What Noise Does a Rabbit Make?

"All the other animals make very distinct sounds. What about rabbits?
In the still of the night, the meadow fills with rabbits, who nibble peacefully for hours. As the sun comes up, the farm rings out with noises. The rooster trumpets out a 'Cock-a-doodle-do, ' the horse neighs, the dog woofs, and so on. This causes a young bunny named Raggety-Taggle to wonder just what noise a rabbit makes. He tries thump-thumping with his foot, but this just attracts a predatory cat that nearly catches him. The chase wakes up the dog, who pursues the cat; it also stirs up the cows, the sheep, the horses, the pigs, the rooster and the farmer on his tractor. When the farmer blows his horn, all the animals stop short, tumbling into an awkward pile. All, that is, except Raggety-Taggle, who quietly runs all the way home. Later that night, as the sun goes down, the rabbits again fill the meadow, and Raggety-Taggle wonders 'just why anybody would ever want to make a noise at all.' The treatment of animals and their sounds is entirely predictable (if spelled with a British accent--the cat says, 'Miaow!'), but it's leavened with the sly lesson about the value of being quiet. Byrne's colors are bold, and his animals, drawn with an appealing simplicity, are apt for preschoolers.
Though far from startlingly original, it's good for a giggle or two." --Kirkus Reviews

"With lots of animal sounds and large, brightly toned illustrations, this British import will delight preschool crowds. Raggety-Taggle spends the hours before dawn with his aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters, silently nibbling the grass in the meadow. When the sun comes up, the farm below erupts with the morning noises, making the bunny wonder what sounds rabbits make. Thumping his feet attracts the cat and all of the rabbits scamper down their holes-except for Raggety-Taggle, who doesn't realize the danger and must run for his life. The ensuing chase goes all around the farm, causing a racket that is finally stopped by the angry farmer. That evening, safely back home, the bunny realizes that the quiet ways of rabbits suit him just fine. From the charming, rabbity endpapers to the bold spreads, this is one to add to the pantheon of farm stories for story or circle times." --School Library Journal

"This book begins and ends quietly, with Raggety-Taggle and his many rabbit relatives munching peacefully in the violet-and-gold meadow from dawn to dusk. In between, they hear many noises: the start-up 'Chu-chu-brrr-chug' of the farmer's tractor, noises of the adjoining farm--including the rooster's crowing, cows' mooing, and the sheep's 'Baa-baaaaaaaaaa!'--and so on. Raggety-Taggle begins to wonder what noises a rabbit makes. In thinking it over, he begins thumping his foot--and a nearby cat pounces. The colored-pencil cartoon characters then zig and zag past every animal shelter on the farm, and every animal joins in the chase, until Byrne presents a whole twisting train of charging animals, with the farmer's tractor as the caboose. The chaos ends in a huge pileup that children should enjoy deciphering. When Raggety-Taggle makes it back to the meadow, he is content with the silence. A charming barnyard animal story, spiced up by a surprisingly high-octane chase." --Booklist Online