DO I HAVE TO TAKE VIOLET?

by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 1987

A new author-illustrator makes a promising debut in a charming picture book about two bunnies who learn that playing together can be fun--even for sisters. Mama Bunny, needing some peace and quiet, prevails upon Elly to take younger sister Violet for a walk on a nearby rocky beach, which effectively spoils Elly's plans for swimming, climbing trees, or skateboarding. Resentful, she tries older-sister tricks--ignoring Violet, attempting to scare her, telling her to go away--but Violet proves impervious, and even as good as Elly when it comes to scaring sisters. When Elly finally decides to give in to the inevitable, they cooperate to make seaweed soup; and she learns that Violet is an enjoyable, imaginative playmate--who gets hungry at the same time, too. Told almost entirely in dialogue, this is a predictable story redeemed by Stevenson's ear (Violet's singsongs are especially believable) and her eye for the gestures and expressions of the age group she is depicting. The pictures, done in splashy colors with slapdash images, delightfully display Stevenson's ability to ground her story in small, concrete realities. She shows interesting potential.

Pub Date: April 7, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S