A delightful tale, lavishly illustrated, that reminds us all of the power of empathy, connection and understanding. Children and adults alike will find comfort and inspiration in these pages.

I’m always drawn to a great SEL picture book, and The Highly Sensitive Rabbit truly delivered. This story encourages sensitive children to embrace and celebrate their unique strengths as they follow little rabbit’s journey and the support he receives along the way. As someone who lives in the desert, I especially appreciated the beautiful Sonoran Desert setting, the charming illustrations, and the fascinating animal and plant facts included at the end.

“Being sensitive did often make it harder being in the world. But it helped her see its wild and glorious beauty too.”

Best children’s book I’ve read in a while!!!! My younger self would’ve felt so seen and understood if she’d read this story.

I loved the way this book taught highly sensitive kids how to feel better and deal with their sensitivity, the boundaries part was probably my favorite! Children aren’t taught how to set boundaries enough, despite their importance. Highly recommend this book, especially for sensitive/highly sensitive kids🤍

And of course I need to mention the beautiful illustrations, they made the book so much better with how adorable they were!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is truly a wonderful book. The story is beautiful and heartwarming and the artwork is stunning which adds to the depth and feeling of the story. I see myself as a child in this sensitive little rabbit and being a rabbit lover only made the story more endearing and special. This book thoughtfully conveys that it's okay to be sensitive and it shows ways how a child and even adults can respond to others in their sensitivity.

The end of the book also includes drawings with descriptions of the desert animals appearing throughout the back so children have an opportunity to learn more about these animals.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this lovely book. I adored it. First off, the illustrations are stunning. Kids will love looking at the vibrant colors and gorgeous designs. This book is perfect as a read aloud for morning meeting. Many students will identity with the sensitive rabbit who gets overstimulated easily and feels things intensely. I loved that author teaches about setting boundaries and shared other strategies through the desert animals that could help Aurora.

The Highly Sensitive Rabbit gives us a look at the beauty yet difficulty that comes with being an empath. As little Rabbit's burrow is destroyed, she goes through the waves of grief and feeling the feelings of her community. She, herself, learns to work with her emotions as do her loved ones. A great tool for teaching kids about empathy and care.

The story is of a small rabbit who has a burden of caring for everyone in her sphere. After a storm wreaks havoc on her desert environment, she speaks with other to ease her burden.
The illustrations by Katy Tanis are simple, perfect in tone and color, and show much care for the fauna.
Well suited for reading WITH someone any age including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room, or your local public library.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected readers' proof on Thorium PDF from Sounds True Publishing | Sounds True via NetGalley. Pub Date Oct 07, 2025 **** review
#TheHighlySensitiveRabbit by @judith.orloff.md and Jennifer Adams with illustrator Katy Tanis @daughter_earth_illustration #NetGalley @soundstruekids @soundstrue #HighlySensitiveChildren #ChildrensBooks #MindfulParenting #kidlit #EmotionalIntelligence #PictureBook #EmotionsMatter #ReadToYourKids #EmpathyMatters #SensitiveKids #ParentingTools #comfortingbehaviors

I adore this book, the Highly Sensitive Rabbit by Judith Orloff is a charming children’s book that follows Aurora, a sensitive cottontail rabbit, on her journey of self-acceptance in the Sonoran Desert. As someone who lives in the Sonoran Desert I loved the references to animals, plants and weather that can be seen in our area. The back included descriptions of desert animals and plants.
Through encounters with animals like a spiny lizard and cactus wren, Aurora learns to embrace her empathy and sensitivity through communication, spending time alone and setting boundaries. The vibrant illustrations and gentle storytelling make it engaging for young readers. Ideal for highly sensitive children, their parents or anyone who works with children, it offers valuable insights into self-care and emotional resilience. I highly recommend this book to anyone who values self-care. I will be adding this book to my SPED classroom. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Sounds True Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Highly Sensitive Rabbit is a beautifully written and illustrated story about a little cottontail named Aurora, who feels deeply and sees beauty in every detail of the desert around her. When her family’s home is destroyed by a flood, Aurora sets off on a journey that gently teaches children how sensitivity can be a strength — not a weakness.

The desert setting is stunning, and I especially loved how each animal she meets reflects different ways to practice self-care and emotional awareness.

As someone who works with stories for children, I appreciated how the book normalizes quiet time, introspection, and emotional intelligence without being overly didactic.

