rabbits

Book Review: You’re Finally Here! by Melanie Watt

| Tasha

yourefinallyhere

You’re Finally Here by Melanie Watt

A very excited bunny greets readers on the first page with “Hooray!  You’re here!  You’re here!  You’re finally here!”  But then he starts asking questions, “Where were you?”  Do you realize how long he has been waiting for you?  Do you know how bored he was?  Then he realizes that he’s being rude and greets the reader happily again.  But he changes moods once again and starts talking about how rude it was to make him wait.  He is very eager to have you stay with him and starts to talk about it when his mobile phone rings.  Now it’s the bunny that has no time for the reader.

The author of the Scaredy Squirrel and Chester series has created another very unique and funny character.  This little bunny who is unable to stay positive and embracing of the reader rings true completely.  It is exactly the sort of conversation you have with a child who has had to wait.  Watt’s illustrations are bright, bouncy and great fun.  The facial expressions of the rabbit are very successful as well, capturing his shifting moods perfectly thanks to his very expressive eyebrows that make an appearance when he gets negative.

Funny and silly, you won’t want to wait to read this one!  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons

| Tasha

snowrabbit

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons by Il Sung Na

The author of A Book of Sleep returns with another book filled with striking illustrations.  When winter comes, all of the animals know it.  Some fly to warmer places, others take a long sleep, some swim to warmer waters, and others grow a thicker coat.  The white rabbit leads readers through so many different types of animals and how they deal with the winter season.  Then spring comes and all of the animals know it’s a new season.  That includes our friend the rabbit who looks very different now!

Il Sung Na has created a book that celebrates changing seasons with a sense of joy and fun.  Readers will see migration, hibernation, and much more in this book.  The text remains simple and straight-forward, keeping the concepts to a preschool level nicely. 

The real impact is made by Il Sung Na’s incredible illustrations that are lush, vivid and at the same time laced with a real delicacy of line and pattern.  Created using handmade textures combined with digitally generated layers, this is a sort of illustration that is stylized, modern and still welcoming and friendly.

Highly recommended, this book is a beautiful exploration of changing seasons, ideal for welcoming spring.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.

Also reviewed by:

Ribbit Rabbit: Great Rhyming Fun

| Tasha

ribbitrabbit

Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Mike Lowery

Frog and Bunny are the best of friend.  They swim together.  Fight monsters together.  Even share peanut butter sandwiches.  But sometimes something happens and they stop getting along.  Like when they find a robot with a key.  One of them ends up with the robot, the other with the key.  And they don’t want to share.  After a bit of alone time though, they come together ready to share and have fun once again.

Ryan’s text is such fun to read aloud.  It trips, gallops, dashes and dances on the tongue.  The rhythm of the book is a delight and the silly rhymes add joy to the book.  It is impossible to read it without grinning. 

Lowery’s illustrations have a wonderful modern, fresh feel to them.  Done in pencil, screen printing and print gocco, they are finished digitally.  They have a simplicity that works well here.  The soft colors have an intriguing pop to them and the texture from the screen printing adds to the appeal.

Highly recommended, this is a top choice for toddler and preschool story times.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC received from Bloomsbury.

Also reviewed by The Bookbag and Young Readers.

Little White Rabbit: Masterful Simplicity

| Tasha

littlewhiterabbit

Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes

Little White Rabbit set off filled with imagination.  As he hopped through the grass, he wondered what it would be like to be green.  When he went by the fir trees, he wondered what being tall was like.  When he hopped over the rock, he wondered about how it would feel not to be able to move.  When he saw the butterflies, he imagined being able to fly.  But when he saw the cat, he got too scared to imagine anymore.  He hurried back to his family and didn’t stop wondering and imagining.

Henkes is a master of the picture book format.  The simple words here carry the story beautifully, giving just enough detail to keep the book moving.  The focus on wondering and imagining is one that will have young minds wondering along with the book, exactly what I love to see in any picture book. 

The illustrations, done in colored pencil and acrylic paint, are also simple.  They are nice and large, which will work well with a group of preschoolers.  The simplicity speaks to the skill of Henkes as an illustrator.   The double-page spreads of the imaginings of Little White Rabbit offer lots of exploration, moments of quiet, and space for young children to have their own daydreams too.

Simplicity by a master of the genre, this book will be adored by Henkes’ many fans and will find new fans too.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Brimful Curiosities.

Check out the video about the making of this book:

The Fox in the Dark

| Tasha

fox

The Fox in the Dark by Alison Green, illustrated by Deborah Allwright

Rabbit runs home, frightened that there is a fox chasing him in the dark.  He makes it home safely, but then he hears a Rat-a-tat-tat! at the door.  Who could it be?  It’s a duck who is also being chased by the fox and needs a safe place to be.  Rabbit lets Duck in, sharing his burrow, blanket and bed.  But just then another knock comes at the door.  This time it is Mouse.  Another knock and it’s Lamb.  All of them scared of the fox in the dark.  And then another knock comes at the door.  This time it’s the fox in the dark! 

A combination of dynamic writing and energetic illustrations makes for a stirring read that will have children guessing the entire way through.  Green offers young listeners plenty of rhythm and rhyme that is rambunctious.  It also builds up the drama and tension.  The book reads aloud very well and is sure to have preschool audiences in rapt attention. Allwright’s illustrations play a lot with light and dark, offering deep underground shots of the burrow that is filled with pools of yellow lamplight.  The moods set by this use of dark and light really add even further to the dynamic nature of the story.

