If You Were My Bunny [Board book]

Kate McMullan (Author), David Mcphail (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

"The sweet soothing sounds of a mother's words come through loud and clear. McMullan's clever use of familiar songs adds to the charm. A cuddlesome bedtime choice." - Booklist

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ages 3^-5. The sweet, soothing sounds of a mother's words come through loud and clear in this small book. A mother rabbit tells her little ones that she could pick them out from all the other babies, and she sings a bunny version of "Hush, Little Baby," with lines like "if that carrot top should wilt, / Mama's going to bring you a clover quilt." Then a bear, a cat, a duck, a dog, and finally a human mother tell their children how much they love them. McMullan's clever use of familiar songs ("Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Rock-a-bye Baby," among others) adds to the charm of this child pleaser. So do McPhail's pictures, which, though occasionally stiffly executed, are full of tenderness and love. A cuddlesome bedtime choice. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Familiar lullabies are given a twist by McMullan (Hey, Pipsqueak!, 1995, etc.) in a work that serves as a missing link between board books and more lavish picture books. A bunny, a bear cub, a kitten, a duckling, and a puppy are given a few pages each to be gathered in by their mothers as the day comes to a close, then sung to sleep. Bear whuffles a ``Sleep, Baby, Sleep'' variation, Rabbit warbles her version of ``Hush, Little Baby,'' and so on. It's all very sweet: ``Dearest duckling, close your eyes, crickets chirp your lullabies'' to the tune of ``Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'' and ``Dream time, my kitten'' to the melody of ``Rock-a-Bye Baby.'' McPhail adds notes of suspense with bolts of lightning and sickle moons. The book begins with ``If you were my bunny and I were your mama, I'd pick you out from all the other bunnies and nestle you beside me''; fittingly, therefore, the volume is dedicated in part to ``M.W.B.'' (Picture book. 2-4) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Board book: 26 pages
• Publisher: Cartwheel (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059034126X
• ISBN-13: 978-0590341264
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( M ) > McPhail, David

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Says "You're Special!" Five Treasured Ways, November 1, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: If You Were My Bunny (Story Corner) (Hardcover)

As a mother, I really like it when a book has something meaningful to say. Some books are frivolous; they teach no lessons because they're just for the fun of it. The book "If You Were My Bunny" is both fun and meaningful. This book is about the relationship between mothers and their children, and in this slim story, five animal moms tell their respective animal babies how very precious they are. My two-year-old daughter loves this book so much, she requests it every night. The songs which accompany the text (lyrics are sung to the tune of familiar lullabies) have become her bedtime songs. The lyrics are so sweet, I'm no longer allowed to sing "the old words". The sentiment of this book is wonderful, and the songs are catchy. I would recommend, however, looking at the last page before your first read - this way, you'll know what tune to use for each of the five animal's songs. The illustrations are superbly done, and just right for the 2-4 age group. It's so important to read to your kids, and when they love a book as much as my daughter loves this one, you can look forward to a special time together.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bedtime for bunnies., November 1, 2002

By 

David C. Roller (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If You Were My Bunny (Board book)

My 3 year old loves bunnies. She has since she was a little baby. She has had the same stuffed bunny since she was 3 months old and now has a baker's dozen of assundry rabbits. We even call her our little bunny. So when my wife saw this book for the first time she broke down in tears. We bought it there on the spot and it has quickly become our families favorite bedtime book.

This is a charming little book with great pictures. Singing the songs is a lot of fun. If a law was passed today that a family could only own 3 children's books this would definitely be one of ours.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book to calm a fussing baby...Great for nighttime!, November 22, 2001

By 

"trinchgirl" (Glendale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If You Were My Bunny (Board book)

I was given this book when my son was born, and it is by far his favorite. Each animal mother/baby pair has a read-it part and a sing-it part. The songs are revised lyrics done to standard lullabyes. The only song I didn't know the tune to was "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" (Sleep, Bear Cub, Sleep), so I made it up, and my son was none-the-wiser. He's 16 months old now, and he STILL calms down considerably when I sing the songs to him, although the book doesn't hold his attention as much as it used to. A must have, in my opinion.