• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Joey brings his grandfather to school for Grandparents Day to tell a story about two little bush rabbits who come out of the forest to search for food. A young jackrabbit challenges them to a race, promising to share his food if the bush rabbits win. Who will win?

Deborah L. Delaronde-Falk is Métis and lives in central Manitoba on a cattle ranch along the western shores of Lake Winnipegosis. She honours her Métis heritage by writing and publishing under her maiden name. Deborah’s twelve published stories (with the exception of Friendship Bay and The Rabbit’s Race) focus around Métis protagonists with story situations that she hopes will convey the way of life of the Métis people in both a historical and contemporary context. Louis Riel’s Day: The Fur Trade Project is Deborah’s twelfth book. Deborah was the first recipient of the Beatrice Mosionier Aboriginal Writer of the Year Award in 2015.

 

Deborah L. Delaronde's profile page

Virginia McCoy has been a painter for more than 30 years. She is self-taught, working primarily in gouache and transparent watercolours. A transplant from Northern Ontario, she now lives and works in Inverness, Nova Scotia. A woman of Ojibway, French and English ancestry, McCoy explores the lines and forms of the Eastern Woodland Legend school of painting. Her work appears in exhibits in Nova Scotia and in private collections throughout North America and Europe.

 

Virginia McCoy's profile page

The Rabbits' Race: A Grandparents' Day Story

This impressively illustrated picture-book celebrates the value of Elders. At the edge of the forest, the bush rabbits approach the jackrabbits to ask for food. Since the jackrabbits do not want to share, a jackrabbit challenges two bush rabbits to a race that they must win if they want to eat. When all the race contestants fall into a deep hole, the elder jackrabbit tries to help, but is impeded in his efforts by the negative thinking of the young jackrabbits. So the elder jackrabbit lowers his cane down the hole and helps by offering encouragement. Once all the rabbits are out of the hole, they are thankful to the elder. The rabbits decide to live together when the elder promises that they will always cooperate.

Delaronde is a winner of the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Literacy.

The Rabbits' Race: A Grandparents' Day Story

This impressively illustrated picturebook celebrates the value of Elders. At the edge of the forest, the bush rabbits approach the jackrabbits to ask for food. Since the jackrabbits do not want to share, a jackrabbit challenges two bush rabbits to a race that they must win if they want to eat. When all the race contestants fall into a deep hole, the elder jackrabbit tries to help, but is impeded in his efforts by the negative thinking of the young jackrabbits. So the elder jackrabbit lowers his cane down the hole and helps by offering encouragement. Once all the rabbits are out of the hole, they are thankful to the elder. The rabbits decide to live together when the elder promises that they will always cooperate and share.

Delaronde is a winner of the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Literacy.