KNUFFLE BUNNY
by Mo Williams

1. Bibliography:
Williams, Mo. KNUFFLE BUNNY. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2004.
ISBN 0786818700

2. Plot Summary
Knuffle Bunny is the story of a young girl named Trixie and her favorite stuffed bunny “Knuffle Bunny” who walk with Trixie’s father to the Laundromat. Trixie and her father sight see along the way to the Laundromat. Trixie helps her father load the washing machine, put in the money and they begin their journey home. A few moments later, terror strikes Trixie as she realizes something is missing and blabbers frantically to her father who does not understand what Trixie is telling him. They continue home with Trixie unhappy all the way. When they reach their home, Trixie’s mother realizes that Knuffle Bunny is not with them. The family race back to the Laundromat in a desperate search for Knuffle Bunny. They search behind and inside the empty machines but cannot find the bunny. At last, Daddy pulls Knuffle Bunny from the drying laundry and Trixie speaks her first words “Knuffle Bunny”.

3. Critical Analysis
This story wonderfully portrays a toddler who attempts to communicate without being able to speak. The babbling and fussing are very descriptive of an unset child. Words such as Trixie went “boneless” and “bawled” give a visual image of an unhappy toddler. The illustrations are photographs of Brooklyn, New York buildings in black & white digital images. The cartoon characters are colorful and stand out against the black & white background. The neighborhood is busy with the character’s daily lives as Trixie and her Daddy stroll to the Laundromat and home.

4. Review Excerpts

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: Personalities are artfully created so that both parents and children will recognize themselves within these pages. A seamless and supremely satisfying presentation of art and text.–Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI

BOOKLIST review: *Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 1. 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. ...Willems chronicles this domestic drama with pitch-perfect text and illustrations that boldly depart from the spare formula of his previous books. Sepia-tone photographs of a Brooklyn neighborhood provide the backdrops for his hand-drawn artwork, intensifying the humor of the gleefully stylized characters--especially Trixie herself, who effectively registers all the universal signs of toddler distress, from the first quavery grimace to the uncooperative, "boneless" stage to the googly-eyed, gape-mouthed crisis point. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


Connections: Read the story aloud to children ages 3 - 8 and have them focus on Trixie’s actions and discuss how they may react in this situation. Encourage laughter and participation of the group as the babbling words are read and Trixie went “boneless”.


Additional stories by Mo Williams include:
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. ISBN 078681988X
Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late. ISBN 0786837462
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. ISBN 0786818697