Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The team behind If You Were a Panda Bear and other titles introduces a bunny whose older siblings scamper off on an adventure without her. "Not again!" Tickles laments, before opting to read a storybook, How to Be a Bigger Bunny, instead. The motivational messages of the stories in the book-they include "Never Give Up" and "How to Be a Pirate," which "showed her how to act and talk boldly"-come in handy when Tickles discovers that her siblings have become trapped in a hollow log. Wendell Minor creates a bucolic countryside home for the rabbits in sun-washed scenes of fields bursting with flowers, and a series of dream sequences-including a stint as a pirate and caped superhero soaring across the night sky-offer visual evidence of Tickles's growing confidence. The aphoristic language can be heavy-handed or awkward in places ("The story showed how important it is to keep trying and to never give up.... When you never give up, you can do amazing things!") but the message is a reassuring one, regardless. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Tickles the bunny feels left out when her brothers and sisters scamper off to play and she is not invited to come along. Instead, she snuggles under a tree and reads various stories about bravery, resilience, agility, and cunning. As the day comes to a close, she hears a cry for help and finds her siblings stuck in a log. Because of the tales she's read, Tickles knows exactly how to rescue the other bunnies and saves the day. This is a multifaceted narrative, much like the stories that Tickles reads, and it offers many lessons. It invokes consideration and inclusion through Tickles's own discoveries while championing the power of books and reading, perhaps bordering on the edge of cramming too much into a small space. However, it is a valiant attempt and a positive, empowering selection for young readers. The gouache illustrations are simply stunning, with a bold, glowing yellow appearing throughout, visually relaying the warmth and strength of the book. VERDICT For classrooms and school libraries seeking to reinforce positive messages with young readers.-Kaitlin Malixi, Bucks County Free Library, Doylestown, PA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Book-smarts help Tickles the bunny save the day in this latest collaboration from the Minors.Tickles is the smallest and least adventurous in her family of five brown rabbits. When she awakens to see that her four bigger siblings have left their cozy, tree-hollow home for the day, she feels left out but resigns herself to reading her new book, How to Be a Bigger Bunny. The red volume includes stories about an intrepid rabbit who climbs a tall tree and acts like a pirate, and another, called How to Think Your Way out of Tricky Places, has good advice about nibbling. Lo and behold, all these stories end up having practical applications when Tickles brothers and sisters get trapped in a hollow log. She rescues them, has happy dreams of her heroism that night, and rises the next day to their newfound respect and a standing invitation to join them on future adventures. Throughout, gouache illustrations pay homage in palette, style, and detail to legends of the past Beatrix Potter, Leonard Weisgard, and Garth Williams, to whom Wendell Minor dedicates the book. The soft visual texture, in particular, is appealing and well befits the gentle narrative with its encouraging message to never give up. A happy ending for a little bunny whose reading helps her do big things. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
