• Age: 3 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

"The world is breaking up!" The worry-wart hare quickly spreads the word in this lively retelling of an ancient Indian version of The Sky is Falling. Convinced that the world is breaking up, the hare tears out of her cozy home in the grove. Along the way, she spreads her alarming news, gathering an ever-increasing herd of terrified animals. The stampede continues and the frenzy grows, until one wise voice prevails. With rich colour and vivid detail, Jan Thornhill's illustrations create an intricate tapestry that brings the Indian landscape and endangered animals to life. The charging animals seem to leap off the page as they as they bolt from marshland to forest to open plain. Young readers and parents alike will be entranced by the brilliant illustrations, simple language, and engaging moral.

Jan Thornhill is an author, illustrator and designer who brings her fascination with the natural world to her books for children. They include I Found a Dead Bird (National Parenting Publications Gold Award, Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction, Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award); The Wildlife 123 (UNICEF-Ezra Jack Keats International Award for Excellence in Children’s Book Illustration, Governor General’s Award finalist); and The Wildlife ABC (Governor General’s Award finalist). Jan recently won the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People. She spends her spare time in the woods obsessively collecting and cataloguing wild mushrooms and slime molds.

Jan Thornhill's profile page

• Short-listed, Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards, Shining Willow Award
• Commended, IBBY Canada, Outstanding Canadian Picture Book
• Commended, Bank Street College of Education, Best of the Year
• Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Our Choice Selection
• Short-listed, Ontario Library Association, Blue Spruce Award
• Commended, Resource Links, Best of the Year
• Winner, Conaculta, 7th International Illustrated Children and Youth's Book Award, Winner

...pluses are sumptuous paintings of thousands of animals in free flow across its pages...the cumulative pleasures of counting in thousands, not ones and twos. And... the story itself, a re-telling of a traditional tale that can't be trumped.

The Globe and Mail

Jan Thornhill's captivating new picture book teaches all children about the delicate balance of nature.

Canadian Children's Book News

Children will love the repetition plus the elegant full-color, stylized illustrations...This beautifully executed addition to the folklore shelves will be enjoyed by listeners of all ages…

CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials

A fast-paced read-aloud, illustrated with lush views of India's wildlife and habitats.

School Library Journal

Thornhill’s bright and intricate paintings of these scenes, framed in simple, colorful borders, alone are worth the price of the book.

Teacher Magazine

The plot, language, and illustrations combine to make a fine read-aloud.

School Library Journal

It isn't just the fluid and humorous text that makes this story interesting but also the illustrations....The Rumor is a story that will be read and appreciated many, many times.

Resource Links

Thornhill's adaptation of this teaching tale has a fine cumulative bounce that lends itself nicely to reading to telling aloud.

Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

The illustrations are gorgeous and the story is engaging. We loved this one.

Silly Eagle Books blog

...luxurious color spreads of animals on the run have solid child appeal…

Booklist

Thornhill's treatment of this ancient Jataka tale flawlessly combines classic and modern elements. Her artistic style suggests a traditional brocade of rich colors…

St. Catharines Standard

A delightful re-telling of an ancient "Chicken Little" tale from India, The Rumor features an endearing...hare and tapestry-like pictures of herds of fleeing animals.

New Brunswick Reader

The exotic location of this Chicken Little tale gives Thornhill scope for exquisite pictures...The visual beauty of the book carries us delightfully through the simple story to the folk wisdom at the end.

City Parent

...will delight children and adults alike...This is certainly a book to treasure.

Quill & Quire