WHO AM I?

A rabbit with a madcap imagination pretends to be many other animals.

Seen only in black silhouette, with long ears prominently protruding, a rabbit wears a frog mask and declares, “I am a frog. RIBBIT!” An off-page voice (represented in a colorful speech bubble) counters: “You are not a frog. You are a rabbit!” The rabbit then tries on several other masks: rooster, tiger, owl, and more, each time vocalizing as if it were that animal. The off-page voice of reason disputes each one, the cumulative list growing longer and longer: “You are not a bear, a pig, a monkey, a sheep, an owl, a mouse, a tiger, a rooster, or a frog. You are a rabbit!” Finally, the rabbit—showing its full whiskered face—questions, “By the way, what are you?” The view pulls back to reveal the voice, which looks to be a bat…or is it? As evident in Turner’s previous work, Who Broke the Vase? (2017), the author/illustrator relishes a clever ending. The buildup to this one is a bit flat, but wiggly storytime groups will appreciate the animal noises and repetitive structure.

With full force of knowing right from wrong, readers will jump at the chance to chime in with the repeated admonishment: “You are a rabbit!” (Picture book. 3-6)