusters that include endless product tie-ins, but the story also offers an amusing tribute to competency-themed pretend play. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Claire Easton, Painted Words. (Nov.)