My Friend Rabbit. . . not to worry, I've got an idea.

Rohman, Eric. My Friend Rabbit. Brookfield Connecticut: Roaring Book Press, 2002. ISBN 0-7613-1535-7

Summary:

Rabbit is friends with Mouse, and no matter what he does there is trouble. They are playing with Mouse’s plane, and gets it stuck in a tree, so he has an idea to stack animals on top of one another until the pile is high enough to reach the plane.

Analysis:

This book is beautifully illustrated, and just fun to read. Everyone has had a friend like Rabbit, or is that friend to others, so people of all ages can read and identify with it (especially my husband for one reason or another). The illustrations are fun, but functional. They are every bit as important as the text, because in some cases they replace the text entirely, so you have to read the pictures to know what is going on.

Reviews:

"Beautiful block print style illustrations in bold colors show Rabbit racing from page to page, carrying the reader ever onward."

Through The Looking Glass Children's Book Review

Enrichment activity:

1)Rabbit and Mouse fly an airplane together. What kinds of things do you do with your friends? Have students draw pictures of things they do with their friends. (relating to text)

2) What are some other methods Rabbit could have used to get the airplane out of the tree? Come up with a plan with a partner on how to get the plane out of the tree. Ex: a squirrel could climb up and get it for them, the elephant could use his trunk to reach it, a bird could fly to it. . .

Knuffle Bunny Too (or is it Kuh-nuffle?)

Willems, Mo. Knuffle Bunny Too A Case of Mistaken Identity. New York: Hyperion, 2007. ISBN-13:978-142310299-1

Summary:

Trixie is excited about taking Knuffle Bunny to school and showing him to all of her friends, because he is so special, being the only bunny of his kind. When she arrives, she finds that a class mate, Sonja, also has a Knuffle Bunny, and there is great dischord in the classroom because of it. The teacher takes the Knuffle Bunnies away, and when they are returned, they are with the wrong child. A midnight trade is made to get things back to normal, and Trixie and Sonja become best friends with very tired daddies.

Analysis:

Mo Willems is reconized as a Caldecott winner for the previous Knuffle Bunny book. His artistic style is beautiful. The setting is New York City- which is unmistakable. It is displayed in black and white still pictures in the background with Trixie, her family, her school, and of course, Knuffle Bunny imposed in cartoon and color on top of the picture. With this technique, Willems has captured a child in an adult world, the feeling that the characters stand out, and are therefore the most important part of his world, but created something that looks real, and gives the perception of movement.

There are little details that are included in the story telling and illustration that would be easily overlooked on a first reading. One of the Knuffle Bunnies has a pink bow- something that students might be so attentive as to catch and adults may not, but still gieves Trixie's Knuffle Bunny a uniqueness. The girl that Trixie switches bunnies with, Sonja, is not listed amoung the friends she intends to show her bunny to when she gets to school, so perhaps this is not her favorite classmate to begin with- hince the animosity between the two. The depth of this short picture book is amazing, and while I agree that Willems should be recongnized for his illustrations, this story in words alone, is worthy of an award.

Reviews:

information coming soon

Enrichment activity:

What makes something unique or special? Does something have to be unique to be special?

Ask students to bring their favorite stuffed animal for show and tell. Count how many bears, bunnies, disney characters. . . there are, and make a chart to show how many of each there are. This is a chance for students to see that a lot of people have stuffed animals, and some may even be the same, but each one is special to the boy or girl who owns it. For show and tell, make sure the students tell the name of their stuffed animal, how they got it, and why it is special to him or her.

Extend on this to what it would be like to find out that someone else had a very similar special stuffed animal, and what it would be like to get it mixed up. A nice follow up would give students time to draw a picture of themselves with their stuffed animals.