45 pages • 1 hour read
Cynthia LordBecause of the Rabbit
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “When a rabbit stretches toward you with its ears tipped forward, it’s curious and wants to share what you’re doing”
To pump herself up for the second school day, Emma makes a list of things that should be easier: She knows her room, her desk, and some of the kids’ names, and she’s bringing a bagged lunch. Emma is excited about inviting her group back to her house, but when she brings it up, Leah and Iris quickly change the subject, deflating Emma’s enthusiasm. Emma focuses on learning her classmates’ names: Matt borrows her pencil, and Sarah sits next to her on the rug.
Emma is looking forward to lunch. Having a bagged lunch means she can quickly join Leah and Iris’s table. But again, every seat at that table is taken, so Emma joins Matt’s table. When Jack also tries to join the table with Emma, she doesn’t make space for him, so he joins Dustin. Even though Emma is surrounded by conversation, she feels alone and realizes that lunchtime is just as difficult today as it was yesterday.
In the afternoon, the class visits the library, and Emma’s mood lifts. She saves a table with four chairs and sits with Jack, waiting for Leah and Iris to join them so she can propose her plan. While they wait, Jack reads rabbit facts out loud from an encyclopedia. He puts on the accent of Elmer Fudd, a cartoon character, causing the boys at the neighboring table to stare at him, even though they were joking around with fake accents moments before. Emma, feeling bad for Jack, laughs loudly, making more kids stare at them.
Leah and Iris join their table, interrupting her embarrassment. Emma excitedly invites them to her house to record their video assignment, but Leah says she doesn’t have a ride. Emma suggests they join her on the school bus, but Iris and Leah explain that you need permission slips and that it is too complicated. Iris reiterates the original plan: “Me and Leah, you and Jack” (101), crushing Emma’s enthusiasm and her good mood. Emma quietly asks Jack whether he can come. Jack texts his mother who responds immediately that, yes, he can.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Rabbits have scent glands under their chins. They rub their chins on things to claim them as their own”
At home, Emma finds out that Owen made the soccer team. She finds it hard to appreciate his good news because it means she will see him even less. Emma tells her mom that it is only Jack coming over, and that he is “a bit different” (104). Emma shares that Jack loves to talk about animals, so both Emma and her mother are surprised by Jack’s hesitancy around their dogs. Jack’s mother explains that Jack has sensory issues. He loves animals in theory, “but in real life they can be overwhelming” (105).
Emma and Jack leave their mothers chatting in the kitchen and go to Emma’s room. Jack is nervous of Lapi but is also excited at the thought of Lapi being free in the room. To help Jack with his conflicting emotions, Emma suggests that Jack lift his feet off the floor before she lets Lapi out. Jack is thrilled by Lapi hopping around the room. Emma mentions her grandfather’s stories about Monsieur Lapin, and Jack asks her to tell him one. Emma tells him a story about Monsieur Lapin outsmarting Monsieur Renard. Jack corrects Emma when the story strays from accurate animal facts, but Emma explains that the animals are magical. They both enjoy chatting while watching Lapi. Then, Jack surprises Emma by asking to touch Lapi, which he tentatively does, whispering, “Monsieur Lapin […] And Jack Rabbit” (112).
Chapter 11 Summary: “Rabbits don’t consider breed, age or size when choosing a friend to bond with”
Jack opens his backpack and takes out his video props: a bag of Legos, Dr. Seuss’s ABC book, and some old tickets. His two truths are that he loves Legos and learned to read at the age of three. The lie is that he won a raffle. Jack loves to collect raffle tickets, but he has never won. Jack tells Emma that he made a dinosaur skeleton out of “Seven hundred and thirty” Lego pieces (115). He is thrilled when Emma suggests changing his lie to “Jack once built a dinosaur skeleton with two hundred Legos” and have the truth that he collects raffle tickets (115). Emma changes her statements too—the truths being that she loves kayaking and that she climbed Mt. Katahdin, and the lie being that she has a pet parakeet.
