Review: Cute, but needs work
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2012
I saw a blog entry about this book and its lack of reviews so thought I'd download a copy (free at the time) to take a look.  After a quick read, I thought I'd share some brief feedback.The overall story is cute and seems appropriate for the stated audience (2-7 years old).  A box of rabbits arrives at a pet store one day just before Easter.  Kids are lined up to see what is in the box, and are delighted to discover the contents.  Once the box is opened, one of the bunnies notices that he is different from the rest - grey, not white - and considers himself special.  After all of the other bunnies are claimed by the children, however, he is left alone in the box, which is placed outside on the sidewalk.  He feels rejected and considers himself "different in a negative sense."  A cold rain prompts him to leave the box, and he is eventually discovered by a man who is desperately looking for bunny to give as an Easter gift to his daughter.  The story closes with the little, grey bunny feeling happy and special again.The story is age appropriate and addresses some positive themes for kids - hope, acceptance, and dealing with adversity - and the artwork is good. For these reasons I was tempted to rate the book 3 stars.  However, I downgraded it to 2 stars due to the poor writing quality that leaves you feeling like the story is a rough draft.  The wording is a little awkward in places and sprinkled with grammatical errors that should have been easily identified and corrected.  Similarly the story seems unpolished in places.  For example, it seemed strange that a box of bunnies would arrive in a cardboard box, and be sold out of the box, and then the lone unsold bunny discarded on the sidewalk.  Similarly, it seemed odd that the father would ring the doorbell at his own home to deliver an Easter gift to his daughter (what appears to be a pair of rain boots - I don't think it would ever cross my mind to give rain boots as an Easter gift). After he departs in a desperate search for an Easter bunny for his daughter, the father then "stumbled over and found himself in a pond."  I got the impression that English is not the first language for the author.There are some good elements here, and it would be great to see the author get some editing help, especially as she has published some other children's books, which presumably suffer from the same issues.