Buddy and the Bunnies in: Don't Play with Your Food!

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From School Library Journal PreS-Gr 3-Buddy, a monster, has no use for flowers, trees, or pretty much anything in nature. What he really wants is bunnies. "I'm going to eat all you bunnies!" he announces to three rabbits. They convince him to play hide-and-seek until their cupcakes come out of the oven and, after munching the goodies, he's too full to eat bunnies. "Would you bunnies mind if I eat you tomorrow?" he asks. The next day they entice him to go swimming before he eats them. "You musn't go swimming right after you eat! You'll get a cramp!" Then "they look so cute when they're napping" after their swim that he can't possibly eat them. Next the bunnies form a "Stripey-Stripe Club" in Buddy's honor and vote to spend a day at the carnival, which makes him too dizzy to eat them. "Okay, no more fooling around./Today I'm going to eat you bunnies first thing," he declares next day. But the bunnies, in a delightful surprise ending, have an argument their nemesis just can't refute. This is a hilarious romp made all the more enjoyable by Shea's cartoons outlined in black crayon. Buddy is a small orange fellow with bulging eyes and a cavernous mouth, ever seeking a tasty bunny treat. Backgrounds change continually and are often decorated with stars, curlicues, and other symbols. The carnival day, depicted on black ground, is especially bold. Alert readers will notice the bunnies keep multiplying. Pair this laugh-out-loud caper with Linda Bailey's Toads on Toast (Kids Can, 2012).-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CTα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journal. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Read more From Booklist Like the dinosaur in Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. books and the shark in I’m a Shark (2011), Buddy, a bunny-eating monster, should be big and scary, but instead he is packed with goofy charisma that kids will find irresistible. Buddy is a great big orange-striped monster who shows up and announces that he is going to dine on all bunnies present. The bunnies, however, are just about to bake some cupcakes. Like any sensible, hungry monster, Buddy decides “cupcakes first. Bunnies for dessert.” When he is finished with the cupcakes, though, he has no room left for bunnies, and he promises to come back tomorrow. And so it goes, through one trick after another, as Buddy is outsmarted, until he finally realizes that the bunnies make better friends than tasty treats. Shea’s crazy humor pervades the book, from the hilarious back and forth between potential diner and would-be meal to his floppy, exaggerated art, filled with warm colors and cheery personality. Adults will be delighted to share this with young readers. Preschool-Grade 1. --Jesse Karp Read more See all Editorial Reviews