The Penguin Podcast is back! Listen Now
Fierce Bad Rabbits

Fierce Bad Rabbits

The Tales Behind Children's Picture Books

Summary

What is The Tiger Who Came to Tea really about?
How is Meg and Mog related to Polish embroidery?
And why does death in picture books involve being eaten?

Fierce Bad Rabbits explores the stories behind our favourite picture books, weaving in tales of Clare Pollard's childhood reading and her re-discovery of the classic tales as a parent. Because the best picture books are far more complex than they seem - and darker too. Monsters can gobble up children and go unnoticed, power is not always used wisely, and the wild things are closer than you think.

'A gem . . . hard to put down. Thoroughly enjoyable' Spectator

'Essential reading for every thinking parent' Penelope Lively

'An enlightening, perceptive analysis of the books that build us' Sunday Telegraph, 5 star review

'A happy way to reconnect with old friends' Times

Reviews

  • When I read Fierce Bad Rabbits, I thought, why has no one written this book before? But Clare Pollard has done so superbly - it is perceptive, illuminating, scholarly but at the same time entertaining. It should be essential reading for every thinking parent
    Penelope Lively

About the author

Clare Pollard

Clare Pollard is an award-winning poet and playwright based in London. She is the author of five poetry collections and the former Editor of the Modern Poetry in Translation magazine. Her first novel, Delphi , was published by Fig Tree in 2022. The Modern Fairies is her second novel.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more