CHUBBY BUNNY

A young girl learns to stand up for herself.

Barbara Binks, called Bunny by her loving mom and grandma (all white-presenting), is “plain old round.” She seems happy, but when a Chubby Bunny contest at school (a stuff-your-mouth-with-marshmallows game) turns into fatphobic bullying, Bunny must figure out what to do. On the wordy side, the narrative drags in the middle as Bunny tries various unsuccessful experiments to stop the teasing, with emotional outbursts at home. The conflict is resolved with a heartfelt conversation between Bunny and her grandmother, which makes the final scenes, where Bunny addresses her classmates, feel anticlimactic. When Bunny’s teacher tries to discourage the other kids from using the hurtful nickname “Chubby Bunny,” Bunny informs them that there’s nothing wrong with the word chubby, but “If you’re going to call me Chubby Bunny, you should say it with a marshmallow in your mouth!” Though the message that chubby shouldn’t be seen as a pejorative is a much-needed one, it gets somewhat muddled, and children may come away wondering if it is, in fact, OK to comment on or even make fun of others’ bodies. The graphic novel–style illustrations use a lot of white space, and many of the spreads feel somewhat static, though Bunny and her family are tenderly rendered. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An earnest attempt at dispelling fatphobia that may inadvertently lead to teasing.