Having survived a trip through the dryer and a horrific case of mistaken identity, Knuffle Bunny and Trixie are headed for Holland to visit Trixie’s Oma and Opa. This means a whole lot of waiting before “(finally) getting onto a real airplane!” It will surprise none of their fans that, once at Oma and Opa’s, “Trixie realize[s] something!” Alas, retrieving a forgotten bunny from a China-bound airliner proves impossible, even for daddy. Willems uses his arresting technique of digitally placing full-color cartoons in black-and-white photographs against muted negative space, and his pacing is as pitch-perfect as ever. But this is a tale of a girl who’s growing up, and, just as Trixie’s lip doesn’t quiver quite so much, the emotional arc here is flattened. “She was getting bigger. / Even if she wished she wasn’t.” This feels more like a book for parents than children, a feeling underscored by the coda, an illustrated note to Trixie from her daddy that imagines her growing up and starting a family of her own. It’s a whole lot more palatable than Love You Forever, but still—maybe it would have been better for the fictional Trixie not to grow up. (Picture book. Adult)
