Home for a bunny

Random House launches Big Little Golden Books with a quartet of vintage titles in a new, larger trim size. First published in 1942, The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illus. by Gustaf Tenggren, stars a curious canine who just can't keep up with the pack. In Scuffy the Tugboat by Gertrude Crampton, illus. by Tibor Gergely, Scuffy sets out to see the world but soon decides to go back where he belongs-the bathtub. It's springtime in Margaret Wise Brown's Home for a Bunny (1956), illus. by Garth Williams, and a brown rabbit looks for a place to live. After interviewing other animals about their abodes ("I would fall out of a nest," he explains to the robin), he finally finds the right match. In The Fuzzy Duckling (1949), a counting book by Jane Werner Watson, illus. by Alice and Martin Provensen, a baby duck meets other animals including "two frisky colts," and "six lively lambs/ with thick soft fleece," but none will join him for a walk through the woods. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This classic story of a rabbit looking for a home and finding one with another rabbit is still charming. Williams's illustrations are as carefully detailed as ever, and Brown's rhythmic prose reads smoothly. This edition is slightly larger than the first small Golden Book format; libraries with worn copies will be happy to be able to replace them. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.