Tag: bunnies

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Red Bunny & Yellow Bunny: The one that slipped by me!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Red Bunny & Yellow Bunny, by Claire Garralon, (March 2019, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $7.99, ISBN: 9781492680147

Ages 0-4

I sent off my Board Books post this morning, then realized I forgot one! Red Bunny & Yellow Bunny is the latest board book from Claire Garralon, who gave us the adorable Black Cat & White Cat in 2016. In Red Bunny & Yellow Bunny, two bunnies meet, fall in love, and have an orange baby bunny! What happens when that baby bunny grows up and falls in love? Keep reading!

I love how Claire Garralon communicates ideas about gender, social issues, and community for our youngest readers. The bunnies are genderless – no male or female pronouns needed; they are different colors, yet come together, fall in love, and have a baby that adorably blends their colors (red plus yellow makes orange, after all!). Bunnies fall in love with other bunnies, regardless of color, and create a rainbow of happy baby bunnies, all of whom play and live together. We saw a similar story emerge from Black Cat & White Cat, where two different color cats have to find a neutral place to play so they can see one another.

Naturally, we also have a sweet story that uses color concepts: explain that yellow and red make orange, and then ask what a yellow bunny and blue bunny’s baby would look like, or a red bunny and blue bunny’s baby. There’s a free, downloadable color mixing resource available on Teachers Pay Teachers, that you can hand out and let kids play with for a storytime activity. Let them fingerpaint and discover their own colors, or grab some Do a Dot! art markers.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Happy Book Birthday to Sleep, My Bunny – new Rosemary Wells!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sleep, My Bunny, by Rosemary Wells, (Nov. 2018, Candlewick Press), $14.99, ISBN: 9780763692629

Ages 2-7

A delicate lullaby for bedtime, Sleep, My Bunny – originally published in 1977 as “Good Night, Sweet Prince” in Don’t Spill it Again, James – is Rosemary Wells’ newest picture book. A bunny family goes through their bedtime routine as the sun sets and night falls. As the words describe the sounds of the evening: crickets and owls sing together; the wind takes the moon for a ride; the pictures show a young bunny and his parents putting toys away, choosing pajamas, having a bath, and selecting a story before a little song and dance, and then, sleep.

The gentle pastels and mixed media artwork starts bold and bright, as the bright sun shines outside during sunset; gradually, the sky grows darker in each spread – the sky in the depicted window in each scene mirrors the text’s background on the accompanying pages – until a midnight blue brings bedtime to a sleepy Bunny. The family is loving and playful, delighting in one another; everyone’s smiles are wide and they have gentle, loving gazes for each other, making this a wonderful cuddle time book. Endpapers set the mood, with a tinge of sun in the lower left-hand corner of the front endpapers; a midnight blue sky and a hazy crescent moon shine on the back endpapers.

Sleepy, My Bunny is a gentle story for toddlers, preschoolers, and Kindergarteners; early readers can help at bedtime by reading this to a sibling (or pet, or lovey). Another classic from Rosemary Wells.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Cucumber Quest: Bunny Siblings Save the World!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Cucumber Quest, Vol. 1: The Doughnut Kingdom, by Gigi DG, (Oct. 2017, :01FirstSecond), $14.99, ISBN: 9781626728325

Recommended for ages 8-12

If you’ve never read the webcomic Cucumber Quest, now’s your chance to dive in. The seven kingdoms of Dreamside are in trouble when the evil queen Cordelia plans to unleash some serious havoc. Cucumber – who’s all packed and ready to start his studies at Puffington’s Academy for the Magically Gifted – gets a letter from his dad, telling him that it’s up to him to save the kingdoms. His brave and way-more-heroic sister, Almond, offers to go in his place, but their mother and father seem to have some pretty outdated ideas about gender, and tells her it’s too dangerous for her. Almond joins Cucumber’s Quest, regardless, and the two head out in search of the Dream Sword: the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Cordelia’s supernatural thug, the Nightmare Knight. On the way, Cucumber and Almond meet a batty Dream Oracle, a trio of hare-brained guards, and a host of other wacky characters.

Beginning life as a webcomic (that you can still read online), Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom collects the first 137 pages of Cucumber Quest (the Prologue and chapter 0); Cucumber Quest 2: The Ripple Kingdom will continue collecting stories from the online archive. Forty pages of additional comics, including Reader Q&A for various characters, and short bios for each character, complete with ability ratings in trading card format, concept art, and a tour of the world of Dreamside, home to the seven kingdoms.

The story is light and fun; the artwork is cute and Chibi-inspired. Manga fans will love it, as will adventure fans. Give this to your Adventure Time and Steven Universe readers; for your fantasy fans that want some lighter summer reading (or aren’t really passionate readers… YET), this will be a welcome addition to shelves.

Want to learn more? Check out the Cucumber Quest wiki and Cucumber Quest page, where you can access the complete comic archive and learn more about the characters.