IT'S JUST A BUNNYPALOOZA
by Brenda Faatz and Peter Trimarco , illustrated by Peter Trimarco
A girl learns to trust her bunny choreographers when planning a dance for a talent show in this third installment of a picture-book series.
Lizzy, a white, energetic, red-haired girl, can hardly wait to tell her animal friends about the Spring Jamboree, where she wants to perform. She’ll need help in choosing a talent, and makes several efforts based on animals (“chirp like a bird”; “grunt like a moose”), but they fizzle. Then Lizzy notices some bunnies “with feet in the air”; she knows they can teach her to dance exuberantly. Yet when Lizzy tells her school friends about it, they laugh at her, and she decides: “It’s time to be grown. / No more listening to critters. / I’ll go it alone!” But the bunnies insist on being seen, showing off dances and getting her attention. Lizzy cheerfully realizes that “I can dance to my rhythm and choose to be me!” The book, by the team of Faatz and Trimarco (It’s Just So...Little!, 2017, etc.), includes a useful glossary of dance terms, from “Ballet” to “Toe Tappin.’ ” Faatz generally employs rhyming couplets of sometimes uneven meter. A few lines vary, such as: “It’s just so… / …toe tappin’ / …jump jivin’ / …free stylin’ / …beboppin’ / …bunnybombastic!” The bouncy, vibrant verbs make this an excellent read-aloud tale. Trimarco’s full-color, whimsical illustrations nicely capture the story’s kinetic joy (and depict diverse students). Splashy typography and appropriate fonts add to the action.
Infectiously enthusiastic about dance and imagination.