Two White Rabbits

2015, Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press

"When we travel, I count what I see.

Five cows, four hens and one chucho, as my dad calls them.

One little bored donkey and fifty
birds in the sky.

When we travel, I count the people who live by the train tracks."

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Jairo Buitrago

Buitrago is the author or illustrator of more than twenty children's books, as well as essays and short stories for a number of academic journals. His work has been translated into English, Portuguese and Japanese. Buitrago has earned numerous international book awards.

Awards

Best Picture Book of the Year

• Kirkus Reviews
• School Library Journal

USBBY Outstanding International Book
Notable Books for a Global Society List

Rafael Yockteng

Yockteng, born in Peru, lives and works in Colombia. He studied graphic design at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá. Yockteng's illustrations for numerous children's books include many in collaboration with his friend Buitrago.

Elisa Amado, translator

Amado's  books have been on the Américas Award Commended List and on USBBY's Outstanding International Books List.

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Book Synopsis

As a little girl and her father travel North by foot, boat and truck the father works odd jobs. Along the way the little girl plays a game of counting all that she sees. At one stop the she is given two white rabbits by a boy and his grandmother.

"Books stir our emotions, spark our curiosity, crate lasting memories, and become portals to other worlds. In some cases, a book can whip our conscience, shift our perspective, or activate our feelings so we stand up and change the world for the better.  The right book can stir a child's empathy better than any lesson or lecture ever could. And the right book matched with the right child can be the gateway to opening his heart to humanity."

Michele Borba        
UnSelfie, Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World

Learning Options

Family Read Aloud Time
Two White Rabbits is a powerfully poignant read aloud which will prompt many questions from your children about why the girl and her father are traveling.

Classroom Resources
Groundwood Books provides an Educator's Guide for 2nd and 3rd grade which covers English, migration and geography.

Learning at Home
Homeschooling on a Shoestring offers a free Immigration Unit Study with links to quite a few excellent resources. You will want to adapt the unit to your needs, but the basic structure is excellent.

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