This book would be wonderful for sensitive children, their parents, or even professionals who work with kids, especially therapists or educators. It’s a gentle resource with beautiful art and a warm, empowering message.

Recommended for ages 4–8, and for anyone who's ever been told they’re “too sensitive.”

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

This made my old autistic self nearly start bawling (complimentary).

There's a sensitive rabbit in the desert who struggles with being overstimulated and not being like their siblings, but they also have a unique and wonderful perspective on things. Through speaking to all manner of desert flora and fauna they collect good advice to help them cope and find peace.

The art is absolutely gorgeous!

The writing is wonderful and incredibly helpful and meaningful.

The information about the plants and animals is a brilliant touch.

I genuinely wish I had a book like this when I was a kid!

Absolutely love it!

The Highly Sensitive Rabbit is a sweet children's story about a little rabbit named Aurora who is very sensitive. The book teaches kids that it's okay to be sensitive and that it can be a wonderful gift. With beautiful illustrations and a gentle message, this book is a great way to help children understand and embrace their own sensitivity.

This was so sweet. Not only does it show it's ok to be sensitive, others may feel that way too, and there are ways to help cope with those big feelings. I thought the illustrations were very cute and brought emotions out in them.

Thank you so much to Sounds True Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Aurora is a sensitive rabbit, she doesn’t fit in with her siblings and is more aware of what surrounds her, caring how everyone feels around her. One day a flash flood destroys their home and she becomes sad, she finds new friends within her desert who help her find ways to feel better.

This was really sweet, I loved the story that was told about the beautiful desert rabbit and her high sensitivity, she was so sweet and cared about other animals and beings above herself, it was so lovely. The illustrations were just gorgeous showing what everything in her desert looked like, what all the other animals looked like, I also loved that she stood out amomstgt her siblings but that she matched her mama it was so beautiful to see.

The back of the book is also really sweet as it expands on what we saw within the story about the animals we met on Aurora journey to the plants that surrounded her I loved that the extra pieces were added to help learn more. A very wonderfully created story, a great for any reader, but really important for those that are also sensitive beings as it gives great advice throughout on how to cope with being sensitive and how to stand up for yourself even if it is very difficult.

This would be really good for a child therapist or social worker, but for families and libraries, it's a little to clinical and direct about what the message (boundary setting, for example) is. The illustrations were beautiful, though! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for letting me read!

The Highly Sensitive Rabbit is a heart warming story of a rabbit who discovers other friends who struggle with different scenarios that upset them. Each friend offers words of advice to Rabbit to help her work through her struggles. My daughter really enjoyed this story and absolutely adored the beautiful illustrations. Her ending comment was “wow! rabbit’s friends had a lot of good ideas. I’m sensitive like rabbit too.”
We loving finding a book we can relate to!

Squid review! Squid really liked this one and enjoyed learning about the different animals in the end.

Personally, I found the book to be very accessible and a wonderful way to help kids understand overstimulation and provide helpful tips in dealing with those feelings. I would certainly recommend this for school settings especially.

Oh Aurora! You beautiful, intelligent, special little rabbit.

This was a wonderful read. I think the undertones of the book (as in the sensitivities of Aurora) were done with a great amount of nuance for kids and is a very important message to young children, about acceptance, love, and boundaries.

The illustrations were STUNNING! Would love to just have a little print of Aurora in my own bedroom! Five stars.

The illustrations are pretty. I love the inclusion of descriptions of desert animals in the back. I also really liked some of the text, especially where it covers the fact that sometimes Rabbit wants to play with friends and sometimes she wants to be alone, and either thing is ok.

As a sensitive child myself, I would've found the beginning/middle of the book a bit stressful, with the loss of their home. Maybe there's a better way to deal with that.

Thank you for the ARC. I will purchase for my library.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This book was so beautiful and heartwarming, especially for someone who’s also just as sensitive as Aurora is, this would be perfect for younger children who are navigating the world and its challenges. Staying true to yourself but also learning how to speak up for yourself, too. The artwork in this book is stunning, I honestly wish it was coming out sooner than October because I’m itching at the bits to buy a physical copy for myself, and my niece and nephews.

Do yourself a favor and purchase this when it comes out!

I loved this book. My son is highly sensitive and related to the rabbit in this story. He loved the other characters tell the rabbit it’s okay to feel the way she does and to be sensitive. This book helped my son see it’s not a bad thing to be sensitive and helped him understand what a boundary is. I will absolutely buy this book!