Raising Hare is a rich, life affirming story full of hope and joy. Touching, beautifully written, a sweet triumph.

Chloe finds a newborn leveret on her evening walk and cannot bring herself to leave it exposed to the elements and predators. She goes against conventional wisdom and brings it home without a clue what to do for it. Thus begins a beautiful, though unlikely, relationship that will change Chloe’s life.

I relished this book more than I can say. Its charm lies in the unknown and the development of trust between woman and hare. I adore hares and feel very lucky when I spot one in the field, jumping high, boxing another or streaking from one corner to the other at high speed. They are magical creatures I feel an affinity with. A few months ago there was a mother hare with a leveret within easy view of our window. I was mesmerised watching them. Chloe’s story perfectly captures the stillness of their nature.

Anyone who loves nature, the glorious diversity of creatures that inhabit it, or just the countryside will find this book a delight. Thank you, Chloe, for sharing your story as it is tales like this that strengthen the bond with the natural world for those who may find that feeling dormant.

What a book, I loved it.
I'd never really given hares much thought as they are not often talked about. The research was interesting, and gave a fasciantiong insight into nature that we don't always see.
A lovely book to read with a hot drink and blanket on a cosy day.

This book was absolutely beautiful. A rare book that is educational, enjoyable and leaves you slightly envious of the authors experience.
The levered was found alone in the lane one day and after going back a few hours later and, tge levered still had not moved and mum had not returned, Claire made a decision to take it back to her home otherwise it wouldn't survive the night with predators.
The book continues as the relationship grows with the Leveret. Claire keeps a human distance but still there is a definite relationship growing between the two. She researches hares and includes much off her research within the memoir which is relevant to the levered behaviour or what she needs to provide for it.
Thus book had me giggling at times, in particular when ahevteied ti protect a small bush and put chicken wire around it. The levered had been previously lying against it and affect its growth. However once the chicken wire was in place it still manage to get in and she found it squashed in with its nose squashed against the wire!
The kindle edition has some beautiful sketches on each chapter too and I personally feel this book is fantastic for all ages. The research pieces could be skipped for younger readers, if read as an evening story time, it's an absolute joy!
Thank you to Netgalley and Canongates books for an early copy to an enjoy!

This gentle memoir is heartwarming and beautifully captures how much humans can learn from animals. That the author didn’t attempt to make a pet of the hair is both surprising and admirable – I believe most people would try to do so. The descriptions of the hare’s antics are a delight and not to be missed, nor are the ‘lessons’ learned. ‘Raising Hare’ is one of the most delightful books I have read.

Wow

What a different book
About her raising a baby hare in covid

I’m a massive animal lover and I love this book
Beautifully written
Heartwarming
Just a beautiful book

Loved it

Excellent book! I thought the authors connection with the Hare was so touching and there were so many moments I was highly invested. It did get bogged down in extraneous information about Hares sometimes, though.

This is an absolutely delightful book. We follow Chloe as she first finds what looks to be a possible abandoned baby hare - leveret - she umms and errs about what to do and, eventually, when it is still there after a wee while, decides to take it home and try look after it herself.
And so begins their story. How she flounders at first, how she works out what it needs and what it wants. What she can give it. We then marvel at what it eventually gives back to her.
In amongst this hare raising tail (see what I did there, sorrynotsorry) we also learn a LOT about hares. Their lives, natures, and the folklore that surrounds them. We also touch on the many literal and artistic versions of the animal.
We follow as Chloe flounders, makes mistakes, and then wonder at the bond that develops between the two of them. Whilst still maintaining the fact that the hare is still, and always will (should) be, a wild animal.
I think I gelled with this book so much as I also have wild animals near me. I live in the middle of a built up city, in a terrace house with a small back yard. But for the past 5 years, we have had litters of foxes born in a den they dug under our shed. It kept me and my brother going during lockdown - we had 5 kits that year - so I can relate to how this helped her at the same time too. I can also now relate to getting attached. This year, for the first year, I bonded with 2 of the seven kits we watched grow up. It is getting on "chasing off" time and I am dreading the day they don't come to visit me. The one glaring difference between us and Chloe is that we named our foxes. The two special ones being Ethel and Spot. But that's nothing to do with the book - sorry I overshare!
The point I guess I am making is that this book touched me on a different level. I understood better some of what Chloe went through, albeit I was never responsible for any of my kits. I also only knew them for a matter of months. Chloe took on a long term responsibility. Little did she know...
All in all, a fascinating story and a wonderful one to boot. It definitely opened my eyes to a creature that you don't hear much about these days and one that I myself have only seen once or twice in the wild.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton is a beautifully written memoir chronicling her experience rescuing a baby hare, or leveret, during the Covid lockdown. After finding the newborn hare abandoned on a footpath, Dalton decides to save it, always mindful of maintaining its wild nature.

