The Rabbit Problem

The always inventive Gravett takes a look at Fibonacci's mathematical rabbit problem, introduced (in simplified form) on the endpapers: "If a pair of baby rabbits are put into a field, how many pairs will there be: a) At the end of each month? b) After one year?" The book is designed as a calendar, to be turned sideways, and can actually be hung on a wall—there are holes in each page and even in the covers. January starts with one lonely rabbit, who puts out a call for a friend. Soon this bunny and partner are expecting and birthing their first offspring…the first of many babies yet to arrive. Readers familiar with the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21…) will spot it on the sign in the rabbits' field that changes each month ("Fibonacci's Field, Population 2 pairs"), but most readers will be busy enjoying the clever, droll, layered ephemera, watercolors, collage, and mini-books. Each calendar page contains the kind of details we have come to expect from Gravett: a birth announcement with an ultrasound of twins, a list of possible baby names, a ration book, a pamphlet of carrot recipes, and a complete newspaper. Repeated readings are a must here—there is just so much to see and, in the case of the overweight rabbits, so many exercises to try. The November collection of eighty-nine pairs of rabbits strains the confines of the calendar, and the final page turn, following December, features an explosion (in pop-up form) of rabbits after one has gnawed its way out of the field. Absolutely splendid for bunnies of any age and the math-curious. ROBIN L. SMITH