Buddy and the Bunnies in: Don't Play with Your Food!
PreS-Gr 3-Buddy, a monster, has no use for flowers, trees, or pretty much anything in nature. What he really wants is bunnies. "I'm going to eat all you bunnies!" he announces to three rabbits. They convince him to play hide-and-seek until their cupcakes come out of the oven and, after munching the goodies, he's too full to eat bunnies. "Would you bunnies mind if I eat you tomorrow?" he asks. The next day they entice him to go swimming before he eats them. "You musn't go swimming right after you eat! You'll get a cramp!" Then "they look so cute when they're napping" after their swim that he can't possibly eat them. Next the bunnies form a "Stripey-Stripe Club" in Buddy's honor and vote to spend a day at the carnival, which makes him too dizzy to eat them. "Okay, no more fooling around./Today I'm going to eat you bunnies first thing," he declares next day. But the bunnies, in a delightful surprise ending, have an argument their nemesis just can't refute. This is a hilarious romp made all the more enjoyable by Shea's cartoons outlined in black crayon. Buddy is a small orange fellow with bulging eyes and a cavernous mouth, ever seeking a tasty bunny treat. Backgrounds change continually and are often decorated with stars, curlicues, and other symbols. The carnival day, depicted on black ground, is especially bold. Alert readers will notice the bunnies keep multiplying. Pair this laugh-out-loud caper with Linda Bailey's Toads on Toast (Kids Can, 2012).-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CTα(c) Copyright 2013.  Library Journal. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.