The memoir follows the heartwarming connection that grows between Dalton and the hare, as she helps it return to the wild while the hare continues to visit in unexpected ways. Dalton's vivid observations highlight the mysterious qualities of hares, their habits, and the seasonal changes that impact wildlife.

Through this three-year journey, Raising Hare explores the human connection to the natural world and the detrimental effects of mass agriculture on wildlife. Dalton writes with warmth and compassion, offering a moving story of a rare bond with an animal in decline. This book is both a celebration of nature and a reflection on the importance of slowing down to appreciate the world around us.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

I really wish I could give this more than five stars - this book touched me in a way few books ever have before. Raising Hare is an incredibly heartfelt and emotional tale that follows a woman’s journey as she learns to look after an abandoned leveret. It’s a book that will grab your heartstrings and refuse to let go, whilst giving you an appreciation for a wonderful animal that is oft overlooked.

As somebody who looks after rescue rabbits, this book really struck close to home. The empathy shown towards the hare is so incredibly touching and human - trying to guess what would be best for the leveret, without disturbing it or causing excess stress, is a very relatable feeling to any animal lover. This empathy is exceptionally well portrayed, and is a real strength of the book - it feels you’re brought along with the experience.

Another wonderful aspect of Raising Hare is how it also serves as an education, and showed me just how little I knew about hares - there are certainly similarities between hares and rabbits, but the book teaches you so much more about these wonderful creatures. The frequent references to mentions of hares in previous literature means it almost doubles up as a history of hares too, drawing in accounts from early science, sport, folklore and literature.

You can see the author and her perspective slowly shift over the course of the novel, as you discover more about hares along with her as the books progress. Starting with hares and quickly spreading to other flora and fauna, you can see her start to notice more and more details of the British countryside, seeing how the whole ecosystem connects together. This experience serves as a firsthand account of how an encounter with nature can change your whole worldview. The execution of this book is simply wonderful, and I just cannot recommend it highly enough. Thank you to NetGalley and to Canongate for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

Raising Hare was a beautiful book that left me so glad I read this book. I can’t say I knew much about hares before reading this book, but now will look at them with a different view. They are impressive animals. The author saved a little leveret and shared her story in this book which is full of great information and the author shared a lot of her findings. A lovely book about a caring woman and the gate that called her house it’s home.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This is the delightful true story of Chloe’s friendship with a wild leveret, just a day or two old when she rescued it. Full of facts about hares throughout history in art and literature. Beautiful hare illustrations & prose for each chapter header. Poetry by William Cowper helped Chloe to discern how best to feed her leveret. She went on an endearing journey of discovery, not only about hares, and her leveret, but herself. During Covid and beyond she watched the leveret grow & thrive. The story gets better and better. What a wonderful experience. Such trust. Thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommend this insightful book.

At first I was impatient with Raising Hare, waiting for ‘something to happen’ in the traditional structure of a story until eventually I realised that I was missing the very point the author was trying to make, which was about being still and just existing in the same space as nature, the better to appreciate its gifts.

Once I stopped looking for drama, I was able to enjoy learning about the hare and her family. This was a mild but satisfying experience with a hopeful message.

It was the cover that first attracted me to the book, who could resist that beautiful, proud hare with it’s ears erect and that mesmerising amber eye looking out at you, inviting you to open the book and hear its story.

Only ever referred to as Hare, the author and protective guardian Chloe Dalton refused to give the hare a name. She never wanted to domesticate what is a wild animal, and felt that giving it a name would lead to humanising it in a way, and that was something she really didn’t want to do.

When Chloe first sets out to try to save the life of this tiny leveret, she had no idea of what to feed it on or even how to feed it. Yet desperate to keep it alive she begins research into everything you could ever want to know about hares.

It’s a fascinating story and when I reached not that far into the book and Hare makes its way out into the wild, taking its place in its own natural environment, I did begin to wonder what the rest of the book could be about. I wasn’t disappointed, there’s a whole wealth of information to learn. How Chloe changed some of her ways of living to accommodate the comings and goings of Hare. They lived side by side, never encroaching on each others lives and we the reader are taken on a journey of learning about nature, and how we as humans take it too much for granted, taking away natural habitats and putting at risk the natural ecosystem of our countryside.

