2016
WISE Score
Amazon
A grumpy rabbit and a patient bear navigate snowmen, wolves, and the realization that being a competitive jerk is a lonely way to live.
4.9
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This is the Spanish edition of Rabbit's Bad Habits, and it’s a total winner. It avoids the saccharine-sweet trap of many friendship books by giving the characters real, distinct personalities—including the flaws.
If you're looking for a Spanish-language book that actually has a sense of humor and doesn't talk down to kids, this is the one. It handles the 'I want to be the best' phase of childhood with grace and a lot of laughs.
Perfect for the 4-8 range. It's a stellar read-aloud for preschoolers and a great 'bridge' book for early elementary students moving into short chapters.
It handles the prickly parts of friendship—jealousy, competition, and grumpiness—with a lot of heart and zero preachiness.
The dynamic between a cynical rabbit and a zen-like bear is a clever twist on the classic 'odd couple' trope for kids.
Very safe, though parents should be ready for some 'gross-out' humor regarding rabbit biology (eating droppings) which is handled scientifically but humorously.
Excellent for social-emotional learning, specifically regarding how to be a better friend when you're feeling insecure or competitive.
Julian Gough and Jim Field have created something special with the Rabbit and Bear series, and the Spanish translation, La fea costumbre de Conejo, retains all the wit of the original. Most friendship books for this age group rely on characters who are perpetually kind and patient. This book takes a different route: Rabbit is neurotic, competitive, and often quite rude. Bear is the calm, steady counterweight.
What makes this work is that it mirrors the actual social friction kids experience on the playground. The 'bad habit' mentioned in the title isn't just about Rabbit's digestive system—though that provides the gross-out comedy kids love—it's about the habit of being a bad friend to protect your own ego.
In a sea of generic children's literature, this book feels modern. The pacing is quick, the dialogue is sharp, and the illustrations (even in a text-heavy early reader format) do a lot of heavy lifting for the narrative. For families raising bilingual kids, finding content that is actually funny in Spanish can be a challenge; this book solves that. It’s a great pick for kids who have outgrown simple picture books but aren't quite ready for the density of something like Harry Potter.
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