Dear Bunny - Hardcover

Morgan, Michaela

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 043974833X ISBN 13: 9780439748339

Publisher: Chicken House, 2006

Synopsis

The cutest couple of star-crossed rabbits craft the ultimate love letter with a little help from a family of mice in this charming picture book, perfect for Valentine's Day, Easter, and all year long!

Tino and Teeny are two lovestruck bunnies living a mere hop, skip, and jump apart. If only they could overcome their shyness and be friends! Tino has an idea: leave a tender letter for Teeny in the hollow log. Soon after, Teeny has the same thought. But before each can discover the other's note, it starts to rain. And when a family of cold, wet mice seeks shelter in the log, what better to keep them warm than letters, chewed, chomped, and shredded just so?

Luckily, the sun returns and, realizing what they've done, the matchmaking mice help Tino and Teeny piece together their true feelings.

About this title

About the Author:

Michaela Morgan has written over one hundred books for children, including picture books, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Her poetry has been widely anthologized, and she is the editor of Words to Whisper, Words to Shout, a collection of short-listed poems for the prestigious Blue Peter Book Award. She divides her time between Brighton, England and Cote d'Azur, France.

Caroline Jayne Church is a bestselling author and illustrator. Some of her bestselling titles include I LOVE YOU THROUGH AND THROUGH by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak, HOW DO I LOVE YOU? by Marion Dane Bauer, YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE by Jimmie Davis, and GOOD NIGHT, I LOVE YOU. She lives in Surrey, England, but you can visit her at www.carolinejaynechurch.com.

Review:

SLJ MORGAN, Michaela. Dear Bunny: A Bunny Love Story. illus. by Caroline Jayne Church. unpaged. Scholastic/The Chicken House. Jan. 2006. Tr $15.99. ISBN 0-439-74833-X. LC number unavailable.
PreS-Gr 1 Valentino and Valenteeny, two timid bunnies, admire one another from afar, but their shyness keeps them from speaking. Then each one decides to write the other a letter and mails it in the local hollow log. Later, rain forces a mouse family to take refuge in that very log. To make the spot more comfortable, they shred everything they find, including the two letters. It is only when the bunnies are reduced to tears because they have received no replies to their correspondences that the mice realize what they have done. The sweet resolution to the problem results in a happily-ever-after ending. This is a charming story, perfect for Valentine's Day, though the holiday is never mentioned. The rabbits and mice are endearing characters, drawn in an appealing manner. The double-page picture of the sleeping mice surrounded by paper fragments of Love and Warmth and Exceptional Tenderness” is especially enchanting. The large, colorful illustrations and delightful story make this a wonderful storytime selection. Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Kirkus
DEAR BUNNY
A Bunny Love Story

Author: Morgan, Michaela

Review Date: JANUARY 01, 2006
Publisher:Chicken House/Scholastic
Pages: 32
Price (hardback): $15.99
Publication Date: 1/1/2006 0:00:00
ISBN: 0-439-74833-X
ISBN (hardback): 0-439-74833-X
Category: CHILDREN'S
Two lovelorn bunny rabbits named Valentino and Valenteeny ("Tino and Teeny for short") admire each other from afar, but they are too shy to move ahead with a friendship. Each rabbit leaves a letter in a hollow log for the other to find, but the letters are torn into pieces and used for bedding material by a nearby mouse family, who provide little asides to the plot in speech balloons. The kindly mice, realizing that they have thwarted Cupid, retrieve the best words from the letters and recombine them into a sweet love poem on a heart-shaped card. Tino and Teeny read the card (each thinking the other is the author), fall in love and, of course, "lived hoppily ever after." This sweet and simple story offers a fresh idea for Valentine's Day, but elementary school teachers will also use this for the creative idea of "recombinant poetry," using words plucked from other sources. (Picture book. 4-8)

\Booklist\\\\\\\Morgan, Michaela. Dear Bunny. Illus. by Caroline Jayne Church. Jan. 2006. 32p. Scholastic/Chicken House, $15.99 (0-439-74833-X).
K Gr. 2. Professing one's love and admiration is never easy even using the old letter-in-a-hollow-log approach. In this sentimental bunny love story,” Valentino (Tino) shyly admires Valenteeny (Teeny) from afar, and she him. They both write flowery letters to each other and hide them in the same hollow log, only to have them shredded as nesting material by a family of mice: They were snug and safe and surrounded by Love and Warmth and Exceptional Tenderness.” The mice, witnessing the eventual sobbing of the forlorn, letterless bunnies, are horrified to discover what they've done and quickly cobble together a new letter for the rabbits, using all the best, warmest words from both notes. Tino and Teeny see that their love is requited after all in an unapologetically happily-ever-after ending. Simply drawn, appealing bunnies and mice gambol through the oversize format. The background of each spread has the look of torn, textured handmade paper scattered with a pressed potpourri of flowers, clovers, and petals, an effect that echoes the flowery nature of this just-in-time-for-Valentine's-Day story. Karin Snelson

About this edition

• Publisher: Chicken House
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 043974833X
• ISBN 13: 9780439748339
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Church Caroline Jayne, Jayne Church Caroline