Review by Booklist Review
It looks like a long, lonely week for Bunny when Mama goes off on a business trip. But then Papa suggests a way to travel without leaving home: they construct a cardboard RV by filling a box with crayons and other craft supplies on Monday; set out to convert the house into a tropical beach on Tuesday (decorating walls with paper palm trees and a Jimmy Bunnett poster); bundle up next to an open freezer to enjoy a wintry wonderland on Wednesday; and scout for construction paper wildlife in a safari adventure on Thursday. On Friday they concoct a Welcome Home surprise: an elaborate, woodsy campsite with real marshmallows to roast over a painted fire (Mama's expression when she walks in the door is comically ambiguous, but she gamely rolls with the scenario). The strategy has at least some points of feasibility, and Bunny, carefully ungendered both in the narrative and the bright cartoon illustrations, makes a sympathetic stand-in for children in similar situations.--Peters, John Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Mommy can't take her little Bunny on her weeklong business trip. When Bunny's ideas for getting rid of her suitcase (his imagined scenarios include flushing it down the toilet and stuffing it into a mailbox) and accompanying her don't pan out, Papa saves the day. Every day that Mommy is gone, he and Bunny pack up a car made from a cardboard box and pretend they're at a different destination. On Monday, they turn the bathroom into a tropical island (complete with a spoof of a Jimmy Buffett concert poster). On Wednesday, they create big animal cutouts and go on a "safari adventure." The distractions aren't entirely effective ("sometimes even the bravest adventurer misses Mama"), but they provide enough fun to sustain Bunny until the family has a joyous reunion, which involves one more fantasy locale. Richmond's rabbits have an odd biomorphic blobbiness that makes them look a bit like the cardboard cutouts Bunny and Papa are so fond of. But the artwork's emotional directness is never in question: when Bunny is mad, sad, or glad, there's no softening or sugarcoating it. Every expression hits home. Ages 3-5. Agent: Lori Kilkelly, Rodeen Literary Management. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Bunny is very unhappy when his mother announces that she is going on a business trip. Maybe he can accompany her, but Mama says her "business trip is just for grown-ups." She leaves him with a five-day calendar with a red heart marking her return on Friday. Bunny is still upset at bedtime and wishes "we could go somewhere little bunnies can go, too." This plaintive cry starts Papa's creative juices flowing. Papa and Bunny make a cardboard car and visit a beach on Tuesday, a "wintry wonderland" on Wednesday, and a jungle on Thursday. After Bunny has a meltdown when he's reminded of Mama, Papa suggests that they make a "welcome home sign," but Bunny has his own thoughts. He and Papa transform the living room into "CAMP MAMA," with cardboard trees, a pup tent, a fake fire, and lots of real marshmallows. These fully dressed white bunnies live in a suburban house. Its paintings and photos feature tall-eared rabbits (except for the child, whose short right ear sports a jaunty, purple paper crown). There's even a concert poster for "Jimmy Bunnett." The amusing, digitally finished ink-and-watercolor illustrations are more of a draw than the simple, brief text, and the recurring calendar emphasizes the days of the week.Children whose parents travel frequently for their jobs are probably this book's best audience, but others may get ideas for their own imaginary travels. (Picture book. 4-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
