Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans
Published by David Fickling Books on February 27th 2018
ISBN: 1338185276
Pages: 256
Goodreads

This fantasy, adventure story for readers in grades 4-6 may start as a realistic, grief story, but quickly throws the reader into a whimsical, yet dark world that conjures up a mix of Wonderland, Willy Wonka, Candyland and the bubbly, brightly colored Teletubbies.  Ten-year-old Fidge, short for Iphigenia, has tried to support her mother in watching her 4-year-old sister Minnie since their father died two years ago.  As they are packing for a vacation trip, her patience wears thin.  Fidge kicks Minnie’s beloved stuffed bunny, Wed Wabbit, into traffic and her sister is hit by a car trying to retrieve him.  Minnie is rushed to the hospital and Fidge is sent to her Uncle’s family to wait where her dotted- on agoraphobic, germophobic cousin Graham pushes her to the breaking point.  And then the lightning strikes and the children find themselves in a world resembling Minnie’s favorite book “The Land of Wimbley Woos” where all the color coded Woos speak in rhyme and Wed Wabbit is soaking up all the colors.  As Fidge and Graham identify the problems in Wimbley land and try to escape back home, they learn how to help each other, identify the strengths of others (the Wimbley Woos, of course!) and see their situations in a different way.  Evan’s comic timing is just right and the characters are ones you would want to have as your friends.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Springvale Public Library, Springvale