Cori Doerrfeld Books
Cori Doerrfeld is an American author and illustrator known for her heartfelt picture books that address emotional intelligence and empathy. She lives in Minnesota and has created several acclaimed works for children.
Known for: The Rabbit Listened
Books by Cori Doerrfeld
The Rabbit Listened
Some of the most important lessons children learn are not about winning, fixing, or moving on quickly, but about what it means to feel disappointed and be truly understood. In The Rabbit Listened, Cori Doerrfeld turns a simple moment—a child building a magnificent block tower only to watch it collapse—into a profound exploration of empathy, emotional resilience, and connection. As different animals rush in with advice, distractions, and solutions, none of them can meet Taylor where the hurt actually lives. Only the rabbit does something deceptively small yet deeply powerful: it stays, listens, and allows the feelings to unfold. That gentle premise is what makes this picture book so memorable for both children and adults. It gives young readers permission to feel big emotions without shame, while also offering parents, teachers, and caregivers a practical model for responding with patience instead of control. Doerrfeld, an acclaimed author-illustrator known for emotionally intelligent children’s books, brings warmth, clarity, and insight to a subject many families struggle to navigate. The result is a timeless parenting story about the healing power of presence.
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Building Joy, Then Facing Loss
A child’s heartbreak may look small to an adult, but to the child living it, it is the whole world for that moment. The Rabbit Listened begins with joy: Taylor carefully stacks block after block, building something tall, beautiful, and deeply personal. The tower is more than a toy structure. It repr...
From The Rabbit Listened
Why Everyone Rushes to Help
When someone is hurting, our first instinct is often not to understand them but to relieve our own discomfort. After Taylor’s tower falls, the animals gather with urgency. Each wants to help, and each offers a response that sounds reasonable on the surface. One suggests talking, another proposes sho...
From The Rabbit Listened
Listening Without Trying to Control
Real listening is harder than speaking because it asks us to set aside our agenda. The rabbit in The Rabbit Listened does not arrive with a script, a strategy, or a demand that Taylor feel better quickly. It simply comes close and listens. That quiet choice becomes the emotional turning point of the...
From The Rabbit Listened
Big Feelings Need Room to Move
Emotions do not follow neat adult schedules. One reason The Rabbit Listened resonates so deeply is that it shows feelings as changing, layered, and physical. Taylor does not respond to loss in one tidy way. Sadness, anger, noise, and quiet all make appearances. The rabbit allows the full emotional c...
From The Rabbit Listened
Empathy Is Presence, Not Performance
Many people think empathy means saying the perfect thing, but The Rabbit Listened shows that empathy often looks much simpler. The rabbit does not deliver wisdom, offer a lesson, or put on a cheerful performance. It shows up, stays close, and pays attention. In doing so, the book dismantles a common...
From The Rabbit Listened
From Hurt to Readiness to Rebuild
Healing rarely begins with a plan; it begins with feeling understood. Only after Taylor has been listened to does something shift. The energy changes. The pain has not been erased, but it has been carried long enough to become bearable. Then, and only then, does rebuilding become possible. This pro...
From The Rabbit Listened
About Cori Doerrfeld
Cori Doerrfeld is an American author and illustrator known for her heartfelt picture books that address emotional intelligence and empathy. She lives in Minnesota and has created several acclaimed works for children.
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Cori Doerrfeld is an American author and illustrator known for her heartfelt picture books that address emotional intelligence and empathy. She lives in Minnesota and has created several acclaimed works for children.
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