Review by Booklist Review
This comic but meaningful story about selfishness and generosity contains only three words: mine, ours, and yours. Center stage in a wintry forest is one very big carrot. Two bunnies sled down a hill and spot this carrot, just visible within a stray top hat. Together, they tug it out of the hat, but once the carrot is out, a double-page spread does a close-up of the bunnies at either end of the prize, both saying, Mine. Chase scenes and tugs-of-war ensue, with the grab fest expanding to the two bunnies pitted against a very large rabbit, each laying claim to the carrot. Then a group of tiny bunnies intercepts the vegetable, shouting, Ours! The epic fight ends beneath the shadow of a sad snowman, who has lost his carrot nose. The resolution, in which the bunnies give the snowman back his nose Yours! hits a joyous note. The illustrations feature bright acrylics and emphatic typefaces for the three words. Jin's debut is a ridiculous romp and a positive lesson in sharing.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
On a snowy hill, two rabbits find a carrot tucked inside a top hat and immediately begin fighting over it, flinging "Mine!" back and forth like it's a tennis ball at Wimbledon. A huge gray bunny joins the fray, dropping in some "Mines" of its own, followed by a band of five little rabbits who mix things up by insisting that the carrot is "Ours!" When the real owner of the hat and carrot appears (one whose identity readers may have already guessed based on where the carrot was found), altruism proves stronger than hunger or winner-takes-all competitiveness. Illustrator Jin (the Little Monkeys board book series) nails the ending of her first outing as author: the final spread has a dash of dark humor, while simultaneously enforcing the value of delayed gratification. She also impressively varies her compositions from intense close-ups to comics-style framings. But there's little dynamism in her action, and her rabbits are all cut from the same emotional cloth-there isn't much distinguishing the initial two rabbits from each other, let alone the ones that follow. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-The title sums up this nearly wordless story about two carrot-coveting bunnies. While sledding one winter day, the two furry friends come across a top hat and a carrot in a snowbank. As they battle over possession of the veggie, other bunnies are drawn in and an all-out snowball fight ensues. It isn't until they find a sad, noseless snowman that they work together to return the tasty tuber to its rightful place. After a story made up entirely of the word mine, the words yours and ours are welcome and make a subtle but meaningful point. That is, until the final spread shows a small bunny sneaking back to a melted puddle and taking back the carrot. Jin's artwork and clever use of three words will appeal to both storytellers and listeners alike and will certainly spark discussion about sharing. While her approach is refreshing, given the typical crop of didactic behavior books, some may find the resolution a bit hard to swallow. For those, Samantha Berger's Martha Doesn't Share (Little, Brown, 2010) has wide appeal and addresses the issue without being heavy-handed. VERDICT An additional purchase.-Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Recalling the ultra-minimalist picture books of Jez Alborough and others, Jin uses the words "mine," "ours," and "yours," plus a smattering of punctuation marks, to tell the story of infighting among rabbits competing for possession of a single carrot. Jin's gouache and watercolor-pencil illustrations present expansive snowy mountain scenes in which a noseless snowman inadvertently brings together the feuding bunny factions. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A minimalistic, humorous tale about competitive bunnies, a carrot, and the notion of sharing. During a nice morning in wintertime, two bunnies riding on a red sleigh encounter a black top hat with a carrot inside. Through a series of illustrations, they are shown shouting "Mine! Mine!" to each other while fighting over the carrot. After a vigorous action sequence in which each fights for the carrot, they lose it, and a big bunny and five little bunnies appear to add competition over the much-desired carrot. It is when a morose, noseless snowman enters this scene of covetous chaos that bunnies and young readers are challenged with the concepts of possession, sharing, and ownership. In this debut picture book, Jin tells the story with only three words: the possessive pronouns "mine," "ours," and "yours." The textual simplicity results in a story that is heavily reliant on the pastel-hued acrylic illustrations, the emotions conveyed with crystalline clarity through facial expressions, page composition, and pacing. This nondidactic story is a natural for collections about sharing, effectively softening the natural tendency toward possessiveness of most living things through its sweet illustrations. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