Recommended for preschool story times, this book would also make a great Halloween read due to the tension built up.  It would make a great breather from witches and ghosts that time of year.  But don’t wait until then to share it with children!  Fit it into any story time featuring rabbits or foxes.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Mad at Mommy: Beautiful Anger

| Tasha

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Mad at Mommy by Komako Sakai

Released in October 2010.

A new book from the creator of The Snow Day, this book offers an accurate portrayal of child anger. 

Little Bunny is very angry at his mommy.  And he is more than willing to tell her exactly why.  She sleeps late on Saturdays.  She never lets him watch cartoons.  She always yells for no reason.  She is always telling him to hurry up and then not hurrying herself.  She always forgets to do the laundry.  She told him he can’t marry her when he is older.  So he’s decided to run away.  For a moment or two.

Sakai has created a very spare and minimal picture book.  The use of texture and roughness in the illustrations complements the frustration of Little Bunny.  Originally published in Japan, the book does feel different than American picture books, especially in its illustrations. The subject matter is universal.  The book is told in the child’s voice, which Sakai captures winningly.  The complaints are offered as a list, one to the next, as if they are occurring to him as he speaks.  The effect is a rather dynamic feel to the book, leaping from one idea to the next.

A beauty of a book that will make a great contrast to other anger books like When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry by Mollly Bang and Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth

| Tasha

Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth by Marie-Louise Gay

Roslyn woke up in the morning knowing just what she was going to do that day.  She was going to dig the biggest hole on earth in her backyard.  Over her breakfast of carrot flakes, she told her father about her plan and he thought it was a good one.  She just had to be back for lunch.  Roslyn careful chose the perfect spot for her hole.  But when she started digging there, a worm complained that she was digging up his front yard and should dig somewhere else.  She moved near the fence but then a grumpy mole stuck his head out and complained that she was digging up his bedroom.  She moved near the lilac bush and started digging again.  She dug until she found what she thought was a dinosaur bone!  But the dog that had buried it came and told her that she was digging up his stash of bones.  Roslyn gave up.  She lay in the bottom of the hole.  Just as she was despairing, her father arrived with carrot sandwiches to lift her spirits.

This book captures a child’s view of the world where the obstacle is not the big idea but the small hurdles on the way to fruition.  Gay has written a book about a child with plenty of ideas and energy who is supported by a loving adult.  Roslyn is told along the way by everyone except her father that the hole will never be that big, that she will never dig to the South Pole, that she should give up.  This is a lesson in perseverance that very nicely concludes before the goal is reached.

Gay’s illustrations are delightful.  Done in mixed media, they have a wonderful texture to them that is used to great effect to be the underground portion of the illustrations.  Complete with rough tears, the paper really captures the grit of the dirt.  Gay has also filled the dirt with small touches: worms, carrots, missing socks, leaves, and rocks.  It is a pleasure to pore over the illustrations to find the “treasures” underground.

A charming story that will inspire readers to follow their heart no matter what other say, this book is appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Brown Rabbit in the City

| Tasha

Brown Rabbit in the City by Natalie Russell

This book follows the story which began in Moon Rabbit about the friendship between Brown Rabbit and Little Rabbit, though this story focuses on Brown Rabbit’s point of view.  Brown Rabbit was headed to the city for the very first time to visit his friend Little Rabbit.  Little Rabbit is so excited to see him that she takes him on whirlwind tour of the city, dashing in and out of shops, sightseeing, and finally dancing.  But it’s all too much for Brown Rabbit, who finally heads out on his own.  Little Rabbit realizes then that she hadn’t really spoken to Brown Rabbit all day long and sets out to find him and make things right again.

Russell makes a nice exploration of friendship that children will easily relate to.  By mixing in the bustle and rush of the city with the excitement of a visiting friend, the story becomes about taking time in life in general and taking time with those we love.  It never gets too sentimental, but keeps it all simple and heartfelt.  Once again, it is the illustrations that really shine here in their simplicity and style.  Done in an organic palette of browns, greens, robin egg blue, and warm earthy yellow, the book is truly lovely.  Add to that the simple lines and hip styling and you have a modern classic.

Highly recommended, though you should start with Moon Rabbit first, this book builds on the first book and offers an unrushed look at our busy lives.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

Sweet Dreams Lullaby

| Tasha

Sweet Dreams Lullaby by Betsy Snyder

In rhyming couplets, a young bunny prepares for bed in this peaceful book.  Young listeners will cuddle down just like the bunny as they move through a landscape of jewel tones and sensory imagery.  The illustrations move from late afternoon through the moon rising and stars twinkling in the sky.  Different animals make their way to bed following some of the same steps as children.  Hummingbirds get drinks of water.  Ducks wash themselves in puddles.  A daddy frog sings to his children.  Beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a small gem of a book.

Snyder excels at both writing and illustrating.  Some of the images in her poem are so lovely, gentle and perfect that they will stop you for a moment in delight.  The clever use of parallels between the animal bedtimes and children’s routines are done with a subtle hand.  Snyder’s illustrations are filled with deep colors that change throughout the book as the evening deepens.  There is a sense of continuity throughout the illustrations and the book that is soothing and gentle.

A great bedtime book for toddlers, one can’t read this book without feeling calm, warm and snuggly.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Visit Betsy Snyder’s blog for information on her work.  You can also read an interview with her at Picture Book Junkies Blog.