Bunnies!!!: An Easter And Springtime Book For Kids

by Kevan Atteberry

Story time for little ones has never been this exciting! When a friendly monster spots a group of bunnies in the woods, his delight is contagious. And when they're gone, how he misses them.

With bright illustrations and a simple text, this is the most fun type of read-aloud and one that mirrors most every toddler's emotional life. This board book edition is perfect for sharing.

"A diplomatic exploration of loving not wisely, but too well." —Publishers Weekly

"The madcap action that will have [children] laughing with delight and asking for the book again." —School Library Journal

Bunnies!!!, by Tickle Monster illustrator Kevan Atteberry, is perfect for fans of Mo Willems and Sandra Boynton.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Monsters, Childrens, Humor, Animals, Rabbits

34 pages, Board Book

First published January 27, 2015

About the author

Kevan lives in the Seattle area near his two amazing sons and his two adorable granddaughters. He is a writer/illustrator of award-winning children's books including Ghost Cat, the 2020 Crystal Kite Award winner from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. After decades running a graphic design studio, a greeting card company and a few dalliances in the dot.com nuttiness, he finally settled in with his true joy, picture books.

Along with Ghost Cat, his books include Bunnies!!!, Puddles!!!, and I Love You More than the Smell of Swamp Gas. Among books illustrated for others are the Dear Beast series by Dori Hillestad Butler, I Want a Boat by Liz Garton Scanlon, Frankie Stein by Lola Schaefer, Halloween Hustle by Charlotte Gunnufson, and Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett.

Reviews

[Flannery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have probably read this book aloud 100+ times. It is, far and away, my nephew's favorite book. If you are dedicated to reading books to toddlers and doing all the voices, this is such a fun read. The plot is just about a bunny-loving monster who is sad as he walks around a forest seeing everything but his ultimate favorite. He loses it with excitement when he sees the bunnies. That's it. It's not groundbreaking but it is full of heart and has a cute message. I never mind reading it, even after 100+ reads, and for a children's book, that's a sell.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevan Atteberry combines a big, silly blue monster with several colorful, on-the-run Bunnies!!! for one fun read. Fun with Bunnies!!! :)

This fast paced hide, seek, and run story is about an enthusiastic, friendly monster looking for some hopping playmates. Will he ever find the Bunnies!!!? Will they ever stop long enough to see that our hero isn’t scary? He just wants to play. Hop on in and find out!

You need to put all your energy into reading this story. All you have! Your body, facial expressions, and voice. Be silly! Get it out there in your voice and movements. You'll be rewarded with giggles galore. But be warned—you might be in bed before the kids! Haha….I was exhausted after four or five readings of Bunnies!!!

Have fun!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story time kids LOVED it, had me read it twice!

[Jenn C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bunnies!
Bunnies?
Noooo bunnies?
BUNNIES!!!

I LOVED this book!!! The illustrations are adorable and bright and you must read the text without caring what anyone else thinks!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of made me want to be a children's librarian, so I could read this for story time. Adorable monster with the best facial expressions and body language. Will be purchasing this for my nephew.

[Liz Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love, love, love!!

[donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with a 5-year-old who LOVED it!

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, the monster in this book is in the running for cutest monster ever.



Such a sweet little guy. He's just a little overly enthusiastic.



Okay, a lot enthusiastic.



Will the bunnies ever understand that he just wants to LOOOOOVE them? (Of course, they will. It's a children's book. And the ending is super cute.)

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hysterical. The little monster in this book is walking through the woods when he spots ..... BUNNIES! No, not bunnies - BUNNIES! The bunnies on the other hand are not interested in being the monster's new found friends. As he searches for them everywhere he becomes sadder and sadder that he can't find them and the bunnies realize he just wants to play. Then little monster sees ... BIRDIES!!! Great comic read for toddlers and very colorfully illustrated.

[Natverse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is me and my bunny all the time.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too funny!

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bunnies?
BUNNIES!!!

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely will be doing this one in storytime

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A day in the life of my 2 year old!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very best book of 2015, so far.

[Jessika Caruso · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a blue monster/dragon/unidentifiable creature that is walking through the wilderness. He says hello to the trees, the sky, and the clouds. However, when he sees a group of bunnies, he freaks out and chases after them! The bunnies run away in fear, hiding from the monster. The monster continues to walk along, saying hello to the sticks and the dirt. He falls asleep feeling sad when the bunnies sneak up behind him. When he wakes up, we discover the real reason that he was chasing the bunnies. He wanted to give them a big hug! In the end, he sees a group of birds and decides that he will make them his next target.

Infants, toddlers and young children will love the drama in this book with very little text. The illustrations are charming and colorful. Even though the main character is a monster, he is not scary looking. His sharp teeth will have children in suspense as they wonder why he is chasing the bunnies. I like how the author used a twist ending, making the reader believe that the monster wanted to eat the bunnies. This teaches children that looks can be deceiving, and a very nice person is not necessarily a beautiful person by society’s standards. I didn’t like the fact that the monster was the only one who talked. It would have been cute for the bunnies to respond to him.

