Bear and Bunny
by Daniel Pinkwater
illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
Candlewick Press, 2015. 40 pages.
Starred Review
Here’s a book that makes me smile. It’s simple, matter-of-fact, and utterly charming.
Bear and Bunny live in a forest and they are friends. “They like to wander in the woods, look for things to eat, and talk things over. They like to sing.”
I like the simple songs they sing, such as:
I wonder
I wonder
I wonder where
I wonder where my little bear is.
And:
I wonder
I wonder
I wonder where
I wonder where my big bunny is.
You see, the bear is sure the bunny is a very small bear.
The bunny is sure the bear is a very large bunny.
This is not so, but it would be too hard to explain it to them. Besides, it doesn’t matter.
In this story, the bear and bunny do those simple things: wander, look for things to eat, talk things over, and sing. And they take lots of naps. (Talking things over makes you sleepy, after all.)
The two friends decide they’d like a pet. After the bunny explains what a pet is – “an animal you take care of and feed, and it loves you” – they look for one and find a nice “kitty.” When they ask if the kitty would like to go home with them, it answers with a friendly “CROAK!”
Kids will enjoy understanding things better than Bear and Bunny do. Adult readers will enjoy singing the simple songs. This is a friendly, cozy book about the wonder of living in an interesting place – even if you don’t fully understand everything you find.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/bear_and_bunny.html
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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.
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