Two Hundred Rabbits

In the land of Jamais (inspired by medieval France),[3] a young boy wants to participate in his village's annual festival, but must find a special way to entertain the king to do so.[4] After an old lady recommends he make a "slippery-elm slide whistle", the boy summons a group of 199 rabbits from the nearby forest with it.[5] All of them—along with a traveler who has been following the boy all along[4]—march to the king's castle to delight him;[5] of the 200 in front of him, the traveler is revealed to be the narrator of the story.[1]

The premise of Two Hundred Rabbits was based on a dream that author Lonzo Anderson had after reading a French folk tale.[6] "My wife [Adrienne Adams] loves the story," he told The Courier-News in March 1968, "but while illustrating it, she rather plaintively wished it had fewer characters."[6] Anderson's childhood experiences during the turn of the 20th century would anticipate the creation of the book; he stated in 1972 that, owing to the time he spent unsupervised outdoors, "I grew up rather like a rabbit, barefoot, with the freedom to wander far and wide and learn about nature by being up to my chin in it."[7][8]

The tune the boy uses to summon the rabbits "is reminiscent of the music played by the Pied Piper. But this story has a different twist."[6] The twist at the end of the tale was also noted in a 1976 issue of the Language Arts journal: "It is told in the first person, but you are not sure until the final page who is telling the story."[9] As The New York Times noted eight years earlier, "[this is] probably the only fairy tale in existence told from a rabbit's eye view."[3]

Two Hundred Rabbits was published in early 1968 by Viking in the United States,[6] and by Macmillan in Canada.[2] During its original release (which coincided with Easter), Adams' illustrations were exhibited at the FAO Schwarz toy store in New York City.[6] As of 2023, the original publication elements are held among Anderson's papers in the Children's Literature Research Collections of the University of Minnesota Libraries,[10] and those of Adams in the de Grummond Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi.[11]

Two Hundred Rabbits received critical acclaim on its original print run. Its artwork was praised by Marc Drogin of Munster, Indiana's The Times;[12] Margaret H. Cone in a 1969 issue of Young Children;[13] and the staff of TIME magazine.[14] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books gave it an "R" ("Recommended") grade, declaring that "The writing style is brisk and unassuming; the illustrations are delightful in their depiction of the colorful scenes of fifteenth-century [settings]."[1] As Drogin opened his review, "Little kids should have a fine time with this, and you won't even mind reading it to them."[12] TIME called it "first-rate",[14] while Harriette Behringer of Chicago's Star newspapers wrote, "[Anderson and Adams] have written a delightful book...[which] has a special kind of charm for kindergarten and primary children."[15] For Regina, Saskatchewan's The Leader-Post, Kathleen Graham said, "The entertaining story and full-page colored illustrations combine to make this little story a distinctive one."[2]

Two Hundred Rabbits was also a selection of the Junior Literary Guild,[16] as well as an ALA Notable Book.[17] Adams also considered it one of her favorite projects as an illustrator.[11]

• Analysis at Slap Happy Larry