Rabbit and Owl have always lived in harmony: Rabbit liked to garden, Owl liked to look at his lovely view. Too Tall Houses is the story of how the good friendship between Rabbit and Owl is almost completely ruined when it turns into a ridiculous competition. I’m off to check out other books by this author-illustrator! This story makes for a really great read aloud story.Īnd Rabbit’s vegetables got me feeling very hungry for identical ones. It gets crazier and crazier for a while, it’s a wonderful friendship story, and I think most readers/listeners will really love it. It worked for me though, and I think it will appeal to most readers. The ending is sweet but maybe a bit too quixotic. The story is wonderful too, and has a moral about getting along with one another and being considerate of one another, and not trying to best one another. The expressiveness of Rabbit and Owl are priceless. I love how they take up entire pages, and how the text/story is placed over the pictures. They’re beautiful and interesting, and some are very amusing.

I’m not sure I’d have found it otherwise, at least not in the near future. Thank you to Goodreads friend Terri Lynn for alerting me to it. 'About this title' may belong to another edition of this title.I loved this book. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. This story about friendship and togetherness contains a great lesson without being didactic or moralizing and should be welcome in most collections.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Marino interjects a few humorous details throughout the story-the expressions of grumpy Owl getting watered by Rabbit or flying with a squashed tomato on his head are priceless. The animals are full of heartfelt emotions, from anger and frustration to happy contentment. Laid out in spreads, the illustrations feature impeccably detailed pencil drawings combined with sumptuously colored gouache backgrounds. With their dwellings in ruins, the former friends wisely decide that it is much better to join forces and build one small house, where they settle in harmony. When the houses become impossibly sky-high, cartoonishly looming over continents, a formidable wind blows them down. Angry Owl makes his abode taller, Rabbit follows suit, and a construction race ensues. Trouble starts when Rabbit's plants grow too tall, blocking Owl's vista.

Rabbit tends to his vegetable garden and Owl perches on the roof, gazing at the forest. K-Gr 2-Owl and Rabbit live side by side in two small huts.

Too Tall Houses by Gianna Marino