Because of the Rabbit

Emma and Owen built a Lego boat together when they were much younger. Owen still proudly displays this boat in his room, despite being a busy, popular highschooler. The boat symbolizes Owen’s continuing love and support for Emma. Its prominent display shows that Owen is not “subtracting” his past; he is building on it. Emma wonders whether Owen is worried about being teased about the Lego boat, and he responds—“a real friend would see that it mattered to me” (159). The boat shows Emma that she “matters” to Owen. Owen follows up with “Hey, Em. This may sound silly, but let’s make another big Lego project together after soccer is done and things aren’t so busy” (159). This underscores how the siblings build the future together without losing the past.

Throughout the book, Emma recounts several of the magical Monsieur Lapin stories that her late Pépère told. Stories communicate a moral each time they are told, reinforcing the novel’s encouragement of acceptance, empathy, and perseverance. Each of Pépère’s animal stories has specific language at the beginning: “It happened once” (9), and end: “And so it was” (9), adding to their fairytale, folklore quality. Emma uses these stories to give herself courage, remembering how Monsieur Lapin always managed to get out of difficult situations by using his wit and intelligence.

She also uses Pépère’s animal stories to connect with Jack. Jack appreciates Emma referring to him as Jack Rabbit. In turn, he calls Emma “Emma Nuthatch” after Madam Sittelle, the kind nuthatch who shares her food with Monsieur Lapin even though he tries to pass as a nuthatch: “Silly Monsieur Lapin. You’ll never be a nuthatch. You are a rabbit” (153). Emma and Owen share fond memories of Pépère’s storytelling; this shared memory reassures Emma that Owen will never forget her or their happy childhood together.