A Very Big Bunny

A Very Big Bunny
by Marisabina Russo
E RUS

Amelia is a bunny. A very big bunny. She is so tall and so big that the kids at school make fun of her. They don't want to play jump rope with her, "We can't turn the rope go high enough for you" or let her join them in hopscotch, "Your feet are too big for hopscotch." So Amelia spends most of her time alone.

One day the class gets a new student, Susannah. She was a small bunny. A very small bunny. Soon she too is made to feel like an outsider. Eventually the two bunnies find a common ground and learn to stand out while still being themselves.

The language is simple and childlike and the illustrations, done in gouache, reflect this same simplicity. Be sure to check out the endpapers where the story truly begins, with Amelia alone with down-turned ears and at the end, with her new best friend Susannah, ears and hands up high.

A fun exploration of friendship!

Pair this up with some other unlikely pairs like:
Hello, my name is Bob by Linas Alsenas and
Dog and Bear: two friends, three stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Review by Marianne