Cress Watercress by Gregory Maguire

Cress Watercress, a young rabbit suddenly fatherless, finds strength and purpose in this beautifully written tale.

Cress Watercress by Gregory Maguire, illustrated by David Litchfield. Candlewick, 2022, 216 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 6-10 as a read-aloud, 8-12 for independent readers

When home is no longer home

Cress’s family took a serious downturn when her Papa went out at night to hunt for ginger root and never came back. Now Mama has no choice but to leave their comfortable warren and take a basement apartment in The Broken Arms, a dead tree presided over by Mr. Owl. He’s a cranky sort who demands 5 dead moths every week as rent, no exceptions. A lost (probably deceased) Papa, a preoccupied Mama, a whiny little brother with asthma, and a tiny, drafty, gloomy new home is almost too much for spirited Cress. Maybe it won’t be this bad forever. Maybe Papa isn’t dead, will find his way back, and they can all go home. For surely this crowded tree where they can barely make the rent can never be home. Can it?

Life is what you make it

This is a very human story told with animal characters. How does one handle the vicissitudes of life, if one has experienced only security so far? Cress exhibits the normal resentments of an older sister suddenly asked to carry more of a burden than she’s prepared for. But she meets new challenges with the help of new friends, comes to terms with grief, and grows up in the process. Many of her challenges come with the difficult personalities: a self-absorbed skunk (who styles herself Lady Agatha Cabbage), a sympathetic but interfering super, the aloof Mr. Owl, and ever-present threats like Monsieur Reynard and Final Drainpipe the snake. She’s approaching the adult responsibility of freedom:

All the weight of the world, and all its luxury, seemed to be holding its breath in this bell-shaped space marked by the dragging branches of a waterside willow tree. It felt like a grownup moment, both risky and splendid . . . “[T]oday might not be good. But it might be good enough.”

And life is what you make it, trite as that may sound. Cress Watercress is not a Great Rabbit Adventure but it’s beautifully written and comfortingly illustrated and finds glory and wonder in everyday things. Also humor and comfort. It almost demands reading around a campfire on a moonlit night, but a cozy armchair or hammock on a warm spring afternoon will do.

Consideration

• Cress meets another female rabbit whose dash and daring impress her so much she falls “in love.” This is a normal girl crush that moderates in time, but today’s culture almost demands we understand it as a nascent lesbian relationship. That impression can easily be resisted. Elsewhere the story offers positive portraits of marriage in Mrs. Watercress’s love for her husband and the longstanding relationship of Manny the super (a field mouse) and his wife Sophia.

Overall Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4
• Artistic/literary value: 5

Read more about our ratings here.                 

Also at Redeemed Reader

• Review: Also by Gregory Maguire: Egg & Spoon.
• Resource: See our recent Bunny Booklist!
• Reviews: Many children’s books deal with the death of a parent. Here are just a few we’ve reviewed: the Mindy Kim series (for early middle grades), Clues to the Universe (middle grades), and Dancing at the Pity Party (teens).

We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more here.