HELLO, MY NAME IS BUNNY! PARIS

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.