Connie Fletcher (Booklist, May 15, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 18))
Mouse, the narrator who flies a red and yellow biplane, tells listeners that his friend Rabbit "means well," but that trouble always follows him. Then comes a smart, sassy object lesson on how much trouble Rabbit brings. The fun of this is in the spacing and sequencing of the heavily ink-outlined drawings. After Rabbit has thrown Mouse's beloved biplane into a tree, one full page consists of tiny Mouse staring up, ink accents marking his exasperation. On the facing page, Rabbit darts off, promising a solution. The next double-spread shows an anxious Mouse as Rabbit drags one enormous tail into view. The space fills with a massive elephant. Then Rabbit pulls in, among others, a rhino, a reindeer, and a duck (followed, of course, by ducklings). Now, the two-page spread must be turned vertically to reveal a giant pyramid of animals, topped by a squirrel holding Mouse, who reaches for the biplane--then the mass topples. Rage-filled beasts turn on Rabbit. Mouse, flying in on his recovered plane, saves Rabbit from their clutches and claws. Tremendous physical humor delivers a gentle lesson about accepting friends as they are. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2002, Millbrook/Roaring Brook, $15.95, $22.9. Ages 4-8.

Leah Hanson (Children's Literature)
My friend Rabbit means well. But whatever he does, wherever he goes, trouble follows." So begins little Mouse's simple tale of an endearing friendship with a precocious rabbit. When a toy airplane gets stuck in a tree, Rabbit assures his friend that he has a rescue plan. Unfortunately, that plan involves an elephant, a rhinoceros, a hippo and various other animals, teetering on one another to create an animal ladder. In a colorful tumble of animals, readers quickly guess how Rabbit's plan goes awry. But never fear, Mouse comes to the rescue, because, after all, "Rabbit means well. And he is my friend." With a minimum of words and captivating hand-colored relief prints, Rohmann spins a timeless tale of true friendship. The jacket illustration of a mouse and rabbit joyfully walking side by side typifies the essence of friendship: simply loving people for who they are. This picture book would be right at home in preschool and kindergarten classrooms, offering young children an accessible introduction to making and being friends. 2002, Roaring Brook Press, $22.90. Ages 3 to 6.

Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
You can pretty much guess the story from the first page in My Friend Rabbit. The narrator, a small brown mouse, tells us that his friend Rabbit, "means well. But whatever he does, wherever he goes, trouble follows." After Rabbit launches mouse's airplane into a tree, he drags a cast of creatures ten times his size into a ridiculous pile. Then he mounts the animal mountain to retrieve mouse's plane. Unlike many Caldecotts, this year's award honors a book for young children. And Rohmann got it right in terms of this audience. Rabbit has the silly slapstick humor that young listeners find sublime. A three-year-old will giggle when rabbit hauls the huge elephant, or hoists the fat purple hippo. In this book of few words, the "trouble follows" line is repeated three times, giving young children a place to participate. In terms of illustration, the colored wood-block prints are simple, the backgrounds clear, and page layouts dramatize the story with interesting perspectives and compositions. You have to turn the book to view the climax, a vertical rendering of the pile of precariously balanced animals. The animals' faces lend a strong feeling tone. Thankfully, messages are buried in this book which accents humor instead of moral. But the pictures and words provide comfort for children viewed as troublesome, and offer a strong argument for sticking with colorful, unique playmates. 2002, Roaring Book Press, $15.95. Ages 3 to 6.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 8))
Best known for fluid, superbly realistic oil paintings, Rohmann (Prairie Train, 1999, etc) switches to thick-lined colored woodcuts and a simpler pictorial style for this nearly wordless, engagingly wacky episode. After carelessly throwing little Mouse's airplane up into a tree, Rabbit finds a unique way to reach it. ("Not to worry, Mouse. I've got an idea!") Industrious, if not too practical, he drags in a reluctant bear, a crocodile, a purple hippo, and other animals, then stacks them atop a wobbly-legged elephant. Great is the inevitable fall thereof, but Mouse and airplane are reunited, and Mouse, being a true friend, swoops down to rescue Rabbit from the now-annoyed menagerie. Rohmann uses wordless, and sometimes even empty, frames to great comic effect, allowing huge animals to make sudden entrances from the side-or from above, and artfully capturing the expressions on their faces. Young readers and pre-readers will chortle at the silliness of it all while enjoying the sometimes-demanding friendship between these disparately sized chums. 2002, Roaring Brook/Millbrook, $15.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 7. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2002)
When narrator Mouse’s well-meaning but trouble-prone friend Rabbit gets Mouse’s airplane stuck in a tree, his solution (a precarious tower of reluctant animals that almost reaches the airplane) causes even more problems. The book is visually exciting--Rohmann’s hand-colored relief prints make fresh and innovative use of picture book space--and broadly humorous. Category: Picture Books. 2002, Millbrook, 32pp, $15.95, $22.90. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Sally Meyers (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 15, No. 4))
This 2003 Caldecott winner is about friendship. Rabbit is very overbearing. Mouse is very accepting. The opening text sums up the story: "My friend Rabbit means well. But whatever he does, wherever he goes, trouble follows." After Rabbit flies mouse's new toy plane into a tree, with mouse tumbling to the ground, Rabbit drags a reluctant group of animals, including Elephant, Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, Deer, Alligator, Bear, Duck, Ducklings, and Squirrel to build an "animal pyramid" to the tree branch to retrieve the plane. The pyramid topples, and the animals are not happy. Mouse says, "Rabbit means well," and they fly off in the plane together only to land on the tree limb once more. Double-page, hand-colored relief prints bring this simple story to life. Eric Rohmann's characters portray the frustrations of accepting friends just the way they are. Fiction. Grades Preschool-1. 2002, Roaring Brook, Unpaged, $17.17. Ages 2 to 7.