Bunny tails

Meet Carrotville's very ownraucous and loveablefamily of bunnies -- there's Rhoda, Ricky, Margaret Rose, Rowdy, Rooter, Rena and, of course, their watchful Mama who teaches them important life lessons.When Mama Rabbit gets unexpectedly called away one night, it's up to the six young bunnies to pitch in and make themselves soup for dinner. However, Rhoda refuses to help her brothers and sisters cook because she is just too hungry. Without Rhoda's help, how will the "group soup" be complete?The next day a visitor selling ribbons comes to town and Mama Rabbit decides to treat the girls to one ribbon apiece. But when Margaret Rose decides she likes Rhoda's ribbon better than the one she picked out for herself, she takes Rhoda's and runs away. Will Margaret Rose realize that stealing is wrong and running away doesn't solve anything?

Author Notes

Barbara Brenner was born on June 26, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York. Brenner attended Seton Hall College and Rutgers University from 1942-46, while also working as a copy editor at Prudential Insurance Company. Her freelance work as an artist's agent prepared her for a literary life. In 1957 she published her first book, Somebody's Slippers, Somebody's Shoes. She followed this book with an educational picture book entitled Barto Takes the Subway, designed to improve reading comprehension and sight vocabulary.

Her artistic development continued when she began to collaborate with her husband, illustrator Fred Brenner, on The Flying Patchwork Quilt. Her next book, On the Frontier with Mr. Audubon, was selected by School Library Journal as The Best of the Best among children's books published over 26 seasons. One of her bestselling titles was Wagon Wheels (published in 1978), which deals with the trials and tribulations of a close-knit African American family. In 1986, Brenner was honored with the Pennsylvania School Librarians' Association's Outstanding Pennsylvania Author Award. Brenner's most celebrated book is a collection entitled Voices: Poetry and Art from around the World, for which she was chief editor. This book received an ALA Notable Book for Children mention and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults award.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Sibling dynamics hop to the fore in this playful two-part tale. Co-authors Brenner (Wagon Wheels), Hooks (The Legend of the Christmas Rose) and Boegehold (the Pippa Mouse series) present six brown bunnies who live with Mama Rabbit in Carrotville. Munsinger (What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best) depicts their home as a cozy, multi-roomed warren with a pillow-filled nook known as the "snuggery." In the first story, the bunnies cooperate to come up with dinner while their mother is out. Rhoda watches all her brothers and sisters contribute to a "Group Soup." She is generous with complaints but not help (" `It's beginning to smell like soup.' said Ricky. `Yes, but is it soup? I can't eat the smell,' snapped Rhoda"), until a change of heart at the conclusion. A second tale emerges, rather abruptly, with a turn of the page, when salesbunny Ribbon Rabbit arrives at Carrotville, peddling his wares. Sibling jealously ensues (temporarily resolved with a somewhat didactic lesson about alphabetical order), and Margaret Rose runs away after taking her sister's coveted rainbow ribbon. While the ending of the latter tale may be a bit contrived for some readers, all will delight in Munsinger's lively, colorful illustrations. Half-page paintings and vignettes break up the text and provide additional humor (e.g., Margaret Rose's not-too-subtle styling when she ties up her expressive ears in an oversize bow). Siblings will identify with the feelings in this upbeat, if slightly moralizing read. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review