The Little Gray Bunny

February 18, 2013
The Little Red Hen folktale gets an Easter makeover in this story of a rabbit whose friends aren’t interested in helping collect, boil, decorate, and hide Easter eggs. McGrath (who offered a different holiday twist on this story in The Little Red Elf) deviates from the traditional repeated “Not I” responses, as the lamb, turtle, and duck snarkily refuse the rabbit’s attempts to engage them (“Do you even know me?” says the duck, lounging in its bathtub). Kim’s (Earth Day, Birthday!) T-shirt-wearing, turnip-headed hero exudes a sense of both earnestness and mischief, the latter surfacing in the wry “treats” he gives his not-so-helpful friends in the end—a trio of hyperactive, newly-hatched little red hens. Ages 3–6.

February 15, 2013
Preschool In a clever reimagining of the familiar tale The Little Red Hen, McGrath offers a barnyard romp with hardworking Bunny, hay-munching Lamb, image-obsessed Turtle, and water-loving Duck. While the others pursue their favorite leisure activities, Bunny does all the work in the barn. One day he discovers hundreds of eggs and decides to collect, boil, dye, and hide the eggs in the nearby meadow. Of course no one will help him until it is time for the fun parthunting for the eggs. In an interesting but teachable twist, the surprise the others get for finding the eggs is newborn chicks (which require a lot of work), while Bunny rewards himself with jelly beans and cupcakes. The result is a colorful, delightful story that youngsters will enjoyand maybe even learn fromespecially at Easter time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)