I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I thought this was a picture book, but it was a j fiction story. Lovely animal story, well written and great for kids. Not for me though.

Hooked from the start, readers of all ages will find themselves rooting for Butternut and all her friends. Cannot wait to reread this with my kids as a family. A story of friendship, family, anxiety and bravery. A must read.

A lovely story about friendship and being brave. I loved the characters, the storytelling, and 'I'm sure this story will be loved by adults and children.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is such a lovely story about friendship and courage. Me and my children love books with anthropomorphism. You know it is an especially good book when they can be found narrating the book through their independent play.

Butternut and her siblings live in a warren beside a house and a forest. Their grandmother created the warren after escaping from humans years earlier, and she has created numerous rules for her family to follow to ensure their safety. She also instituted a storytelling period each day, designed to both instruct and entertain.

Butternut suffers from anxiety, or "the brambles" as she calls them, and is scared of many things. This begins to change when she makes friends with a juvenile robin called Piper. Piper is enthusiastic, optimistic, and open to befriending everyone in Milkweed Meadow. Not everyone is open to this, as most of the birds and other creatures don't typically associate with one another. In fact, Butternut and her family are dissuaded strongly by their grandmother from even conversing with other creatures. And there is a loudmouth Blue Jay who actively cultivates dissension and bullies everyone.

Butternut's life opens up when she and Piper begin hanging out on the sly from her family, and their lives open up even more when they meet a fawn. Butternut's assumptions and fears are mightily challenged over the course of this book, as she begins to realize that enforced, unchanging rules soon no longer reflect reality of the changing situations that the rules are meant to protect. Also, not everyone who is different from the rabbits is dangerous, or inimical.

The book really takes off when Butternut and Piper decide to perform a rescue of creatures none of the residents of the meadow would normally consider rescue-worrthy. It forces Butternut to look deep within herself, and rally the meadow's residents to the endeavour, pushing her far out of her comfort zone. It's wonderful character development of an already wonderful main character.

This is a sweet, gentle, and generous story, and quietly reminds readers that one is stronger with a community and with friendship.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Charlesbridge for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This is a lovely story following an adorable rabbit called Butternut, her family and friends - Piper the Robin and Winsome the Fawn. Before the story of the rescue begins, the reader is shown the life of the rabbit colony, which Butternut shares with her mother, grandmother and brothers and sisters. We’re shown how she meets Piper, the Robin – who is a wonderful character, always looking for the good in others. This provides the basis and groundwork for the next half of the book, which is when the main rescue in the meadow takes place. I really enjoyed this story and loved the characters. It holds an element of the magic told through other classics such as Watership Down and The Wind in the Willows.

I can imagine The remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow growing into a Children's classic. The book does not contain a lot of flash. In fact the illustrations were simple, but effective in telling the story. The main reason I like to review children’s literature is the lesson taught within the story. This story teaches humanity and exception to all creatures, including humans. Milkweed Meadow was a community of a warren of bunnies, grandma was the leader of the group and her stories were entertaining and educational, one of her most important lessons Grandma taught,most animals cannot eat Milkweed, and Milkweed was brainpower.
The conclusion was sweet and wrapping and the story and a beautiful study of kindness and community.
The book would be attractive to young readers and a wonderful book to read aloud. I could easily have compared to such classics as Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH, and Bambi.
Thank you Elain Dimopoulos, Doug Salati illustration, and Published by Charlesbridbe for the privilege of reading the novel in exchange I have written an honest review.

The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow
By Elaine Dimopoulos

Overall, I enjoyed this book but I found it hard to get into in the beginning. The story follows a rabbit named Butternut who loves to tell stories to her family but is afraid of adventure. This all changes when she has to climb a trellis to get her grandmother's prized possession that was stolen by a mean bluejay. There she meets a robin named Piper and they become friends against her mother’s and grandmother’s warnings to stick to her own kind, meaning only rabbits. As Piper and Butternut go on more adventures, including meeting an injured deer who literally crashed through the roof of the burrow, Butternut begins to realize life is better when you expand your circle around you.

The second half of the book focuses on Butternut and Piper performing a daring rescue plan with the help of all the other animals in Milkweed Meadow for creatures they never thought they would want to help save. This is the part of the book that I enjoyed the most. It really picked up the pace and was more action packed.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Elaine Dimopoulous, and Charlesbridge Publishing for allowing me to read this advanced copy of The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow! Also, the illustrations by Doug Salati are absolutely adorable and very detailed!

3.5/5 stars

This was a cute story reminding me of Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. A family of rabbits learning and knowing the dangers of the outside world. Told from the pov of Butternut, he tells of his life. When he befriends of robin and then a wounded deer he sets in motion things that puts his family and others in danger.

