My 5 year old is having trouble with friends. Will this help us talk about kindness?

It's a story about exactly that. A rabbit the others shush for its big ears chooses to help a trapped wolf, the animal that has always chased rabbits. Along the way, a wild boar everyone turns away because he smells turns out to be the one they need. Early on, the book stops and asks "What would YOU do?", which is a good moment to put it down and talk.

The message is said out loud at the end ("Be kind to every soul!"), so it isn't subtle. What keeps it from being a lecture is that every animal has a real reason to say no. The stag remembers the wolf chasing his family, and the eagle simply doesn't care, so your child gets to argue with them.

Is it too scary for a sensitive child or for bedtime?

There are two tense moments. A wolf is caught in a hunters' trap and cries that it hurts, and later people set a fire in the forest, with smoke and wounded animals. No animal dies: the fox heals the wounded, and the animals put the fire out together. It's fine for most 5 year olds with a grown-up beside them. With a very sensitive child, read it in the daytime first.

How long does it take to read aloud?

About 10 minutes. It's in rhyme, a few lines to a page, which makes it an easy book to read aloud at bedtime.

Which animals are in it? We love foxes and owls.

Nine woodland animals: rabbit, wolf, doe, stag, golden eagle, wild boar, bear, fox and owl. The fox isn't the usual trickster: here she is the healer. The old owl gets the last word, and a page of real facts at the end explains things like how a rabbit's large ears work like air conditioning.

Will an 8 or 9 year old still get something from it?

Yes. The younger ones follow the rescue. The older ones pick up on the harder questions: why help someone who was never kind to you, and why the animals who couldn't agree about one wolf manage to save the whole forest.

No. Point the phone's or tablet's normal camera at the code on the page and tap the link. The animal opens in the browser and, on a phone or tablet, can be placed on your floor.

iPhone and iPad (iOS 12 or newer) and Android phones and tablets with ARCore, which is most devices since 2018. Amazon Fire tablets show the 3D animal but cannot place it in the room.

We wrote it for ages 5 to 9. Younger kids love watching, older ones read the story themselves and take the videos.

Is it safe? What about the camera?

The camera view stays on your device. We don't collect photos, video or location, there is no account and no login. The page uses a cookieless visit counter and nothing else.

Isn't this more screen time?

About a minute per animal, standing in the room, usually with a grown-up. It ends with the tablet going down and the book staying open. The book works fine without a phone or tablet too.

An augmented reality picture book by Katia Sunn

Forest AnimalsA kindness picture book in rhyme

Name: Forest Animals
Price: 14.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Katia Sunn
ISBN: 979-8171994563

Forest Animals front cover: a grey rabbit on a forest path — Front cover

Everyone shushes the rabbit with the big ears. Then the rabbit hears a cry for help.

A story in rhyme about kindness
Nine woodland animals
Each one steps out of the page

Ages: 5 to 9; Read together, or alone
Pages: 54; Full color
Format: 8.5 × 8.5 in; Square paperback

Buy on Amazon · $14.99

Look inside Meet the fox in 3D

No app to download. Each animal opens on your phone or tablet.

The trailer · 1:34

Can they save the forest?

A short film made from the book's own pictures, cut out like paper, with Katia's words read aloud.

Turn the sound on and watch it together. Captions are in the player.

The story

Can a small rabbit ever save the whole forest?

The rabbit's ears are too big and they hear everything. The other animals have been cross about it for years, and stop eavesdropping, they cry. Then one day the big ears catch a voice from far away. It is the wolf, caught in a hunters' trap, howling for help.

The wolf has chased rabbits all its life. So the rabbit has two options, and the book stops to ask your child which one they would choose. Then it goes looking for help and finds a wise doe, a stag with cold logic, an eagle too proud to care, a wild boar everyone turns away because he stinks, a sleeping bear, and a fox they call cunning who turns out to be a healer.

Katia wrote it in rhyme, a few lines to a page, the way you want to read at bedtime. Each animal has a reason to say no, and each one finds a reason to say yes. When fire comes to the forest, the animals who could not agree about one wolf find out what they can do together, and the old owl gets the last word.

What stays with them

A small act of kindness can travel a long way
We are all important just as we are
What would you do? is a real question

Who you'll meet

Rabbit
Big ears. Hears the cry for help.
Wolf
Trapped, and howling.
Doe
Wise, and quick to see the chance.
Stag
Cold logic says no. A smile changes his mind.
Eagle
Too proud to help. At first.
Boar
Turned away for his smell. Needed most of all.
Bear
Asleep in her cave with her cubs.
Fox
They call her cunning. She is the healer.
Owl
Asks the questions at the end.

