Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards))

Just a nice story and a fun read with younger kids - pictures are very engaging for your minds

There are significant firsts in each person's life. Taking that first step and saying those first words rank right up there for a toddler. "Knuffle Bunny" is about Trixie's first words.

The story begins on the page adjoining the title page: A picture of the wedding, then of the happy birth of the baby and a picture with its parents, and last, the happy couple toting the baby and posing for a camera shot. On the title page itself is Trixie hugging her Knuffle Bunny in the laudromat. Keep that image in mind.

The story continues. Dad takes Trixie with him to the laundromat. She takes Knuffle Bunny. In the hustle and bustle of getting laundry into the machine, Knuffle Bunny also goes in. It is not until half way home that Trixie discovers its absence. She goes basically beserk.

Now picture this. A toddler has something of international importance to say but not any words to make it profoundly clear. So she goes, "blaggle, plabble, wumby, flappy," but to no avail! Daddy just wants her to cooperate and go home. When he tries to pick her up, "she [goes] boneless"--a line that people everywhere talk about!

Back at the apartment, Mom immediately notices the absence of Knuffle Bunny (why didn't Dad?)and they run all the way back to the laundromat. When they finally locate the beloved stuffed friend, Trixie says her first words ever, "Knuffle Bunny!" The last picture is a repeat of the title page picture--the reuniting of child and snuggle bunny.

Much is made of the digitized sepia photography for the backdrop and insertion of simply drawn cartoon characters over it. Perhaps Mo Willems is suggesting that life is a cartoon and that the sepia pictures of streets, buildings, and parks are mere backdrops to our behavior. At any rate, it is a strangely endearing and striking combination.

The placement of the last frame on the title page is foreshadowing that this story will end well. Another reviewer states that Knuffle means something and that the K is pronounced. I think a more likely interpretation is that Trixie says her first words as plainly as possible and certainly does not have a K in her command. After all, this is her Snuggle Bunny and that's what she is saying.

A highly recommended book! It was also named an Honor Book in the Caldecott Award contest the year of its publication.

The sequel is Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

It is such a joy to read his books. And children love to listen to his stories as well.

My children's favorite books that are worn from reading them so much is Knuffle Bunny and Life's Little Lessons: An Inch-By-Inch Tale of Success.The latter comes with a fabulous reading guide for parents that is invaluable if you're like me who likes to teach my children comprehension and critical reading skills.

Come bedtime, my sons like to snuggle up with their teddy bears and listen to a couple stories before going to sleep. I looked around for a story that centered around a child's stuffed animal and found Knuffle Bunny.

This is a cute, engaging book that holds up for repeated readings despite being a short story. Each time my sons would read along I'd interject more vocabulary from the photographs.

Highly recommended for young kids.