From Goodreads,"On the last night of summer, Emma tags along with her game warden father on a routine call. They're supposed to rescue a wild rabbit from a picket fence, but instead they find a little bunny. Emma convinces her father to bring him home for the night.
The next day, Emma starts public school for the very first time after years of being homeschooled. More than anything, Emma wants to make a best friend in school.
But things don't go as planned. On the first day of school, she's paired with a boy named Jack for a project. He can't stay on topic, he speaks out of turn, and he's obsessed with animals. Jack doesn't fit in, and Emma's worried he'll make her stand out.
Emma and Jack bond over her rescue rabbit. But will their new friendship keep Emma from finding the new best friend she's meant to have?"
Goodreads - Because of the Rabbit
I've had this book on my "To Read" list for quite some time. I was lucky enough for Scholastic to send me this book some months ago as a preview for being a Golden Apple Teacher. I love books that have animals in them because almost everyone can relate in some way, shape, or form. Most people have had an interaction with an animal or had a pet of their own. This book had exactly the same premise with the excitement of friendship in it.
Because of the Rabbit is about a girl named Emma who has been homeschooled up until fifth grade when she decides to give public school a chance. The night before school starts her game warden father is called about a rabbit stuck in a fence. Emma goes with him and immediately falls in love with the rabbit. The next day at school Emma realizes that school is hard and making friends is even harder. A boy named Jack tries to be her friend, but Emma soon realizes he is seen as different by the other students. Emma soon has to decide if she wants to be a true friend or if she just wants to fit in.
I absolutely loved the friendship storyline in this book. Emma really struggled at the beginning with her relationship with Jack. When it was just them she was fine spending time with him and could tolerate his quirkiness. But when they were around classmates Emma found it difficult to be with Jack and didn't know what to do. I think we have all be in this situation before with a friend. When it's just the two of you things are fine, but when you take them out in public things are completely different. I know I have friends like this, and I'm sure I've been that friend before. But this book really focuses on being a friend no matter the place and who is around. If you are truly friends with someone you will accept them and their quirks no matter where you are, and they will do the same. This book did an excellent job of focusing on being friends no matter what.
Another aspect I loved about this book was the relationship that Emma had with her brother Owen. I saw a lot of myself in Emma in this aspect. There was a time when my older brother and I drifted apart because he was growing up. It was like all the things that we did together as kids didn't matter anymore and I wasn't cool. It was a hard pill to swallow and Emma faced the same thing. While it made me sad that we didn't do things together as often, it also made those moments we did spend together twice as memorable. The bond you have with a sibling is always a special thing and there comes a time when you both have to grow up and you naturally stop doing things together. This book really put that feeling and experience into words with Emma and Owen.
Overall, this book had some great points to it, but it just didn't do much for me. I felt like the rabbit in the book had very little importance and the bigger story was the relationships you have with people. I give this 2.5 stars. I think this would be a good book for fourth or fifth grade.
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