Book Review #2

  1. Bibliography:

Willems, Mo. Knuffle Bunny Free. Hand and Ink. HarperCollins. 2010. ISBN 978-0-06-192958-8

2. Plot Summary:

The story starts with the main character, Trixie, who is on the way to visit her grandparents. Throughout her journey, she takes her stuffed animal with her. When she gets to her destination, she realizes that she has lost the stuffed animal. Although she looks for it everywhere, she cannot find it. She experiences deep sadness and nothing makes her feel better, as she has just lost something very important to her. Her parents try cheering her up, but nothing works. Just as she is beginning to accept the loss, she finds the bunny on the way back on the same plane she went on! She is happy, but realizes she can give her bunny to a younger baby and give them the opportunity of being happy with the stuffed animal.

3. Critical Analysis:

The storybook has beautiful message with short sentences to keep the reader engaged. The pictures are also easy to understand and keep up with. Both the words and images are very enlarged to help the reader follow the message and the story. The pages and colors are very appealing, and there is a section in the book where Trixie dreams about Knuffle Bunny in which the colors of the pages change in background and only the bunny and her are colored, the rest is black and white in order to make them stand out. Also, at the end of the story, there is a section that is dedicated to Trixie as she goes through life and grows up, which also changes color and style. This is meant to show children a shift in tone and a shift in perspective.

4. Review Excerpt:

Kirkus Reviews: "Willems is a master of body language; Trixie’s despair and her daddy’s frazzlement as expressive as her joy (“KNUFFLE BUNNY!”) and his triumph at the excavation of the errant bunny from the washing machine."

5. Connections:

Adults and children are able to touch on the subject of loss and be exposed to these situations in life so that they are better prepared or exposed to these emotions and know that we all grow up and it can be sad yet happy and joyous at times.