Monday 30 June 2008

Picture Book Monday: "Knuffle Bunny Too - a case of mistaken identity" by Mo Willems


This is my favourite picture book at the moment. There's something about the facial expressions of the characters that's irresistible. The first time I flicked through it it made me giggle immediately, even before having read the whole story. But this is Mo Willems I'm talking about, so it should not come as a surprise. The guy is a comedy genius.
Unfortunately I haven't read (yet!) the first installment in the Knuffle Bunny's saga but I couldn't resist to review this one first.

So, the book is about Trixie and her beloved Knuffle Bunny. She can't wait to bring him at school and show him off to all her friends. Because Kuffle Bunny is a one-of-a-kind bunny and she's sure all her classmates would be in awe of him. Imagine the shock and the disappointment when Tixie sees Sonja with her *own* Knuffle Bunny!
It's war at first sight. The teacher is not pleased either and puts both Knuffles away. At the end of the day the bunnies are returned but...a fatal mistake was made!





I don't know about children, but I find this so utterly hilarious that I want to read it over and over again, just to put a smile on my face (and few occasional giggles).
I just love Trixie's big happy/shocked/angry/determined eyes. I love how the parents, and especially the dad, get involved, unwillingly, in their daughter's little tragedy. It's actually the funniest part. Now that I think of it, that's probably what makes it appealing to adults as well: Mo Willems' ability to capture a child's AND a parent perspective, at the same time.
The mixed technique of black and white photographs for the background and cartoons for all the rest is really interesting. It's not something that I would generally love but it works perfectly well here, so I'm happy with it.
What else can I say? Read it! It's great.

other blog reviews:
Renee's corner
Katherine's children's Lit Blog
Seven impossible things before breakfast

5 comments:

Melody said...

I just love the little girl's expressions, so cute! And the idea of having b/w photos for the background and cartoons for the rest is refreshing to me too! I'll have to look out for this book. Thanks, Valentina! :)

Jill said...

I love the Knuffle Bunny books! They are lots of fun, and the characters' expressions never fail to make me laugh out loud.

Library Mice said...

I am really jealous as I have just ordered it from Walker Books and it is being reprinted! I loved the first one. I am a big fan of his use of colours, the books look so "retro", they are great!

Carl V. Anderson said...

I'm going to have to keep an eye out for this at the bookstore. I love children's picture books...at the very least I may have to sit down their and read it if it isn't in my budget to bring home.

Cathrine said...

:-) sweet