[Flossmoor Public Library (IL) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

For some reason this very simple picture book put the biggest smile on my face! This story involves a friendly monster who walks around a forest saying “hello” to everything that he sees. When he sees a group of bunnies, he gets overly excited and accidentally scares them. After looking for them unsuccessfully, he continues on. The bunnies watch him being friendly toward everything and realize that he is kind, just overly-enthusiastic. The book has a happy, surprise ending! I absolutely loved giving the monster character a voice and acting out his facial expressions while reading this to small children. Their joy and excitement escalated with mine, and they left the story time feeling just as happy as I was!

- Miss Emily

[Robin Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted a funny, heart warming, memorable book for a baby gift; a book that both mom and baby would enjoy now and when baby is a toddler and beyond. I asked my local children's librarian...she recommended this book as well as a list of others. This book made me laugh, it made me sad for the lonesome monster whose enthusiasm at first scared the bunnies, and then it made me laugh again. It is fun to look for the bunnies who are hiding, you want to cheer up the lonesome monster, and you want to hug both him and the bunnies. The ending is typical - easily distracted monster finds someone more to love - and it so adorably surprising. My daughter, who is also giving this as a gift, laughed along with me.

[Terry]

Cute and super-fun to read out loud. Kids will totally relate to the blue monster - his joy and excitement, as well as his sadness. It is a story that lets readers stay in the moment but then reacts as they would when the next distraction comes along.

The jacket flap names the monster "Declan," but since it isn't used in the story, I didn't use it in my review.What would be MORE fun than adopting the author's suggestion of Declan would be to let your kids name the monster.

Get more in the full review at the Reading Tub.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bunnies!!! is a great illustration for kids (bunnies) struggling to include their younger siblings (the monster) in play. The book is impossibly adorable (the story and the art) and reading it is so fun — for the parent and the kids — because of the highs and lows of the monster’s mood, and therefore his tone. I’ve read this one to a wide age range (7mo, 1yo, 4yo, 6yo, 7yo) and they all liked it — though it was the 4yo who asked me to read it over and over and over again. One of the families I read it to turned it into a game where one person is the monster, and everyone else is bunnies, and it’s the cutest thing.

This one is a favorite of mine. Highly, highly recommend.

[Quaneisha Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

> I think students will love the lively illustrations in this story and will be able to relate to the woes and emotions of the main bunny in the story
>I love the story because it represents the concept of friendship which is very important for students;
> The bunny in the story is very expressive and enthusiastic which gives you the opportunity as the teacher to get really animated with your voice and movements and children will love that and be more engaged with the story line

[Tiffany May Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about a Monster, who is on a walk in the woods and spots some bunnies, but he scares them off because he gets so excited- an action every kid reading this book, with access to wildlife, can relate to. This story is charming, easy to read aloud and is a huge hit with my three year old. The theme isn’t mind blowing nor are the illustrations but hey, the target audience here really likes this story, so 5 stars it is.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overenthusiastic monster wanders through the countryside saying hello to everything. When he sees the bunnies, he is so excited and so loud that the bunnies run away. The poor monster goes on with his walk, trying to find someone to play with, but he keeps scaring the bunnies away. Until he is sitting quietly and that’s when the bunnies approach and they begin to play.

A good example of how pictures tell a great deal of the story.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little dialogue, larger than life VERY colorful illustrations show off this cute story about the world's kindest and friendliest monster who spots a group of bunnies in the woods, but without them, he's sad. Can they be friends?

Super cute story!

Great for young readers to read out loud to their grownups, also makes a very fast paced storytime too (could be great with puppets!)

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used for bunny themed storytime.

Bunnies, Bunnies! BUNNIES!!! Tells the tale of a monster who is enamored with bunnies. But with all the monster's enthusiasm the bunnies are timid and a bit scared. The monster is sad, but happily the bunnies eventually come around to be friendly with the monster. Until the monster discovers BIRDIES!

Perfect lead in to do the Birdie Dance during storytime!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is cute enough, esp. when the bunnies tapped the shoulder of the monster, indicating they actually did want to play chase. But it should have ended there. I don't know what to think about the 'epilogue.' Nothing juicy or resonant or thoughtful, art simplistic. A bit too complex for the board book audience, I opine; I read it in hardcover.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A monster cheerfully enters the wood, saying hi to everything he sees. Then he spies BUNNIES!!! and in his enthusiasm, scares them away. It takes a few more encounters and a sad monster for the bunnies to realize he just wants to play with them.

Very cute and silly illustrations.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny illustrations and simple text share the story of a little monster enjoying his world. He wants to be friends but others aren't as sure. They all figure out how to play. A surprise ending that won't surprise adults who work with toddlers and preschoolers.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some picture books where one can imagine cuddled up with a tot, reading a story, enjoying a good giggle and silliness. This is one of those books.

A little monster loves the things around him and bids them hello. But he especially loves...Bunnies!

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super simple, but hilarious board book. Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, but also a great easy reader text for early elementary schoolers. I love books like this where the author is able to do so much with only a few words. Effective, impressive, and funny.