Bunny’s newest adventure continues to inspire readers to treat others with kindness and respect.
The third installment in Bloom’s children’s book series brings the curious cat to the sophisticated streets of Paris.
Bunny Simmons-Bloom, the kindhearted black-and-white cat who traversed New York and London in her previous two books, receives some impressively high praise from the French prime minister for her heroic acts: “When all is said and done, this little kitty will undoubtedly be considered one of the most significant figures in French history.” Bunny then backtracks to explain how her accolades came to be earned: During one of her nightly explorations of Paris, Bunny meets a host of new friends when she sneaks into the Louvre, including Renoir the rat; his sister, Renata; Spidey the spider; and a blue-feathered swallow named Sam. Bunny is caught by the night watchman, Jean-Claude, who agrees to let her continue visiting as long as she makes sure the other critters stay away from the art. Bunny, after expressing her displeasure toward her 10-year-old neighbor, Gaspard Laurent, about his mistreatment of his dog, Violette, invites the mistreated mutt along on her next Louvre visit. There, they discover two armed men stealing the Mona Lisa, and Bunny and the other animals pursue the criminals. While just as charming as previous installments in the series, this Bunny book deals with markedly heavier themes, as when Gaspard explains his mistreatment of Violette by confessing that his father treats him the same way. The appearance of rifles and pistols when the robbers and police come on the scene also takes this entry beyond innocuous fun, as do discussions among the characters about bullying (via references to The Hunchback of Notre Dame) that help to reiterate Bunny’s resolve to “always treat others the way I’d like to be treated.” The author also manages to work in some factual Paris history, such as the building of the Notre Dame cathedral, while staying focused on the book’s positive message.
Bunny’s newest adventure continues to inspire readers to treat others with kindness and respect.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2022
ISBN: 9780997642551
Page Count: 74
Publisher: Hello Bunny LLC
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
