Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward, ill. Marjorie Flack
At long last we discover what became of Peter Rabbit’s sister Cottontail.
Sometimes you just want to read a bizarre 1939 feminist take on the Easter Bunny tradition. Right? I mean, am I right? Look, after last week, I wanted to give Kate something old and worth remembering. And this downright magnificent tale of single motherhood, gaslighting, phallocentric patriarchy, and cute bunnies fit the bill. Let’s talk about a book that wasn’t just ahead of its time but, I’d argue, is the gold standard of Easter picture books in this day and age. Don’t believe me? Then you obviously have never read The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes for yourself. Trust me. You’re in for a treat.
Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, PlayerFM, or your preferred method of podcast selection.
Show Notes:
Do be so kind as to check out the Washington Post piece A Brown Feminist Easter Bunny’s Inspiring Triumph which really breaks down why this book is so remarkable.
Can you tell which bunny is, as Kate says, “Enjoying his job SO MUCH!” So this page perfectly exemplifies how wide this 1939’s color palette was. LOOK at all these colors! How the heck did this book get away with this array? It’s a Houghton Mifflin title, so could someone go ask them for me?
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Wow. Jerk bunnies are immediately identifiable. Who knew that jerks transcend time?
The best line in this paragraph? “And they went away liking themselves very much.” Wow! Has that ever been said better about awful people?
Kate has created a whole alternative narrative here about this bunny with a hat who is secretly a human spy in a rabbit suit, spying on the whole of the proceedings.
Superhero bunny! It’s like the Seven League Boots have been repurposed for rabbits.
You know what these are? These are the world’s most expensive sneakers. The Solid Gold OVO Air Jordans that command a price of $2 million. And this bunny is strong cause those puppies were 50 pounds apiece!
Kate Recommends: Wingspan
Betsy Recommends: The Webby Award nomination for my other podcast Story Seeds. Please vote for our Katherine Applegate episode here!
Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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I was brought up on this fabulous book….forgot about it…(my mother gave all our children’s books to the local library once we were out of the house)…ran across it again years later and was able to read it to my three children…..a beautifully written and illustrated feminist – and – (gently) anti-racist book
I also bought it for the library where I work, natch!
This book is definitely in my top ten —possibly top two? — picture books from my childhood. I took it out from the library many times, and traced the baby bunnies doing their chores so I could keep them nearby when I couldn’t have the book in my possession. I didn’t recognize this as a feminist take at that age, but it obviously resonated with me. By the way, when I look now at the picture above of the bunnies hopping, all I can see is the duck/rabbit optical illusion as so well adapted into the picture book Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.