There really is nothing wrong with a book that tends to lean towards the more “sweet side.” Sometimes you have a reader who likes pinks and glitter and sparkly sneezes and unicorns and bunnies and rhyming ninjas. But when it becomes too syrupy and cliché of a story, that is when issues set in.
Catherine Coe and Chie Boyd have created that with Lucky Bunnies #1 Sky’s Surprise. My copy of Sky was a reader copy with no internal illustrations, therefore, I can only mention the cover. There we see a pink and yellow bunny; a red bunny; a white bunny with glassy red eyes and an entirely blue bunny. If this was not enough to tell you Cotton Candy might be their main food source, the town’s name, Bright Burrow or the fact they go to the “Hare Salon” might confirm all suspicions. The good thing is, you can judge a book by its cover here. What you see is what you will get.
The theme of the story would be fabulous if not for the sugar. It teaches kids that sometimes you do not get what you want, but while you are happy for your friends, it can cause a tooth-ache size sadness in you. But that does not mean other surprises are not around the corner. It was the fact at every twist and turn there was a bad bunny pun and some odd “adventures” that slowed it down. Geared for the second to third grader, Sky’s Surprise would have made a great picture book, but a novel was pushing it a tad too much.
An interesting plot point is one of the bunny’s best friends is male and does not follow stereotypical masculine roles (not only does he play with the girls, he gets his hair done at the saloon and is chosen for a cheerleader-like event).
January 2020 will also see book two Petal’s Party. However, I most likely will not be looking for it.