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| Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)) | 
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| Creator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Category: Book
List Price: $15.99
Buy New: $6.40
You Save: $9.59 (60%)
New (39) Used (15) Collectible (5) from $6.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  145 reviews
Sales Rank: 758
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 40
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 12.3 x 9.3 x 0.5
ISBN: 0786818700
EAN: 9780786818709
ASIN: 0786818700
Publication Date: September 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New-Has Remainder mark. Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.
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Product Description
Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. But the exciting adventure takes a dramatic turn when Trixie realizes somebunny was left behind . . . This 2005 Caldecott Honor book uses a combination of muted black-and-white photographs and expressive illustrations and tells a brilliantly true-to-life tale about what happens when Daddys in charge and things go terribly, hilariously wrong.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 140 more reviews...
 Doing the bunny hop, skip, and jump November 22, 2004
106 out of 122 found this review helpful
Okay, right off the bat I'm going to do a little exercise with you. Now, as you may or may not know, author Mo Willems based the name Knuffle Bunny after a Dutch term for something cute and cuddly. Therefore, the pronounciation of the title, according to him, should not be "nuffle" bunny but instead "k-nuffle" bunny. So let's all say it together, shall we? K-nuffle Bunny. K-nuffle Bunny. K-nuffle Bunny. Got it? Good. Because this book is so well written and so much fun that it deserves to be pronounced correctly when being read to screaming hoardes of children. Not since Willems' grandiose, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" (still my favorite read-aloud book of the century) has an author so perfectly attuned himself to the hopes, dreams, and fears of the toddlers and early readers of the world. This book is a fun fabulous romp.
Trixie and her pop are off to the local neighborhood Laundromat one bright and sunny day. They get there, load the clothes, and take off for home when little Trixie comes to an awful realization. Knuffle Bunny, her beloved favorite toy, is missing. Unfortunately for her, she has not yet learned to talk. After some valiant tries (my favorite being the single tearful "snurp") she feels she has no alternative but to burst into a full-blown tantrum. This doesn't make her father any happier and since he hasn't realized what the problem is, he takes her home as she kicks and screams. Once home, however, her mother quickly asks, "Where's Knuffle Bunny"? Back runs the whole family to the Laundromat where, at long last, the beloved bunny is recovered and Trixie says her first real words.
I haven't read any of the other reviews of this book yet, but I can already predict a potential objection to this tale. Some parents, and similarly ridiculous adults, feel that unless a temper tantrum is disciplined immediately within a book then it is sending a negative message to children everywhere. They feel that such books encourage children to engage in naughty behavior to get their way. This idea is, of course, hogwash. At least it is in this particular case. Trixie does engage in less than socially acceptable fits, but that's only because she lacks any other means of communication. Honestly, if she was endowed with a perfect 6500 word vocabulary she would not have a fit. It is obviously a last resort on her part. So to all of you who would object to such a book merely because a child in it acts like something less than an angel I say "pfui".
The construction of this book is very interesting. Mo Willems (according to secondhand sources) once said that he initially gave the pictures photographed backgrounds so as to make it easier on himself. However, he had a great deal of trouble lining up with drawn figures with the photographs so that they'd seem to be the same size. It's worth it though. This book is a kind of love story to Willems' own native Brooklyn and he's peppered the images in it with familiar landmarks here and there. If you live in the area then you won't be surprised to suddenly realize that "That's my Laundromat!". So that's nice. The human characters are as simplistic as the pigeon was in "Don't Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus". Just big ole eyes and geometric forms. Still, there's something perfectly entrancing about the hairless Trixie. And I for one was very attached to the early picture of mom and dad standing before their home as infant Trixie hangs with arms and legs akimbo from the dad's carrying pack.
Kids love this book too. There are some wonderful ways to read it to them. For example, when Trixie, "went boneless" (and what parents amongst us haven't dealt with THAT once in a while?) have the kids in the audience do it too. They really get into the search and rescue aspects of the tale. And then of course there are the pictures. The lovely lovely pictures.
"Knuffle Bunny" has it all. A weird title to pronounce. A likable (in spite of her tantrum) main character. And a completely realistic situation placed against a true-to-life background. It's a story that will be beloved for years to come. A big round of applause for Mo Willems, ladies and gentlemen! He's written a great picture book that everyone can love.
Great book that helps improve parent-child communication July 22, 2005
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful book that explores the difficulties of communication with a pre-verbal child. A little girl named Trixie starts to cry when she loses her stuffed animal and grows frustrated when she can't explain to her father what has happened. Her father, who hadn't noticed that the bunny was missing, tries to calm her down by talking about other things, which frustrates the litttle girl even more.
The psychology of the book is very realistic and simple: this is exactly the kind of thing that happens to small children before they can talk, and the book written as much for the parents as it is for the kids. (My child points and smiles with satisfaction at the panel where the father realizes the mistake he's made, and Trixie has an I-told-you-so look on her face. For my part, I try not to lose things... ever! :-)
It's also nice that the book is set in an urban environment (Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY)... A book that shows a walk to the laundromat may be a welcome change of pace for parents who live in cities and wonder when the heck they are ever going to get the chance to see a bunch of barnyard animals...
