Lunch Bunnies

by Kathryn Lasky, Marylin Hafner (Illustrator)

In an amusing tale of first-day-of-school jitters, Clyde is excited about his school but has fears about lunchtime, worrying that no one will sit with him, but when the time approaches, his fears are quickly put to rest.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Fiction, Rabbits, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Kathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Mikayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great children's read

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was not what I expected from the cover of the book. This would be a good one for parents with children who have fears about the first day of school, only it is quite specific to the lunch hour. Of course, every time I started a new school I was always worried about the lunch hour--right up through high school! So it's a fear of Clyde's that I can understand. It's dealt with lightly and humorously and shows some nice characters and misunderstandings corrected. The pictures were slightly disconcerting. (His brother is downright scary looking!) Long enough for school-age, but way too young in topic and probably a little boring, too.

[Emme Koutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clyde is nervous about his first day of school, but only because he is worried about dropping his lunch tray. The night before school he practices, but is head is filled with all sorts of things that could go wrong that his older brother Jefferson tells him. Clyde dreams of lunchtime at night then continues to worry all day at school until it is time for lunch. Once Clyde is going to through the lunch line he finds out that it isn't so bad after all, but then when he is walking back behind a girl in his class and she slips and drops her Jell-O. Clyde helped her clean up and they sat together and became friends. In the end Clyde forgot about all his worries and had much more confidence. I believe that is a great story to help show kids that school may not be as bad as they think. I'm sure many kids can relate to being nervous about school in general so knowing that everything turned out okay for Clyde may help settle the readers own nerves. I gave this book five stars because I believe that this book has a great message in it. Additionally, I really like the smooth illustrations and how they are full of detail showing what is happening all throughout the story.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s Clyde’s first day of first grade and he’s really worried about buying his lunch. He’s heard horror stories of the loud lunch ladies, the mystery goosh they have to eat, and carrying soup on a lunch tray. He’s also worried about having a friend to sit with. But even when Rosemary has a major Jell-O spill, all works out in the end.

Good story for addressing some worries with young students.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this for all kiddos going back to school, especially eating in the cafeteria for the first time. They can easily relate to Clyde’s anxiety and worries about spilling food and making friends. The bunny characters are the cutest! Perfect for back-to-school!

[Paola Nunez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love the illustrations in this book. I think that this book can help a child's social-emotional development. I like how this book is relatable.

[Scott Cahalan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for kids talking about fears of the first day of school.

[Rebecca Ashley Teague · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a bunny named Clyde during his first day of school. Clyde is nervous about lunchtime and its procedures. He fears that he will end up making a fool of himself and even has nightmares about what could go wrong the night before. It doesn’t help that his older brother is telling Clyde stories about lunch to add to his anxiety. When lunch time approaches, all of that fear and anxiety that Clyde was feeling disappears. I would use this book in my classroom on the first day of school to help children overcome their fears they might have with certain procedures like going to lunch. This book would be especially beneficial for Pre-Kindergarteners and Kindergarteners on their first day at a new school. This would be a great way to teach children that nothing is ever as bad as we imagine it and everything has a way of working out.

[Molly Toomey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clyde was practicing carrying a tray of food across the kitchen. Tomorrow was his first day of school. He was ready to learn to read and write, but he was not ready for lunch. He was too afraid of spilling his tray and people making fun of him. He even has bad dreams about it. The next day, he enjoys his first day of school, but the closer that lunch gets, the more nervous Clyde gets. His new friend, Rosemary, helps talk him through going to lunch. When she spills her tray, however, Clyde helps her out. This would be a great book about the procedures of a lunch room, as well as friendship with other students.

[Alunafowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Case: cardboard
This book address a concern that many first year school students could realte to. The concern was about how children react to school cafeterias for the first time. The author used rabbits as the characters of the book. The rabbit clyde over come some harsh thoughts about holding the luch tray and making friends. This book is a good example for first and pre K students.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story but I thought Clyde was in Kindergarten since it was his first day of school- not 1st grade like the synopsis says. Nonetheless, it was entertaining enough.