A VERY BIG BUNNY

It’s hard being the biggest bunny in class. Always last in line and too tall for schoolyard games, Amelia spends her days alone by the fence “counting clouds,” “listening to the wind” and “thinking about important things.” Then, a new rabbit joins her homeroom. Through parallel storytelling, readers find that Susannah, a “peanut” of a hare, is also rejected for her size. Intrepidly, the “pip-squeak” heads for Amelia, who refuses to interact with the charmingly persistent Susannah. But when Miss Arugula announces Picture Day, the little rabbit cooks up a top-secret plan. Together the two outcasts dazzle their schoolmates, and a friendship blooms. The gouache paintings have a well-organized and pleasing structure. At times Russo uses the bunnies’ ears as arrows, guiding readers’ eyes across the page, while in other instances Amelia’s ears signal her emotional state. A vibrant, primary palette done in construction-paper hues will have a warm familiarity for readers young and old. Readers will fall for feisty Susannah’s innocent determination and relate to Amelia’s self-conscious hesitancy. This tale proves there’s room for one more opposites-attract book on the shelf. (Picture book. 4-8)