Bunny and Clyde

Review by Booklist Review

Bunny (a bunny) and Clyde (a chipmunk) are fed up with being good and decide it's time to be bad--rotten to the core, in fact. As lifelong rule-followers, they know they'll need some pointers, so they head to the library ("there must be books with bad stuff somewhere in this joint"). They hit the jackpot with the likes of Hamster Gangsters, Bad Kitty, Interrupting Chicken, and The Tale of Two Bad Mice and finally feel ready to embark on their new life of crime. Aside from messing up Bunny's room (which Maw-maw has them clean right up), the friends quickly proves themselves to be terrible outlaws, as all their "misdeeds" accidentally help others in the neighborhood. McDonald, of Judy Moody and Stink fame, is clearly having fun in her new chapter-book series, which is packed with humorous situations, puns, and old-timey gangster slang. The black-and-white illustrations lean into the overarching joke that the friends are "goodniks" in spite of themselves. A criminally charming new series for fans of Kara LaReau's Infamous Ratsos books.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

---

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Best friends Bunny and Clyde--a beret-wearing yellow rabbit and a chipmunk sporting a green blazer--are tired of being good. Determined to be "bad to the bone," but at a loss for how to achieve this, they head to the library seeking inspiration. "Bad books" such as Interrupting Chicken and Bad Kitty prompt their first unruly endeavor: messing up Bunny's room. Though Bunny's mother insists they clean up their act, the flame of rebellion has been lit, and the duo embark on further ne'er-do-well antics. Still, they can't help but spread positivity, even in their struggles to spark chaos: an attempt to ruin a neighbor's cheerful flower bed by pulling up dandelions and their TPing of another neighbor's rose bushes conjures unexpectedly helpful results and thanks from the unsuspecting victims. A lack of remorse and missing consequences for the pair's unkind intentions sometimes dampens the effect of this entertaining series kickoff. Nevertheless, Bunny and Clyde's schemes--facilitated by bouncy, fast-paced plotting from McDonald (the Judy Moody series) and boldly expressive art from Nash (I'm Afraid Your Teddy Is in the Principal's Office)--prove amusing, and the characters' independence, alongside their sassy banter, will appeal to young readers. Ages 5--8. (Mar.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

---

Review by Horn Book Review

Best friends Bunny and Clyde learn that it can be hard to be bad in this early chapter book. The rabbit and chipmunk duo are tired of being good and decide to put their energy into being bad, but each of their misdeeds ends up aiding the intended victim in comically unintentional ways. In one instance, Bunny and Clyde toilet paper a neighbor's rose bushes, which, it turns out, protects the flowers from an unexpected frost. Never ones to give up, the two move on to more and more daring attempts at villainy, all of which lead to disappointment. McDonald's short chapters, simple sentences, and snappy dialogue are perfect for newly emerging readers looking to take their first steps beyond early readers. Nash's frequent full- and partial-page black-and-white illustrations (final art not seen) provide lots of breaks in the text and ably capture the hijinks of these two fundamentally goodhearted critters. Bunny and Clyde can't help but fail to live up to their infamous namesakes. Eric CarpenterMay/June 2024 p.147 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

---

Review by Kirkus Book Review

An anthropomorphic bunny and chipmunk set out to be bad. Bunny and Clyde are tired of being good, tired of "saying please and thank you," tired of "keeping burps to themselves." They ask the librarian, a robin named Rowena, to show them the "bad section"; she points them to the tornadoes and hurricanes books--not quite what they were looking for. But then they discover the picture books Interrupting Chicken and Bad Kitty--now here's bad! Inspired, they mess up Bunny's tidy room, putting her books in "un-alphabetical order" and coloring on the walls. Undaunted--even after Bunny's Maw-Maw makes them clean up--they hole up in their shed hideout, thinking up more ways to be bad. But when they pull up the flowers in Darby the squirrel's yard, she thanks them for getting rid of her pesky dandelions. And after, under cover of darkness, they wrap toilet paper all around Thornton the possum's prize roses, he tells them how grateful he is that they've saved his flowers from the unexpected frost. And when they scheme to take the pennies out of Rowena's piggy bank…well, readers will just have to find out for themselves how that goes down. The clever plot is anchored by Bunny and Clyde's Hollywood gangster-speak, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, and groan-worthy puns, all of which will charm young readers. The illustrations are well placed for visual interest. Final art not seen. Being bad is work. Delightful. (Chapter book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

