Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

Image from Amazon.com

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Willems, Mo. 2004. Knuffle Bunny. Ill. by Mo Willems. New York: Hyperion Books. ISBN 0786818700

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this very believable tale, Mo Willems describes the woes between a father and his young child as they set out on an ordinary errand. Trixie, along with her beloved toy bunny, and her daddy set out for a walk to the local laundry mat. Upon arrival, the two of them successfully load the washing machines and decide to return home while the clothes are washing. On the way home, Trixie realizes that she has lost something. Nonverbal Trixie tries her best to tell her daddy what’s wrong but to no avail. With some help from mom, Trixie’s needs are revealed.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Mo Willems writes, in a very direct and simple manner, a story that children and most parents can relate to easily. His three main characters are an ordinary father, toddler, and mother. He uses common words and simple sentences to effectively describe how a distressed toddler and confused father feel. Words like “boneless,” “aggle flaggle klabble,” and “wumby flappy” show humor and wit that will delight readers. Young readers will easily relate to Trixie’s dilemma, and adults will relate to mom or dad.

The illustrations Mo Willems creates in Knuffle Bunny are a combination of two art mediums. He overlays brightly colored cartoon like characters on top of black and white photographs of the settings. This technique is very effective because the characters seem to pop out of the picture. Certain items that belong to the characters are also brightly colored like the people in the story. The contrast is striking. Not to be missed, the facial expressions on the characters are distinct and very easy to interpret. Mo Willems also frames each page with green that seems to tie the story together like a photo album. Most of the text is printed in black on top of the green areas.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Kirkus Review – “Willems is a master of body language”.
Association for Library Service to Children – 2005 Caldecott Honor Book
School Library Journal – In 2009, Knuffle Bunny was number 10 in the top 100.
Booklist Online – “This comic gem proves that Caldecott Medal-winner Willems, the Dr. Spock and Robin Williams of the lap-sit crowd, has just as clear a bead on pre-verbal children as on silver-tongued preschoolers.”

5. CONNECTIONS
• To hear more about Trixie and Knuffle Bunny, read Knuffle Bunny Too. ISBN: 1423102991 and Knuffle Bunny Free. ISBN 0061929581
• Use with other rabbit book to create a bunny story-time:
Wells, Rosemary. Bunny Cakes. ISBN: 0670886866
Arnosky, Jim. Rabbits and Raindrops. ISBN: 0399226354