“B is for Brave; B is for Bold. B is not only for … bunnies!” And we see the bold bunny Teetu show us how he can be brave, how much beauty there is in the world, how one bunny can make a book and how there is no place like home even if there are so many bunnies it is not funny.
Beth Ferry’s The Bold, Brave Bunny is simple, but far from simplistic. There are some grand details with Chow Hon Lam’s illustrations, but nothing is pushy. Everything about this book is aimed at the strong three-year-old up to about seven or eight. Lam is from Malaysia and you can feel the culture come out in their work. While Ferry is from New Jersey, the text has a classic, old world feeling to it.
The story is how Teetu cannot get any peace as brothers, sisters, parents, uncles and aunts are all around. He looks left: bunnies. He looks right: bunnies. He wants to read his new book: bunnies eat it!! One day, Teetu thinks nobody will miss him as there are so many, so taking an adventure will be fine. As he leaves, the youngest bunny pulls on your heart strings and foreshadows the ending.
It has a soft feeling all around. Text and art compliment each other. There is no harshness, even when things get “intense” there is nothing really “scary” about the situation. It would be a cute bedtime or anytime read aloud. It might work best one-on-one and not in a group setting.
Due in mid-February 2020.
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