I found the book to be informative, sensitive, heart-warming, and it always instilled a feeling of relaxation whenever I picked it up to read. A precious opportunity for the author to experience nature up close and for us the reader to be able to share in that experience. A wonderful book.

There are many excellent reviews of Raising Hare already on here and they all explain how truly wonderful this book is; far far better than I have the words to do. All I’m going to add is that I absolutely love this book, far far more than I ever thought I would. Although I think it will have a smaller niche in the book world than it deserves, I recommend if you have stopped scrolling or perusing the shelves to admire its beautiful cover and you have turned over to find out more or are reading these reviews, then you purchase it immediately. It’s already caught your interest and I promise you will be enthralled and your heart will be warmed at the beautiful writing, truth and love that radiates out of the pages. It’s certainly not overly sentimental but a fascinating read with some truths about how we humans treat the wildlife we share this world with and the harsh reality of how nature itself can be cruel.

Basically I loved this book, it’s currently one of only a few five star reads this year so far, and one of the few books I will keep forever to dip into every so often. The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter are stunning.

With grateful thanks to Canongate Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

This is without doubt the standout book of 2024 for me so far. I was enthralled throughout. Dalton lyrically combines the wonder of nature with facts and observations in her writing that makes it such a joy to read.

‘Raising Hare’ is the story of how one woman unexpectedly ended up rescuing a leveret and bringing it up in her house before it ventures back out into the wild. Only the story doesn’t end there, as while the hare is not tamed, it does form a bond with Dalton which is played out in various forms over several years. We journey with the author as she has to adapt to this new creature in her house of which she, at first, knows nothing about. As time passes the existence of the hare causes her own outlook on the world to change as she sees both beauty and dangers that lurk in the countryside.

This was such a wonderful book and it encapsulates the very best of nature writing. I turned the final page to be left with more knowledge about hares (which have always been one of my favourite animals) and also a determination to take time to notice all of the nature that surrounds me too. I was only disappointed that the book had to finish, I happily could have read many more chapters. A very solid five stars!

This is an absolutely lovely book, about a woman cut off from the world except by the internet during Covid lockdowns. Moving from London to her cottage built from a barn conversion in the deep countryside, she finds a tiny leveret one day and, as it hasn't been reclaimed by its mother some hours later and is clearly in danger on the laneway, she takes it home and raises it.

The intent is to raise the hare to return to the wild, so it's not made a pet, nor named. Kitten milk and such are the early feeds, but there's little or no info anywhere about leverets. The author tells us how she coped, the choices she made, some quickly abandoned - no hutch or cage, as the hare feels safe when she can see a long way around her.

As she reads historical works the author learns more on the subject of this fascinating animal. Warning that, as with reading about cats during the Middle Ages, unhappy scenes are called forth.
The later pages are thoughtful as the author describes how intensely, massively, industrialised agriculture wrecks the lives and prospects of every living creature in her vicinity. To counter this, she plants trees, hedges and digs a pond out which has silted up, providing habitat.

The building of the cottage had also removed space in a tumbledown corner barn which hares used to use, so fittingly, hares once more romp through the walls and play on the steps. The kindness shown to this hare is repaid by her demonstration of trust and the way she quietly enriches the author's previously too-rushed life.

No photos in my e-ARC but several line drawings of hares. Anyone who loves nature, or wants to be a vet or wildlife rescuer, will adore the read.
Readers may enjoy Joyce Stranger's The Hare At Dark Hollow, and Garry Kilworth's Frost Dancers, not mentioned in the reference list at the end.

I read an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

I was asked to review this book by NetGalley and I was so glad I did. What a lovely nature book to give hope and stir up the emotions which it certainly did. The author has written a good account of how she raised a wild Leveret, and as it grew and had off spring this was such an insighful read for the reader. I was aware that they are almost extinct but this actually brought home we need to protect them before they are gone forever.

Beautifully written

Jolly glad I had the chance to read this.

One of the best books I think I've ever read.

The story itself is simple, but the writing is so immersive, emotive, and scenic. Very different, but as a child I had one friend - my pet rabbit, Jaff, who lived to 12. The way Chloe succinctly but dreamily encapsulates her thoughts throughout this book made me reevaluate how I view nature and wild beautiful creatures. I cried multiple times, and would recommend this book to anyone with a beating heart.

I really enjoyed this book. The journey of raising hare was so well described and the obvious respect for the wild animals was apparent. Recommended.

A beautiful wildlife memoir about a woman who hand-reared a hare. The language is exquisite and the story,  life affirming.