---

-1- No Good Bunny and Clyde were tired of being good. Every day Maw-Maw kissed Bunny and said, "Be good." So Bunny was. Every day Paw-Paw hugged Clyde and said, "Mind your manners." So Clyde did. Every day at school, their teacher told them, "Raise your hands! Follow directions! Use inside voices!" So they did. But Bunny and Clyde were tired of making their beds. They were tired of saying please and thank you. They were tired of keeping burps to themselves. They were done playing nice. They were done being told what to do. One morning on their way down the sidewalk, Bunny spotted a bubble gum comic. She picked it up. Clyde spotted an old bottle cap. He picked it up. Along came Old Lady Murphy. She patted each of them on the head and said, "What a pair of good little bunnies!" Bunny hated being patted on the head. Clyde hated being called a good little bunny. He was a chipmunk! "She thinks we're picking up trash," said Clyde. "She doesn't even know we're treasure hunting," said Bunny. And so on that one perfect Minnesota morning, Bunny said to Clyde, "Let's be bad for once!" "Bad to the bone," said Clyde. There was only one problem. Up to now, Bunny and Clyde had always been good. The two goodniks did not have the first clue how to be bad. But they did know one thing. When a baffled bunny was looking to learn something, when a curious chipmunk needed information, there was only one place to go. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Bunny. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Clyde. "To the library!" said Bunny and Clyde at the same time. -2- Bad Books Bunny and Clyde grabbed their library cards and the i ª reading tote. They hopped on their shiny red tandem bike and pedaled to the library. Racing up the steps and through the big glass door, they found their friend Rowena working at the front desk. "Rowena!" said Bunny, sidling up to the counter. "Do you have any, um, bad books?" Rowena was loading books onto a cart. "As a famous writer once said, 'Life is too short for bad books.' I like to think that the library is full of good books." "Just point us to the bad section," said Bunny. She almost added please but caught herself just in time. "Yeah, there must be books with bad stuff somewhere in this joint," said Clyde. Rowena looked stumped. And someone who works in a library is almost never stumped. She hemmed and hawed and hawed and hemmed and scratched her head with her wing. "Aha!" she said at last. "Follow me." Rowena led them through the stacks to a row marked 500. "Try the 551s." As soon as Rowena left, Bunny and Clyde pawed through the books on the shelves. Volcanoes! Earthquakes! Hurricanes! Tornadoes! "Bad, bad, bad, and bad," said Bunny. "But not the kind of bad we're looking for," said Clyde. They were about to give up when Clyde noticed mountains of picture books scattered all over the floor of the library's Young Readers room. "What a mess!" said Clyde. "These books should be lined up on the shelves," said Bunny. "Spine out!" "Maybe there are bad books somewhere in this mess," said Clyde. Bunny hunted through heaps and heaps of books. Clyde pored over piles and piles of books. "All these books have good and love and hugs in the titles." "All these books have pink unicorns and sparkly rainbows," said Bunny. Bunny and Clyde dug to the bottom of the biggest pile. At last! They took their haul up to the front counter. "Wow!" said Rowena. "You two are my best readers. Let's see what we have here." Rowena clucked as she checked out their books. "Hmm. Interesting choices. Some bunny's up to some hijinks," she said with a twinkle. Bunny flushed pink all the way to the tips of her ears. A shifty-eyed Clyde shuffled his feet. Bunny hurried to hide the loot in the i ª reading tote. Clyde plunked down five pennies for a bookmark. Rowena picked up a penny and studied the back of it. "Hey! This is a whole-wheat penny. These are rare, like a hundred years old. I bet it's worth a pretty penny!" Bunny and Clyde were only half-listening. "This is going in my piggy bank at home. You're welcome to come see it anytime. It's almost full, but I'm sure I can squeeze in one more." She pulled a penny from her pocket to replace it. "Happy reading!" she called, but Bunny and Clyde were already out the door, on their way to being bad. Excerpted from Bunny and Clyde by Megan McDonald All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

---