I received a copy of this eBook from netGalley for an honest review.

I hate to be negative with a book that's trying to be so much but this book is bad. The writing is choppy and repeats itself. The questions that are to teach are repetitive and too easy for this level of reading. The characters are badly shown and not fully developed. I can tell this author wanted to write a book about the environment and how to help it but I can't honestly say this book has much value. I'd give it no stars if I could.

A book with more than enough good intentions – and many problems in delivering them. It's about Baxter, a lovely and well-meaning rabbit, who gets two new rabbit neighbours who are nothing but sh*ts – bullying him left, right and centre. And I mean bullying, to the extent the chapters concerned are really joyless and no fun at all for the young reader.

The message here is supposed to be firmly an environmental one – after each chapter we get a quiz, either responding to the story and what we know about nature, or to extra pictures – but it's also that you can get away with a lot without any comeuppance. The daffy rabbit owner Pollie keeps promising "I shall give them a right telling-off when I find them!" and nothing happens; they're still sh*ts, and Baxter being called "top rabbit" means nothing in the end.

The other serious issue here is that this is ridiculously repetitive. Yes the young and undiscerning audience it might be aiming for can accept pretty much anything, but they certainly don't deserve so much rampant cut-and-pasting. It makes the story heavy-handed, and the questioning about everything from animals' needs to climate change and what jobs we might think of doing in the future to help the world, is heavy-handed too. In all it's a bludgeoning, subtlety-free affair, offering little enjoyment, to say the least. And yet, to repeat, its heart was definitely in the right place. But I could never see myself recommending this.

"Baxter the Rabbit Who Cared" is a heart warming children's book that tells the story of Baxter, a kind and compassionate rabbit who goes out of his way to help his friends and neighbours. The story carries a strong message about the importance of empathy, kindness, and community. We read it at bedtime and I liked how it prompted conversations about caring for others and helping those in need from my four year old. We read it over a period of a few days and he has asked for it again.