A version of Kerr’s own childhood flight from Nazi Germany, this is safe reading for children with a very adult journey between its lines
Summer is upon us and with it our latest blog series, which this year takes the theme of journeys in literature. As readers of previous series, such as A book for the beach or Baddies in books, will know, it’s an excuse to revisit old favourites and study them in a new light. My choice is a novel I discovered as an adult and read with children, which is why I am doubly fond of it.
Long before Mog the Forgetful Cat and The Tiger Who Came to Tea, there was pink rabbit – the stuffed toy that Judith Kerr left behind when her family fled Berlin on the eve of the election that would bring Hitler to power. Overlooked in favour of a newer woolly dog, this saggy toy “with an endearing habit of collapsing on its paws” becomes an emblem of loss, and of a small child’s sense of responsibility for events beyond her control.
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