The Rabbits

Story

The Rabbits is a dark and grim story about the colonisation of Australia, and the harm done by humans to the environment.

Why we chose it

An allegorical and thought-provoking story for older readers, told with few words and striking illustrations, which encourages deeper reflection and further discussion of the themes addressed.

Where it came from

John Marsden is a writer and school principal from Victoria, Australia. Growing up, he loved to read, particularly Kafka, Dickens, and Enid Blyton. Inspired to write by what he saw as the apathy towards reading from his teenage students, he wrote his first book So Much To Tell You in just three weeks in 1987.

Shaun Tan is a writer and illustrator from Perth, Australia. He was known as the ‘good drawer’ at school, and started drawing and painting for horror and science fiction stories in magazines as a teenager. He loved Quentin Blake and Raymond Briggs, and The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight by Jack Prelutsky.

Where it went next

The Rabbits won the Children’s Book Council of Australia award for picture book of the year. The decision attracted quite a bit of controversy, as many felt the award should have gone to a book more suited to young children. It was attacked for being ‘politically correct propaganda’. In 2015 Opera Australia turned it into an opera, and it won four Helpman Awards.

Associated stories

John Marsden has sold over five million books worldwide, including the immensely popular Tomorrow series. His books have won awards all over the world.

Shaun Tan won the Book of the Year in the New South Wales literary awards in 2006 for The Arrival. Since then he has won the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the Academy Award for Best Short Film for The Lost Thing in the same year.