Suddenly Emma has a brilliant idea. She could have her father bring Lapi in for the big reveal and Jack could bring in his Lego dinosaur (or a photo if it is too big). The first half of their presentation will be on video, but the reveal will be in person. Jack loves the idea, and his enthusiasm gives Emma hope that Leah and Iris will like it too.
Chapter 12 Summary: “A bonded pair of rabbits that spends too much time apart will unbond”
At dinner, Emma asks Owen to take pictures of her kayaking for her presentation. To maximize her time with Owen, Emma chooses a spot far out on the lake for the photo, with Eagle Island in the background. As they paddle out, past a resting kingfisher, Emma takes a photo of Owen. At the perfect spot, Owen takes pictures of Emma smiling and trying to “look fun and outdoorsy” for her presentation (127).
They paddle to Eagle Island and walk along the shore, chatting and throwing rocks into the still lake. Emma asks Owen if he ever wishes he could go back in time. Sensing Emma is not happy, Owen asks her: “Is school really going so terribly that you want to go backwards?” (128). Owen reassures her that it will get better, and says he likes her idea to bring Lapi to school. When Owen starts to talk about Pépère’s stories and “rabbit magic,” Emma grins, happy that Owen holds onto the same memories as she does. Before going to bed, Emma finds Owen’s rock on her pillow with the words “Rabbit Magic” written on it.
Chapters 9-12 Analysis
Unable to “get” school, and certainly not able to “be” herself, Emma switches out the rocks from day one, and replaces them with “Keep Going.” The physical adjustment in her rock selection mirrors her new mindset. She downgrades her expectations and focuses on the small successes from day one to enable her to persevere. Emma’s optimistic nature is shown by her eagerness to invite Leah, Iris, and Jack to her house. Leah and Iris’s unwillingness to figure out transport and reiteration of their original video plan crushes Emma’s enthusiasm, feeding her growing belief that she doesn’t belong in public school.
Lord develops Emma’s relationship with Jack in this section. Emma briefly behaves cruelly, rejecting Jack when he tries to join her at the boys’ table, even though she has just been excluded from the girls’ table herself. In doing so, Lord makes Emma fallible and imperfect, perhaps in an aim to make her human and relatable. However, Lord also shows Emma’s kindness. When Emma sees Jack being mocked in the library, she thinks: “How come when [the other boys] talked differently, it was funny, but when Jack did it wasn’t? I guess when you already belong, it’s easier to be different” (99). Emma understands that she is in a similar position; she is “different” because she has red hair and was homeschooled.
The Importance of Authenticity underscores the book. Jack accepts Emma completely and without judgment, but it takes time and several missteps before Emma reciprocates. When Jack is at Emma’s house, Emma is attentive to his sensory needs and delights in his extensive knowledge about animals and cautious love of Lapi. Jack is the first person outside of her family with whom she has shared one of her grandfather’s stories, and Emma appreciates how enthusiastically Jack supports her ideas for the presentation. However, Emma has an ulterior motive in coming up with her ideas—she is single-mindedly focused on finding her imagined best friend; a popular girl who enjoys the same activities as herself. She wants to bring Lapi to school because she imagines “one of the girls in my class hearing Jack talk about me and then seeing Lapi. Wow! she’d think. Emma is so interesting!” (120). This girl would instantly become her friend. Jack is “different,” a boy, and is not popular; despite having a truly enjoyable afternoon with Jack, Emma does not consider him for the role of best friend.
Emma thinks that she has lost Owen to his new life, but Lord tempers this by Owen’s willingness to go kayaking with her. Emma clings to memories of her idyllic childhood with Owen, fearful that he is leaving her behind and forgetting her. When Owen shares that he holds similar fond childhood memories, Emma is reassured that she is not losing him. Emma has a challenging time understanding that Change Is Hard but Potentially Rewarding, a theme that underscores the book.
The novel highlights the motif of hope. In this section hope is tactile, attached to a rock that Emma picks up on the island. Owen is also Emma’s rock, and during the visit to Eagle Island he reminds her of that. His encouragement, and the symbolic gift of his rock with “rabbit magic” are enough to give Emma the strength to follow through with her ideas.
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