The Rabbit hOle brings youth literature to (larger than) life in the Northland

A young visitor to the Rabbit hOle climbs out of the tunnel that’s part of the exhibit for ‘The Funny Thing’ // Photo by Beth Lipoff

Tucked away in an industrial neighborhood in North Kansas City, the Rabbit hOle’s 150,000 square foot building doesn’t stand out much from the outside. Inside is a different story, as you go up, well, through a rabbit hole into a world of children’s literature.

When you stop by, you can visit Frog and Toad’s marshy abodes, get scolded by some cap-clad monkeys or climb through a tunnel to feed The Funny Thing.

And if you’re not familiar with every book featured, that’s fine. By each interactive display are copies of the book in question, so you can refresh yourself or discover a totally new story.

It all comes from former owners of The Reading Reptile, Deb Pettid and Pete Cowdin, who started dreaming up The Rabbit hOle in 2015. That dream became more solid in 2018, when they bought the building, and has continued to build through pop-ups in the Crossroads, leading to March 12, when the non-profit museum finally opened its doors at 919 E. 14th Ave.

One thing parents don’t have to worry about is telling kids not to touch. A large portion of the exhibits have things to climb, tunnel through or poke. On opening day, The Fire Cat’s station attracted both little kids and teenagers who wanted to slide down the fire pole.

A few things, such as bike-riding mouse Anatole who travels on a track, are behind glass.

A few visitors take the opportunity to read ‘The Funny Thing’ after seeing its interactive exhibit at the Rabbit hOle. Photo by Beth Lipoff

Emily Hane, development manager, says a lot of thought went into curating the various exhibits. Their John Steptoe exhibit doesn’t highlight one specific book but offers the experience of reading his books and those of other black authors in the setting of a 1960s New York bookstore. 

Another exhibit highlights the work of Puerto Rican librarian and author Pura Belpré.

“I think that’s going to be a key element, ensuring we are finding creators of different backgrounds. The history of children’s literature is not particularly diverse. Everyone deserves to have a book by someone who looks like them,” Hane says.

Although they’ve received some philanthropic support from publishers, no donors get to determine what gets featured in the museum.

The nostalgia of it all struck visitor Genevieve Sloan, who has many happy memories of the books. For her, the museum is like The Reading Reptile “on a 10,000 times scale,” she says.

Sloan says she especially loves physicality of the exhibits.

“It’s unbelievable to see my nieces and nephews experience what I did,” she says.

Many features aren’t fully open but will be available either by the April 27 grand opening or a little later in the year. 

One such item is the tiger carousel highlighting the book “Sam and the Tigers”, a story from African-American author Julius Lester that reimagined the character Little Black Sambo.

The carousel based on ‘Sam and the Tigers’ will be fully operational in the future, but visitor can still climb on it now. Photo by Beth Lipoff

Kids can sit in it right now, but it doesn’t move just yet. They’re still making a few adjustments to it before it will run.

Another is the automat café that will feature foods based on books in the museum. So if Strega Nona has you craving pasta or you get a hankering for Sal’s blueberries, they’ll eventually have it covered.

Also on the horizon are the story lab that will host writing classes and the print shop that will detail all the steps of book binding.

The museum takes inspiration from the art-driven City Museum in St. Louis. Eventually, the idea is for the Rabbit hOle to expand not only to the upper floors of its building but through the roof, just like City Museum. Fundraising will dictate the pace of any expansions.

Two dozen artists are permanently on staff to craft and repair the exhibits. The challenge for them is to find ways to shift two-dimensional art into 3-D.

“Anything we make has to look exactly like the book we’re replicating, so it’s a big challenge for artists. And I think it shows how talented the Rabbit hOle team is, because an artist like Shel Silverstein who’s just black lines on white paper is completely different from an artist like William Steig. … It’s not only capturing the styles, the colors and the shapes of a book. It’s also capturing the spirit of the illusion,” Hane says.

‘The Fire Cat’ exhibit has a pole to slide down that was popular with younger kids and teens on the Rabbit hOle’s opening day. Photo by Beth Lipoff

To make some larger-than-life flowers, Rabbit hOle artists shaped copper wire into petals, covered them with pantyhose and painted them. The Goodnight Moon bed required a deft hand at carpentry to deal with a few unconventional angles.

“We believe children deserve a place that is beautiful and that is built to celebrate children’s culture. And if they see something that is beautiful and interesting and it inspires them to pick up a book that they might not pick up otherwise, then we’ve really done our job. But most of all, we just want people to have fun,” Hane says.

The resulting displays throughout the space impressed local artist Taylor Loux, who visited on opening day. For Loux, the exhibits evoke not only City Museum but also Denver’s Meow Wolf.

“It feels really innovative and playful. To see all the materials they used— it’s an artist’s paradise,” Loux says.

Tickets to the museum are $16 for everyone, ages 2 and up. For more information, visit rabbitholekc.org. 

The grand opening celebration will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 27. There will be musical performances, appearances from children’s book authors and illustrators, as well as hands-on crafts.

The staircase has lines from ‘My Father’s Dragon’ to read as you climb up to what will eventually be the second floor of the Rabbit hOle. Photo by Beth Lipoff