The Origin of Yabbit the Rabbit: How “No Yeah-Buts” Became a Children’s Book About Courage

Yabbit the Rabbit began with a phrase my mother, Barbara Bedner, used whenever I hesitated, avoided something, or tried to talk my way out of a challenge: “No yeah-buts.” Years later, that phrase became the beginning of a children’s book character created to help hesitant kids recognize fear, name avoidance, and take one small brave hop forward.

Every beloved character begins somewhere. Yabbit’s origin began in our house, with a mother raising two children while balancing a busy career, and a child who often loved the idea of doing something new until the moment arrived.

Who created Yabbit the Rabbit?

Yabbit the Rabbit was first imagined by my mother, Barbara Bedner. Between work and family, my mother did not have much time to debate with us. Whenever I hesitated, resisted a task, or tried to avoid doing something, I often answered with the same familiar phrase: “Yeah, but…”

That became my little escape hatch. If I did not want to do something, or if I felt nervous and wanted a way out, there was usually a “yeah, but” waiting nearby. My mother’s answer came just as quickly: “No yeah-buts.”

After hearing that exchange hundreds of times, she began imagining a story about a little rabbit who did the same thing. A rabbit who hesitated. A rabbit who always had a reason not to begin. A rabbit who said “yeah, but” whenever something felt difficult, uncertain, or scary.

That is how Yabbit the Rabbit was born.

What does Yabbit mean?

Yabbit comes from “yeah, but.”

In our family, “yeah, but” was not just a phrase. It was a pattern. It was the sound of hesitation, avoidance, worry, resistance, and the moment before a child decides whether to try or retreat.

My mother understood that children do not always avoid things because they are lazy or difficult. Sometimes they avoid because the beginning feels too big. Sometimes they want to participate, but the closer the moment gets, the more fear takes over.

Yabbit became a way to give that feeling a character.

He represents the child who wants to try but freezes. The child who comes up with an excuse when confidence disappears. The child who likes the idea of a new activity, new school year, new team, new class, or new experience until it is time to step into it.

That is why Yabbit matters. He gives hesitant children a way to feel seen without feeling shamed.

Why was The Rabbit in the Moon created?

The Rabbit in the Moon was created to help children understand that courage does not mean being fearless. It means trying one small step even when something feels big.

That idea came directly from my childhood. I often loved the idea of new experiences, but as the event got closer, I would become anxious about actually participating.

I wanted to play on a traveling baseball team, and even after trying out and making the team, I did not want to go. I liked the idea of summer sports camps, and my parents were happy to sign me up, but when the date arrived and the bags were packed, I would freeze and try to find a way out.

One memory has stayed with me for years. Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa hosted a weeklong sports camp for children. I signed up with a few friends, and when the time came, we all drove there together. But when the parents were supposed to leave, I did not want to stay.

Even with my friends there, I felt unsure.

My mother did not force the moment. She took me aside and told me I did not have to stay if I truly did not want to. She also said she would stay an extra hour to make sure I was okay.

That changed everything. Her reassurance, and the lack of pressure, gave me enough space to test the experience instead of running from it. An hour later, I told her I wanted to stay and that I would see her at the end of the week.

Looking back, that was a tiny brave hop before I had the words for it.

Why hesitant children need smaller beginnings

Hesitant children are often misunderstood.

From the outside, hesitation can look like stubbornness, refusal, or drama. But inside the child, the moment may feel much more complicated. They may want to try and still feel afraid. They may want to join and still freeze. They may want to be brave and still need the first step to feel smaller.

That is the emotional space Yabbit was created to hold.

My mother did not invent Yabbit as a character who magically becomes fearless. She imagined him as a character who personified the “yeah, but” voice children sometimes use when fear gets in the way. Through Yabbit, children can recognize that voice, understand it, and begin to move forward without being pushed, rushed, or shamed.

That belief became central to The Rabbit in the Moon and the Tiny Brave Hop Method. To learn more about using tiny brave hops with hesitant children, read: https://www.yabbitrabbit.com/parent-resources/how-to-help-your-child-take-tiny-brave-hops

How the idea became a book

After college, when the dot-com bubble had burst and the economy was difficult, I decided it might finally be time to write the story my mother had been encouraging me to write for years. I walked to the beach with a notebook and pen, ready to begin.

The only line I managed to put on paper was:

“Yabbit the Rabbit had a bad habit.”

Writing a children’s book was much harder than I imagined. At the time, I also was not truly connected to the idea yet. It was my mother’s idea, not mine, and I had not found my own way into it. It is difficult to carry someone else’s spark forward when you have not yet found the fire inside it yourself.

After I moved to Chicago in 2004, I registered the domain name and thought I was ready to write the book. But that was as far as I got. The idea stayed alive, but only as an idea.

In 2007, my mother came across a children’s book illustrator and pleaded with me to finally write the story and work with her. I was too caught up in my own career and life at that time, and Yabbit remained unfinished.

Still, the character never disappeared. Some ideas wait until you are ready to understand why they matter.

Why Yabbit still matters

Yabbit the Rabbit matters because every child has a “yeah, but” moment.

It may happen before school, sports, reading, bedtime, making friends, trying something new, joining a group, or facing a mistake. The details change, but the feeling is familiar: something looks too big, and the child looks for a way out.

Yabbit gives that feeling a name, and The Rabbit in the Moon gives children a story where that feeling is understood instead of judged. The Tiny Brave Hop Method then gives parents, teachers, and children a simple way to respond: not by pushing harder, not by shaming the hesitation, and not by saying “just be brave,” but by finding one small step forward that feels possible.

To learn more about Yabbit and the world of The Rabbit in the Moon, visit: https://www.yabbitrabbit.com/yabbit-the-rabbit

Watch the origin story

You can watch the origin of Yabbit the Rabbit in my YouTube documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EsGt8S3b84

Buy the Book

If your child hesitates, freezes before trying, says “I can’t,” or needs courage to feel smaller, The Rabbit in the Moon was created for that moment.

Yabbit is not fearless. He pauses. He worries. He feels the size of the journey before him. With Snail’s steady support, he learns that courage does not have to arrive all at once. It can begin with one tiny brave hop.

That is the heart of Yabbit’s origin, and it is the heart of the book.