In short, the appeal of this book is in understanding and validating the experience of children at a time in their lives when their voices are hard to hear. If you like "Knuffle Bunny," you might also want to search for the equally charming (but sadly out-of-print) "Hi!", written by Ann Herbert Scott, with pictures by Glo Coalson. That book is searching for as well. Both books may help you understand what it feels like to be so little and have it be so hard to get adults to understand you.
Have you ever had a toddler go "boneless"? August 20, 2005
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
You have to buy this book just to see the illustration of a toddler going "boneless". I never realised that going floppy and refusing to stand up actually had a name! Gosh...I'm totally bamboozled by some of the negative review comments this book has received (thankfully in the minority). I love Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus but I think Knuffle Bunny is something really special. No.... there's no deep and meaningful plot or moral, just a pre-verbal toddler who loses her favourite toy and is unable to articulate this to her father. It is the fact that any parent or child can identify with this very common everyday occurrence that makes this book so appealing. The unusual marriage of real black and white photographs with the gorgeous cartoons make this a really striking book visually. So... if you would like a lovely, innocent, engaging book with a readily identifiable story line (and amazing illustrations), buy this book. If, however, you prefer childrens' books that have a complex plot/underlying moral etc. you may be disappointed.
 It's a picture book. Not Citizen Kane. August 22, 2005
10 out of 33 found this review helpful
Jesus, wouldja lookit the average rating for this thing? And I'm not giving this book 3 stars just because of that. No, while watching a young child (age 2) earlier today, we wandered around the book store, and found Knuffle Bunny. Of course, the title grabbed our attention, and with that in mind, we had to check it out. Instead of something cute and heart warming, the kid lost interest, and had more attention on the Calvin & Hobbes book I was holding. Smart kid. They're on the right track at an early age. But Knuffle Bunny isn't...that special. And I'm seeing reviews for this thing that rival the length of my average game or movie review. It's rediculous. And some people complain about the parents in this book. GET OVER IT. IT'S A BOOK FOR KIDS. I haven't heard anything this rediculous since the reviews for The Witches by Roald Dahl, and Wiccans started complaining that it wasn't an "accurate portrayal of witches".
This is my first time reviewing a book for kids, so there isn't going to be much here. Knuffle Bunny is a short story (the thickness of the cardboard cover is more than the thickness of the pages) about a father who goes to the laundromat with his baby. The baby brings along Knuffle Bunny, its precious stuffed animal. But in throwing clothes in the washing machine, the ditzy dad somehow throws Knuffle Bunny in there as well. The baby doesn't realize this until they're about to step foot inside their home, and the kid -flips out-. It goes "boneless" on one page, which isn't as funny as some may have you think, and screams until the dad and mom both rush back to the laundromat to find Knuffle Bunny. I had no idea it'd take two people to search one washing machine for a stuffed animal that would be noticed amongst THEIR clothes. That should be a hint. They find it, and everyone's happy. End story.
There's nothing too cute about this book aside from Knuffle Bunny. The baby looks weird, and the dad looks like a lame version of the dad from Baby Blues. The reason I'm giving it an average score is because I like the style the author/illustrator used. His characters are drawn into pictures of real-life locations. Think Roger Rabbit or Pete's Dragon, and you're set for the style of the book. It's pretty cool, and I haven't seen many kids' books use this style for a long time. Then again, I don't exactly browse the kid's section at the book store. Like I mentioned, the child we were watching wasn't that interested in the story. Then again, they're two years old, but to gain interest in Calvin & Hobbes? That's pretty bad-ass. Even if it weren't for watching the kid and we were browsing the site, I doubt we'd get this for our own kid. There are a lot better choices out there, new and old. Dabble Duck, Jamboree, Babar, etc. All of these kept even my little brother's interest when he was younger, and my little brother has god damn A.D.D. if I ever saw it.
...then again, it's just a picture book for kids 5 and under. But people act like it's the best thing ever made for toddlers. It's not. There's no big lesson to learn, but at least it wasn't about the power of believing in yourself or something stupame (stupid and lame at the same time) like that. Heck, read your kids The Giving Tree or Love You Forever before this thing. Oh, and the classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. At least that little guy didn't have an aneursym if he didn't get his cookie.
Be prepared to read this one over and over October 7, 2004
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
My daughter (and her best bear buddy Grubby) requested this book three times a day for weeks. The illustrations with their combination of photos and drawings fascinated her. And she found the near catastrophe of Knuffle Bunny riveting every time. For any child with a lovey (and every parent who's experienced the horror of losing the lovey) this book is a sure winner. Trixie's efforts to convince her Daddy that a catastrophe has happened are so real -- I laugh out loud every time she "goes boneless." Definitely a rival to DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS for favorite read aloud in our house.
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