Battle Bunny

Product Information

I can totally imagine a young boy doing this to one of his old books that he considers babyish, and my only concern is that a child might be inspired to do this to a library book (oh, the horror! I must admit that I enjoyed the “Battle Bunny” story a bit more than the “Birthday Bunny” story because well, the “Birthday Bunny” story is your typical “main character is celebrating their birthday with their friends” plot, while the “Battle Bunny” story is full of awesome moments of Battle Bunny battling his enemies while that was the story that was being written over the “Birthday Bunny” story with childlike drawings being drawn all over the pages!

The first page with actual text on it, contains a very tired and slightly injured looking footsoldier. Discover what happens when a young imagination armed only with an HB pencil is pitted against its nemesis, an insipid picture book. The cover, retitled Battle Bunny, now features rockets, planes, bombs, and a general promise of mayhem. The original text is supposed to be an authentic feeling 1950s style story of a Bunny visiting all of his forest friends.This is a perfect book to give independent readers who are looking for something a little different. It seems that no one will be able to defeat Battle Bunny and his plans of world domination until a small boy named Alex steps up to take down Battle Bunny! Even I struggled with how to go about reading the book at first, eventually deciding to read Alex's defacings in my initial read-through, completely ignoring the original story, and then going through a second time to see what was actually in the original Birthday Bunny story. Tell me that those unfamiliar with its cheeky subtext won’t be tossing it in the trash upon spotting it on a shelf. He takes traditional tales and subverts them to be smart and appealing to both children and the adults who have to read them to children.

Instead of taking something hokey and making it violent, I sort of wish that it had just taken something basic and made it more complex, if that makes sense. Fans of Jon Scieszka will not be surprised to see his name on the cover, because this is a book which plays with its expected format and slyly comments on the nature of storytelling. An adorable rabbit's journey through the forest becomes a secret mission to unleash an evil plan - a plan that only Alex can stop. An honest reflection of the ways kids interact with books—in a way that’s accessible to kids themselves—as well as a complexly layered work of comic genius.The resulting text is thus an honest reflection of the ways kids interact with books--in a way that's accessible to kids themselves--as well as a complexly layered work of comic genius.