Bunny Money (Picture Puffins) [Paperback]

Rosemary Wells (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Series: Picture Puffins

It's Grandma's birthday, and Ruby knows exactly what Grandma would love-a beautiful ballerina box. Max also knows what she'd love-a scary pair of ooey-gooey vampire teeth. Ruby has saved up a walletful of bills, but as unexpected mishap after mishap occurs, money starts running through the bunnies' fingers.... Will they have enough left for the perfect present? Wells' adorable story is also a fun and lively introduction to early math.

"Wells' droll humor is right on the money." -School Library Journal, starred review
"A very funny birthday story." -Booklist, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2. Take one resolute Ruby, add one sly Max, blend in a shopping trip to buy Grandmother's birthday present?and a money mix-up is sure to happen. Ruby's gift of choice is a ballerina-decorated music box, Max's is vampire teeth oozing cherry syrup. The music box proves too expensive, the teeth drool all over Max's outfit, resulting in a side trip to the laundromat, but Grandma does get two birthday presents that please her indeed. Before that happy ending, however, a lesson on the value of money cleverly unfolds. To help her young audience, Wells provides visual clues in the form of Bunny Money and invites readers to photocopy, cut out, and paste together the sheets of Bunny dollars included, which depict Max, Ruby, and a chuckle-inducing assortment of well-known figures (Julia Child, Desmond Tutu, Fred Astaire, Jane Austen, Jesse Owens) in rabbit guise. In relation to the many math picture books currently being published, this title rates up there with Stuart Murphy's "MathStart" series (HarperCollins) and Loreen Leedy's Monster Money Book (Holiday, 1992). As usual, Wells's line work is extraordinary; with seemingly minimum effort?but with maximum effect?the changing expressions on her characters' faces deftly delineate their personalities. To sum up, Wells's droll humor is right on the money.?Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ages 3^-6. A companion to the uproarious Bunny Cakes , this is a very funny birthday story. Max and his sister, Ruby, are shopping for Grandma's birthday present. Ruby has saved up a walletful of money, and, as usual, she's in charge. Or she thinks she is. She has plans for an elaborate gift, but Max is sure that Grandma would prefer a set of gorgeous glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth, and he tries them out. The money slowly gets used up as Max gets thirsty, hungry, and messy (they have to spend three dollars at the laundromat), but in the end, there's enough for them each to buy a perfect gift. In the final glorious picture, Grandma is thrilled to play Ruby's musical bluebird earrings and to wear Max's vampire teeth all the way home.

Wells' ink-and-watercolor illustrations show the sibling edginess and the shopping scenarios with economy and zest: one frame pictures the green vampire teeth on the shelf, pointing at an enthralled, wide-eyed, huge-eared Max. Children will also enjoy keeping track of the money as the wallet empties out. On the endpapers there are pictures of one-and five-dollar bills, with various bunny portraits in place of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Some show Max and Ruby; others show celebrity bunnies, from Martina Navratilova and Eleanor Roosevelt to Desmond Tutu. Wells suggests that grown-ups help kids photocopy, paste, count, and shop with the bunny money. Be sure to add this to the Booklist bibliography "Beginning Math Books" . Hazel Rochman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (November 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014056750X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140567502
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( W ) > Wells, Rosemary
  • #42 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Rabbits

More About the Author

Born in New York City, Rosemary Wells grew up in a house "filled with books, dogs, and nineteenth-century music." Her childhood years were spent between her parents' home near Red Bank, New Jersey, and her grandmother's rambling stucco house on the Jersey Shore. Most of her sentimental memories, both good and bad, stem from that place and time. Her mother was a dancer in the Russian Ballet, and her father a playwright and actor. Mrs. Wells says, "Both my parents flooded me with books and stories. My grandmother took me on special trips to the theater and museums in New York. "Rosemary Wells's career as an author and illustrator spans more than 30 years and 60 books. She has won numerous awards, and has given readers such unforgettable characters as Max and Ruby, Noisy Nora, and Yoko. She has also given Mother Goose new life in two enormous, definitive editions, published by Candlewick. Wells wrote and illustrated Unfortunately Harriet, her first book with Dial, in 1972. One year later she wrote the popular Noisy Nora. "The children and our home life have inspired, in part, many of my books. Our West Highland white terrier, Angus, had the shape and expressions to become Benjamin and Tulip, Timothy, and all the other animals I have made up for my stories." Her daughters Victoria and Beezoo were constant inspirations, especially for the now famous "Max" board book series. "Simple incidents from childhood are universal," Wells says. "The dynamics between older and younger siblings are common to all families."But not all of Wells' ideas come from within the family circle. Many times when speaking, Mrs. Wells is asked where her ideas come from. She usually answers, "It's a writer's job to have ideas." Sometimes an idea comes from something she reads or hears about, as in the case of her recent book, Mary on Horseback, a story based on the life of Mary Breckenridge, who founded the Frontier Nursing Service. Timothy Goes to School was based on an incident in which her daughter was teased for wearing the wrong clothes to a Christmas concert. Her dogs, west highland terriers, Lucy and Snowy, work their way into her drawings in expression and body position. She admits, "I put into my books all of the things I remember. I am an accomplished eavesdropper in restaurants, trains, and gatherings of any kind. These remembrances are jumbled up and changed because fiction is always more palatable than truth. Memories become more true as they are honed and whittled into characters and stories."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute Kid's book, Great Math Lesson!!!, June 13, 2003

By 

"dancer-grrrrl" (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bunny Money (Picture Puffins) (Paperback)

Cute! Max and Ruby go shopping for their Grandma's birthday, but are disappointed when their dream gift costs $100. They do not have much money and Max keeps wasting it. (Food, trip to the laundromat, bus fare, etc.) They manage to buy two "great" presents~ from Ruby, singing bluebird earrings, from Max glow in the dark vampire teeth. But their money is all used up. So Grandma picks them up and she wears the gifts all they way home.
It is a math lesson because they show how much money they have before and after the buy. (Like they have eight dollars, they spend two dollars, they have six left.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another good Max and Ruby book, September 4, 2003

By 

Dana Wooten (Horizon City, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bunny Money (Picture Puffins) (Paperback)

I think this is one of the better Max and Ruby books, along with Bunny Cakes and Bunny Party. Has play money on the end pages that you can photocopy and cut out for your kids to play with. Neat concept and fun to discuss who the "famous rabbits" on the different bills are supposed to be.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dominque, James, and Casey enjoyed reading this book!, December 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bunny Money (Max and Ruby) (Hardcover)

We are 2nd graders. Our names are Dominque, James, and Casey. We have been reading books by Rosemary Wells. Our favorite book is BUNNY MONEY. Dominque liked the part when Grandma was wearing the teeth and the earrings. Dominque felt good and wishes he could have money like that. James liked the part when Ruby had to take Max to the wash. It was funny to see cherry syrup all over Max! Casey liked the part when Ruby told Max to take her to the store to get candy and she was messy.