This wasn’t a long story, 192 pages. There were a smattering of sketched illustrations (I would have loved to see more) and vivid descriptions . Geared for the middle grade reader it’s a story of friendship, adventure and family. There are lessons to be learned and some interesting nature facts to gleen.

My thanks to Charlesbridge for a digitial arc (via Netgalley) in exchange for a honest review.

What a delightful story - if you have children who like Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux, you and they will thoroughly enjoy the story of Butternut, the young rabbit who becomes the heroine of her own story. Her family has, for years, told the rabbits to stick with their own kind. Then she discovers a robin with attitude and a wounded fawn, and realizes all must work together to make this world a better place. She finds out what she is truly capable of, and makes lots of friendships with the other animals and birds who live in Milkweed Meadow.

A good choice for readers who want an updated book similar to Lawson's Rabbit Hill or Avi's Poppy and Rye series. Has a classic animal tale feel to it.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review. This book is due to be released on 5/16/23. This early middle grade book is a lovely story with beautiful illustrations! “Real life is where the truth in our stories should count most”

A rather cute story and one that will be more attractive to young readers who haven't had a chance to enjoy such classics as <i>Watership Down</i>, <i>Bambi</i> and <i>Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH</i> as the story contains elements of each. As a result I couldn't help myself in trying to compare this book with those beloved titles while it wasn't good enough to rank up there with those Classics but nor is it bad enough to shelve away in the hopes of forgetting it.

Basically the narrator of the story is a young bunny who is part of a warren of bunnies that was made in part due to the events that happened to her grandmother in the past. As a result they take their cues to be educated, to be led by restrictive rules for their own good and to learn how to tell stories so that their truths can be told. But what is a truth when the fact that one species very much overlooks every other due to how they perceive them? And what is a truth when you are not willing to step out of your comfort zone to try the beliefs being passed down to you without knowing the full story?

The illustrations were far-and-few in this book while basic sketch illustrations that were cute at times. As a result some creative children may want to illustrate their book according to their own perceptions of the characters.

But in the end my biggest issue was the same mentioned fact that it did hold favorite elements from other stories but not in a strong enough way that it made the story as its own. As a result I kept finding myself wanting to compare the book with all those other ones that had already been cracked open thus not allowing myself to be able to immerse myself in Milkweed Meadow... (And why did we have to make "speciesism" so prominent in this modern book anyway?)

In the end this book will most likely be most attractive to younger readers who favor animal stories with charming yet relatable characters and to those seeking a partially quick adventure tale.

**I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

This was a charming story about a warmhearted but overly anxious rabbit from a colony of storytellers who learns what it means to be brave and the power of friendship. I read the first quarter to kiddo (8) who loves rabbits, but the suspense was too much for him and so I read the rest alone.

I really enjoyed how Butternut (the rabbit) would break the fourth wall mid-story to give mini lessons about storytelling. It was clever and cute. Butternut makes a very engaging heroine and her adventures are just the right amount of exciting - and contain a surprising number of tips on how to tell an effective story.

I also really enjoyed how the rabbits had a daily schedule of lessons on storytelling as well as on other important subjects like plant identification.

The characters were wonderful and the story was well-told and kept me interested. I never much liked watership down, but in some ways this reminded me of that but much gentler and meant for a younger audience.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for providing an early copy for review.

Sweet and grounded, The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow is a sweet little story with big heart.

Butternut lives by the stories that have been passed down and shared by family. She sticks close to the other rabbits and practices survival skills in order to be prepared for anything and everything that might come to their burrow. Just when she thinks she has thing figured out,her life views begins to broaden after befriending other forest creatures.

As an adult reading this story I didn't feel that it was one that transcended the age gap well. While I found it cute an whimsical, it wasn't written in a way that I could connect to it as an older reader. I think it is well suited to the age it is written for though and will be well beloved for it's heart and simple - straight forward messaging.

Oh the beautiful lessons you can learn about life from a brave rabbit, a kind robin, and a cautious deer.

This book follows a snippet of life in Millcreek Meadow, home to many creatures - robins, blue jays, squirrels, deer, and a family of story-telling rabbits. Follow along as brave Butternut the rabbit tells us her longest and most important story yet. A story of adventure and caution, if friendship new and lost and mended, and if the importance of working together to preserve a life of safety and wonder.

I highly recommend this book for middle grade readers searching for a sense of whimsy - or adults that want to recall that Magic feeling of innocence and discovery with this quick read. . It is full of life lessons that are delivered in such a beautiful prose, it’s bound to leave you feeling warm and satisfied.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book!