Harriet's Hare by Dick King-Smith

Harriet is a farmer's daughter, who is happy helping her Dad on the farm, but also lonely because her mother is dead. One day she meets a talking hare - who just happens to be a visitor from Outer Space. Wiz the hare has magic powers, and decides to transform Harriet's life.

This book is simply told with a lovely humour and an unhurried feel. It conveys wonderfully a sense of the English country-side and the rhythms of farm life. The story has just enough mystery to keep the reader hooked and its conclusion is warmly satisfying. Warmth and reassurance ooze out of this story.

Good for:

• girls especially, but boys will enjoy the alien theme and unsentimental approach
• that difficult early reading slot, 7 and 8 year olds especially
• reading aloud - a good classroom novel

If you liked this try:

• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - the ultimate farm animal story
• The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith
• The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson - another animal story for the same reading age, whose warmth is never sentimental
• The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder - about another little girl who loves her father, living close to nature