"When Harold the rabbit was tiny and small
his feet started growing and that's about all.
'Oh Gracious!' his mother exclaimed in surprise.
'They're two times too big for a rabbit your size!'
'That's a sign', said his father, 'he'll grow to great height.'
And Father's prediction turned out to be right."
YOUNG HAROLD
"The story of a giant rabbit titled 'Huge Harold' began simply by sketching a giant rabbit the size of a horse. Then I thought about the problems of Huge Harold might have since he was too big to hide in the weeds, or under bushes, in hollow logs - needs a lot to eat, etc. How Harold might run for his life through the fields and forests of the farm country, and how he finally runs for fun and glory turned out to be my second story book. From speaking notes.
"Well, in the case of Harold, I was delighted to receive a letter from a teacher about Huge Harold. She happened to have a student in her class who was a very large boy. He had a great problem about reading and couldn't get out of second grade. He was much larger than the other boys, due to the fact that, of course, he failed in reading and didn't move ahead in his school. But when he found Huge Harold he found a friend evidently, because he started reading. He read Huge Harold over and over. And ever since he has been reading well."
Bill Peet in an interview with E. Edwards, post 1970
