Hare is old; as Baguley (Meggie Moon
) puts it, “Once, he had leaped and pranced under the magical moon, but time had made him gray and stiff and he no longer danced.” But while he may not be as nimble as he once was, Hare remains ever-alert to the wonders of his lushly depicted woodland home, especially the bird song. One feathered musician in particular touches his heart: a small robin with a “berry-bright breast” (which Macnaughton makes almost tangibly downy). Robin never speaks, but she clearly has affection for her aged friend, for when all the other birds migrate for the winter, she stays behind to serenade him. The story rather dutifully offers readers a dramatic turning point in the form of a howling winter snowstorm, after which Hare can’t find the bird (hence the title). But the incident ends up feeling like something of a red herring. What drives this book is sweetness; author and artist offer a child-friendly, understated meditation on the pleasures of unlikely bonds, and the joy that music brings to both performer and audience. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)
