© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

release dates: April 4-10 14-1 (09)

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

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Do you keepany stuffedanimals in yourbedroom athome? You mighthave a fluffystuffed bunnyamong yourfavorites.

Rabbits, bothstuffed and alive, seem very cuddly withtheir soft fur, long ears and twitchingnoses. To celebrate the arrival of spring,The Mini Page takes a closer look at rabbits.Rabbit or hare?

You might think the words “rabbit” and“hare” describe the same animal. In fact,there are big differences between rabbitsand hares.

• Rabbits are bornwithout hair and areblind. Hares areborn with fur andwith their eyes open.

• Hares areusually bigger thanrabbits and havelonger legs and ears.

• Hares canusually run fasterthan rabbits.

• Some rabbitslive in underground burrows, while hareshave their nests above ground.

Wild rabbitsMany thousands of years ago, rabbits

could be found only on the continents ofAfrica and Europe. Today, they live onevery continent except Antarctica.

North American rabbits usually like tolive alone. They can mate at any timeduring the year, but February to Octoberis their main mating season. Malerabbits, or bucks, will fight over a femalerabbit, or doe.

A pregnant rabbit builds a nest for herbabies. She may have four or five littersof babies during a year, with five to eightbunnies in each litter. But rabbits havemany predators, or other animals thathunt them, so many of the babies will notlive to be adults.

What’s for dinner?Rabbits look for food at night. During

the day, they hide in their nests andsleep.

Plants, including vegetables, grasses,clover and even tree bark, are theirfavorite foods.

Four sharp front teeth (two on the top,two on the bottom) help them bitethrough tough plant stems and leaves.

A wild rabbit eats quickly, then goesback to its safe nest. Next, it passespartly digested, or processed, food. Iteats the soft droppings, which still haveminerals important to the rabbit’s health.Then it passes the food again, usuallyoutside its nest. The rabbit will not eatthese hard, dry droppings.

A Symbol of the Season

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A hare in Alaska’sDenali National Park.

The wild rabbit mostoften seen in theUnited States is thecottontail. These grayor brown rabbitssometimes have awhite spot betweentheir eyes and awhite tail that lookslike a cotton ball. Thisis a desert cottontail.

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Mini Spy . . .from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Mini Spy and her friends are hunting for Easter eggs.See if you can find:

• puppy• bell• beaver• rabbit• sock• alligator• letter n• number 3• word MINI

(twice)

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

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Rabbits have long been a symbol ofspring. Some of our favorite charactersfrom books, movies and television bringjoy and laughter all year long. Can youidentify these beloved bunnies or wherethey come from?

1. In thisbook, thelittle bunnytries toconvince hisdad of howmuch heloves him.The book iscalled:

5. This bunnyfrom a series ofbooks by BeatrixPotter has been amuch-lovedcharacter for morethan 100 years.Beatrix’s best-known book hasbeen translated into16 languages. Thisnaughty bunny’sname is:

Who’s Your Bunny?3. This poor

nervous rabbit isalso smart. Hehelps his friends inthe Hundred-AcreWood solveproblems. He has avery simple name:

_ _ _ _ _ _

Words that remind us of rabbits are hidden in the block below. Somewords are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice.See if you can find: HOP, SPRING, RABBIT, HARE, EAR, FAST, BUCK,BURROW, DOE, PREDATOR, TEETH, COTTONTAIL, BUNNY, PETER,BRER, PET, CAGE, PELLET, MOON, VEGETABLE, CUTE, LUCK,PLAY, LITTER.

Rabbits TRY ’NFIND

HOP, HOP, HOPINTO SPRING!

T S P R I N G R O T A D E R P

I K A B Q L J W H K C U L E EB E X N B Y I T G A J V T C LB U C K W U E T Y K R E W Q LA Z A V Y E N A T H R E O C ER P G X T B L N D E E L R U TC Q E S J P O G Y D R V R T XL I A T N O T T O C B F U E HZ F V J M H V E G E T A B L E

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Basset Brown

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2. This goofycharacter from afavorite TV show isthe star’s bestfriend. They get intomany adventurestogether. His nameis:

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

6. This cleverrabbit was writtenabout by JoelChandler Harris inthe late 1800s.Harris collectedAfrican-Americanstories and wroteseveral books thatincluded thischaracter, whosename is:

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _”

Answers: 1. “Guess How MuchI Love You”; 2. Buster Baxterfrom “Arthur”; 3. Rabbit from “Winnie the Pooh”; 4. Max andRuby; 5. Peter Rabbit; 6. Brer Rabbit

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4. This brother-and-sister team frombooks and TV take good care of eachother. Sometimes brothers and sisterscan be frustrating, but these two alwaysfind ways to work things out. Theirnames are:

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art © Frederick Warne & Co., 1902, 2002

art © Frederick Warne & Co., 1902, 2002

Rookie Cookie’s RecipePizza Calzones

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Meet Snicket and StookeyDaniel Handler, better known as Lemony

Snicket, has teamed up with composerNathaniel Stookey and the San FranciscoSymphony to write “The Composer Is Dead.”

