JUDGY BUNNY AND THE TERRIBLE BEACH

There’s nothing pleasing about the beach…or is there?

A white bunny with red spectacles and a striped swimsuit sits on a towel, arms defiantly crossed. “Too hot.” A smiling sun radiates heat as other frolicking rabbits toss a beach ball and go parasailing, but our bunny protagonist is unyielding. “Bad.” Nothing about the seashore charms our hero. The sea creatures are gross (“Yuck”); the sand castles aren’t impressive: “Anyone can make that.” The rabbit looks on resentfully as the others share ice cream cones, and readers may catch on; perhaps the rabbit is just lonely. When a beach ball hits the bunny on the head, prompting a comically exasperated response (“Why must you be so ROUND?!?”), a brown rabbit retrieves the ball and apologizes. The newcomer invites the judgmental bunny to play. At first, everything is awful, just as our protagonist imagined, but then a different perspective brings it all into a new light. Hunter’s squat bunnies clad in beach attire and Rothman’s spare, grumpily humorous prose will elicit guffaws. The bespectacled hero cycles through a variety of emotions behind those big red frames, happily landing on acceptance and joy—except where beach balls are concerned.

A lighthearted reminder to challenge assumptions and be open to new experiences.