FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES

Name: FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
Author: Tish Rabe
ISBN: 978-0-06-225339-2

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2016

An acceptable and sturdy addition to the Easter basket for baby bunnies deemed too young to handle Dorothy Kunhardt's more...

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Following on the successful Five Little Pumpkins (2003), Yaccarino teams with Rabe for bunnies.

The five pastel bunnies are cute enough, and the rhymes are accurate, if somewhat wordy for toddlers. But without a clear one-to-one relationship between the words and the pictures, it is not always clear which bunny is speaking and what is being counted. The bunnies, identified as first, second, and so on, hop around the pages instead of staying in a consistent order as the rhyme implies. Naming them by color might have been a better choice, but that would mean abandoning the finger-play counting-rhyme formula. The children who show up to hunt the eggs are a multicultural cast of cartoonish figures with those in the background drawn as blue and green silhouettes. Though the text on the back cover invites children to count the eggs, there is no hint as to how many eggs they should find. Neither the verse nor the pictures provide counting assistance. The youngest children will not care about any of this; they will be content to point out the different colors of the bunnies and the patterns on the eggs.

An acceptable and sturdy addition to the Easter basket for baby bunnies deemed too young to handle Dorothy Kunhardt's more satisfying but fragile classic, Pat the Bunny. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-225339-2

Page Count: 16

Publisher: HarperFestival

Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes

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LLAMA LLAMA TRICK OR TREAT

From the Llama Llama series

by Anna Dewdney ; illustrated by Anna Dewdney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014

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In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.

Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)

Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014

ISBN: 978-0451469786

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
LLAMA LLAMA LOOSE TOOTH DRAMA
by Anna Dewdney ; illustrated by JT Morrow

- BOOK REVIEW
LLAMA LLAMA MESS MESS MESS
by Anna Dewdney & Reed Duncan ; illustrated by JT Morrow

- BOOK REVIEW
LLAMA LLAMA LOVES TO READ
by Anna Dewdney & Reed Duncan ; illustrated by JT Morrow

- BOOK REVIEW
LLAMA LLAMA'S LITTLE LIE
by Anna Dewdney & Reed Duncan ; illustrated by JT Morrow

- BOOK REVIEW
LLAMA LLAMA SHAPES
developed by Anna Dewdney ; illustrated by JT Morrow

- BOOK REVIEW
LLAMA LLAMA BACK TO SCHOOL
by Anna Dewdney & Reed Duncan ; illustrated by JT Morrow

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THE ITSY BITSY BUNNY

by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Sanja Rešček ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2016

Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.

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An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.

Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.

Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)