Rabbit has the misfortune of meeting Bear when Bear is hungry. At first Rabbit seems almost resigned to her fate. ‘Aw, nuts,’ she says, before asking Bear not to eat her, please. But Bear is hungry. Rabbit offers to order them a pizza and Bear agrees, but it’s not quite a happy ending yet because, as Bear points out, every meal needs a dessert!

With each page Bear finds another reason to eat Rabbit, and Rabbit finds another reason not to be eaten, until it eventually builds up to a very dramatic climax during which Rabbit exasperatedly flops onto a salad and shouts, ‘Eat me already!’, before Bear reveals that he doesn’t actually want to eat Rabbit, he just likes her company. Please Don’t Eat Me is reminiscent of the very best works of Mo Willems and Jon Klassen. The sparse illustrations and word count add up to a rich and very funny story for children aged 3+.

Dani Solomon is the assistant manager at Readings Kids.