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Monday, July 13, 2009

Book Review: The I Believe Bunny


When I saw this book offered in the Thomas Nelson Blogging for Books program, I knew I had to request it for Kaelan, my 20-month-old daughter. She absolutely LOVES reading. The two phrases I hear all day are, "Momma, read it, please," and "Momma, hide." She will sit in her room and sort through her books, looking at the pictures and reading them to herself, or me. We seriously never make it through a day without at least 20 readings (or various books or the same book multiple times).

With all that reading, I want to make sure I'm providing quality literature for her (one of my quirks as a former elementary school teacher). I'm REALLY picky about the "feel" of a book—language and pictures or illustrations. Some books I keep in the pile because she really seems to enjoy them, but others I'll hide, hoping that she forgets we ever had them.

The I Believe Bunny falls in the middle for me. Honestly, I love the message portrayed throughout the book, but the quality of the language was a little sub par to me. The I Believe Bunny stresses relying on God, even when we think we might be too small, and trusting in Him to meet our every need. One rainy day, the bunny hears a mouse calling for help. He tries to help her by stretching out a stick, but falls short and is afraid she's going to drown. He prays for help and his friends show up to help fish the little mouse out just in time.

Tish Rabe, author of several Cat in the Hat books, does a good job of portraying the message throughout, but she does so through telling instead of showing. Even kids' books should leave some room for children to figure things out. The book does fall in line with her work from the Cat in the Hat books, though. For example, I wasn't impressed by Clam, I Am.

Overall, it was a good selection to add to our library. Kaelan enjoys reading it, and I'm definitely able to pull good insights from the book to share with her.

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