Forest animal jokes, with a true fact each →

Before you choose

Is it the right kindness book for your child?

What parents ask us before choosing it, answered straight.

My 5 year old is having trouble with friends. Will this help us talk about kindness?: It's a story about exactly that. A rabbit the others shush for its big ears chooses to help a trapped wolf, the animal that has always chased rabbits. Along the way, a wild boar everyone turns away because he smells turns out to be the one they need. Early on, the book stops and asks "What would YOU do?", which is a good moment to put it down and talk.
Is it preachy?: The message is said out loud at the end ("Be kind to every soul!"), so it isn't subtle. What keeps it from being a lecture is that every animal has a real reason to say no. The stag remembers the wolf chasing his family, and the eagle simply doesn't care, so your child gets to argue with them.
Is it too scary for a sensitive child or for bedtime?: There are two tense moments. A wolf is caught in a hunters' trap and cries that it hurts, and later people set a fire in the forest, with smoke and wounded animals. No animal dies: the fox heals the wounded, and the animals put the fire out together. It's fine for most 5 year olds with a grown-up beside them. With a very sensitive child, read it in the daytime first.
How long does it take to read aloud?: About 10 minutes. It's in rhyme, a few lines to a page, which makes it an easy book to read aloud at bedtime.
Which animals are in it? We love foxes and owls.: Nine woodland animals: rabbit, wolf, doe, stag, golden eagle, wild boar, bear, fox and owl. The fox isn't the usual trickster: here she is the healer. The old owl gets the last word, and a page of real facts at the end explains things like how a rabbit's large ears work like air conditioning.
Will an 8 or 9 year old still get something from it?: Yes. The younger ones follow the rescue. The older ones pick up on the harder questions: why help someone who was never kind to you, and why the animals who couldn't agree about one wolf manage to save the whole forest.

Looking for more like it? We keep a list of kindness and friendship picture books for ages 4 to 7, other publishers' books included, with how tense each one gets.

3D fox from Forest Animals, ready to stand in your room in augmented reality

Drag to spin. On a phone or tablet this opens AR.

And then the magic

Meet the Fox.

The fox, from page 39. Everyone says she is cunning. In this story she is the one who heals.

Every animal in the story is also a real 3D model. Scan the code on its page and it stands in your room. The other 8 are waiting inside the book.

How the augmented reality works, step by step

Will it work on your phone or tablet, and is it screen time? Our parent's guide to augmented reality books

Google's 3D search has no red fox. See which animals it does have

Look inside

Turn the pages. Tap the codes.

Real pages from the book. Where a code is printed you'll find a sticker: tap it and that page's animal comes up in 3D.

Forest Animals picture book, front cover

The rest lives in the book.

54 pages, every animal ready to step out.

Buy on Amazon · $14.99

Cover

Swipe the page or use the arrows.Drag a corner or use the arrows. The tap me stickers sit where the codes are printed.

Free extras from this book

Keep the fun going after the last page.

Forest animal riddlesFox, owl, bear, wolf and more

Forest animal jokesEach one with a true fact

3D animals in your roomWhich animals Google still has, checked by hand

Scavenger hunt cluesRhyming clues to hide around the house

From the back cover

Can a small rabbit ever save the whole forest? Can a small act of kindness ever lead to big changes? Can something negative ever prove to be positive?

A little rabbit will get the whole forest in trouble. An adventure that starts with a small act of kindness and finally proves to be contagious. In this book the impossible becomes possible: forest animals working together for a common purpose, a story that breaks stereotypes and brings out the best in each animal.

Because big changes begin with small, everyday acts. And on every page, scan the code and the animal steps out of the forest and into your room.

Katia Sunn

Questions parents ask

Before you buy

Anything else? Write to us, one of us answers.

Do I need an app?: No. Point the phone's or tablet's normal camera at the code on the page and tap the link. The animal opens in the browser and, on a phone or tablet, can be placed on your floor.
Which devices work?: iPhone and iPad (iOS 12 or newer) and Android phones and tablets with ARCore, which is most devices since 2018. Amazon Fire tablets show the 3D animal but cannot place it in the room.
What age is it for?: We wrote it for ages 5 to 9. Younger kids love watching, older ones read the story themselves and take the videos.
Is it safe? What about the camera?: The camera view stays on your device. We don't collect photos, video or location, there is no account and no login. The page uses a cookieless visit counter and nothing else.
Isn't this more screen time?: About a minute per animal, standing in the room, usually with a grown-up. It ends with the tablet going down and the book staying open. The book works fine without a phone or tablet too.