The San Francisco Symphonycommissioned, or paid for the writing, of thenew symphony. It wanted a symphony toteach kids about the instruments of theorchestra.

Nathaniel Stookey wrote the music andLemony Snicket wrote the story. In performances, in the book and on theCD, Snicket also narrates, or tells, the story of this funny murder mystery.

Lemony Snicket is best known for his group of kids’ books, “A Series ofUnfortunate Events.” Nathaniel Stookey has composed music for severalsymphonies. When he was 17, he became the youngest composer to becommissioned by the San Francisco Symphony’s New and Unusual MusicSeries.

Daniel and Nathaniel have been friends since high school.

You’ll need:• 1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough• 6 tablespoons spaghetti sauce (or pizza sauce)• 16 turkey pepperoni slices• 1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced black olives• 1 (7-ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheeseWhat to do:1. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.2. Roll out pizza crust dough and cut in half.3. Spread 3 tablespoons spaghetti sauce on each half.4. Add pepperoni, olives and mushrooms.5. Top with 1/2 cup cheese on each half.6. Fold each calzone in half, making a pocket. Pinch the edges tightly closed.7. Brush outsides of calzones with the beaten egg.8. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes (or follow directions on pizza crust

can) until golden brown. Makes 2 large servings.You will need an adult’s help with this recipe. fr

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All the following jokes have something in common.Can you guess the common theme or category?

Terry: How do rabbits fix their hair?John: With hare brushes!

Raymond: What do you call a group of flyingrabbits?Phil: The hare force!

Anastasia: What do you get if you cross ahippopotamus with a bunny?

Wayne: A hopopotamus!

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Daniel Handler (LemonySnicket) and NathanielStookey

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• 1 slightly beaten egg• cooking spray

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Rabbits may seem cute and cuddly,but just like any other pet, each has itsown personality. Some rabbits playmore than others; some are easilystartled and might run away or bitewhen they’re scared.

Having a rabbit as a pet requires acommitment, or promise, to take careof the animal and spend time with it.The Mini Page found out more aboutcaring for a pet rabbit at home.Housing

Some people like to keep rabbitsoutdoors in a rabbithutch, or cage.However, expertssuggest that petrabbits be keptindoors to keepthem safe fromother animals and bad weather.

Indoor rabbits need a cage with alitter box. They can be trained to usethe litter box just like a cat.

Some rabbit owners add rugs andtoys to the cage to make it more cozy.On the run

Rabbits should be let out of the cageto play,butexpertssay theyshould besupervisedwhilethey’reout. They like to play early in themorning and in the late afternoon.

If your rabbit plays outdoors, youshould stay with it and have a pen so itcan’t run away.

Feed me!Unlike rabbits in the wild, pet rabbits

eat pellets. These small, dry pieces offood contain a mixture of alfalfa,vitamins and other healthy ingredientsfor rabbits.Your pet should also have freshhay, vegetables and water.Looking for something to do

Rabbits are quiet, clean animals. Butjust like other favorite pets, they cancause trouble.

Some rabbits chew on things theyshouldn’t, such as carpet, electricalcords or baseboards, where the wallmeets the floor.

Rabbits also liketo burrow, or dig.Owners sometimesprovide a “tunnel”made out of a boxwith carpet in it forthe bunny toburrow into.

Rabbits at Home

Rabbit legendsWe usually think of rabbits in the

spring. For instance, a bunny is onesymbol of Easter.

But there are other legends aboutrabbits that go back thousands of years.

• According to aChinese myth, the“man in the moon” wasthought to be a rabbit.

• North AmericanIndians told stories ofWhite Rabbit, who wasan inventor. He was also a trickster.

• Many people believe carrying arabbit’s foot is lucky. Some versions ofthis legend say the rabbit’s foot is luckyonly if you give it away.

• If you say “whiterabbit” on the first day ofeach month or the firstday of a new moon, you’llhave good luck.

• A rabbit running through yourgarden means you’ll have a healthy cropthis year.

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

The Mini Page thanks the House RabbitSociety for help with this issue.

photo courtesy House Rabbit Society

This pet rabbit isenjoying somefresh parsley.Rabbits can eat awide variety ofvegetables.

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Next week, The Mini Page celebratesLibrary Week.

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Supersport: Nate RobinsonHeight: 5-9 Birthdate: 5-31-84Weight: 180 Hometown: Seattle

At first glance, Nate Robinson looks too short to play in the NBA.Look again.

The New York Knicks guard flashes speed, quickness and theleaping ability of a kangaroo. In February he won his second NBA Slam Dunktitle, soaring over 6-11 Dwight Howard and jamming in his final round.

Too short? Look again.Nate also was averaging 17.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists after games

through the beginning of March.“Everyone makes a big issue of height,” Robinson says in his bio on the Knicks’

Web site. “As long as I play like a giant, I’ll be fine.”Robinson, a fan favorite, brings some gridiron toughness to the court as well.

He played football his freshman year at the University of Washington, where hisfather, Jacque, had been a standout tailback. After one season, he focused strictlyon basketball, played three years, and then was drafted in the first round by thePhoenix Suns.

Now in his third NBA season, the 5-9 Knick is playing like, well, a giant.

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