HUNGRY BUNNY

Bunny’s back (Bunny Slopes, 2016), and this time they’re hungry.

A rumbling tummy sends narrator Bunny to an apple tree. But—uh-oh, they can’t reach! Luckily, Bunny isn’t alone in their quest—they have readers! Bunny politely asks these readers to “shake the book” to make the apples fall. When leaves fall instead, Bunny next prompts readers to “blow” the leaves away. Unfortunately, Bunny’s scarf gets caught in the helpful gust. Trapped in the tree in the illustration, the scarf also extends physically out of the book as a ribbon artfully inserted at exactly the right page. Readers must grab the scarf/ribbon and move it to the next page so that Bunny can use it as a rope to reach the apples. Once their wagon is full of red deliciousness, Bunny wanders home. Along the way, readers must “tilt,” “rock,” and “turn” the book to keep Bunny moving. Rueda’s digitally-rendered charcoal illustrations are black and white with yellow tones. The sparse text highlights commands to readers in large-point, often playfully set red display type that, along with the red of various objects, creates a lovely accent. Though Rueda employed similar metafictive elements in the book’s predecessor, they’re used much more effectively and originally in this sequel. The ribbon will inevitably get misplaced during read-alouds, so it’s up to caregivers to remember to return it to its logical spot in the story.

As sweet as apple pie—though one slice might just be enough.