Everybunny Dance!

December 1, 2016
The coast is clear! It's a perfect chance for a colony of bunnies to dance, play, and sing. Brief rhyming phrases lay the groundwork for the bunnies' activities. "Everybunny dance! // And clap your paws, / and twist and twirl, / and shake your tail, / and wiggle and whirl." After dancing, the bunnies pull out their instruments: "Everybunny play! // And bang a drum, / and play the flute, / and blow a horn, / a-tooty-toot!" Just as the bunnies are singing, the villain appears: a fox! "Everybunny run!" As the bunnies hide, they watch the fox dance, play a clarinet, and perform a somersault. But the fox is lonely and sad without an audience. Surprise! Everybunny claps and invites the fox to join in with their fun. The attractive and creative illustrations paint the bunnies to match the text's exuberance. Some are in brown or red polka dots, some sport bow ties, and some wear ballet shoes or tutus. The fox makes a dramatic entrance with just its vivid red head spreading menacingly across two pages. The page composition as a whole is effective, with good page turns and focal points and with some words highlighted. There are several opportunities for using the book with children, in addition to reading the story. It could be a challenging counting book (there are as many as 24 or 26 bunnies per page) and/or a game for storytime with kids acting it out (with a tolerant adult). Foxy fun. (Picture book. 4-7)

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February 1, 2017

PreS-It is a beautiful day, and a field full of bunnies are having a rip-roaring good time dancing the day away. There is clapping and twirling, shaking and whirling. There are also instruments and a choir of voices adding to the merriment. Suddenly, a fox appears. Every bunny must run and hide! From their safe haven, they peek out to see the fox dancing, flipping, and playing a clarinet! When he is finished, the fox is sad and lonely..."Everybunny clap!" This is just what the fox needs to cheer up. A new friendship is born among unlikely cohorts who love to play, sing, and dance. How fun it is to see a muted rainbow of polka-dotted bunnies frolicking freely on a sunny day! So that is what bunnies do all day! The fox/bunny relationship is a refreshing twist on the usual "evil fox" plot. The rhyming text is amusing to read aloud, and children are sure to want to get up and move (in a great way). The colors and patterns are pleasing, and the font is large and reader-friendly.

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