Customer Reviews

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

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Mo Willems is one of my favorite kids' authors, mostly for his simply drawn yet totally on-target books such as the Pigeon series ("Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus") and those featuring the (unlikely) pair of Elephant and Piggie. Willems has an eye for subtle humor, and a pair of sentences or a squiggle here or there convey a great deal of (very funny) information.

Therefore, the Knuffle Bunny "series" (there are now two of them, the first won the Caldecott) represents a bit of a departure. Instead of uncluttered animal drawings against plain background, Willems places computer-aided characters against photos of urban surroundings. For example, on page 3, Willems superimposes wide-eyed, excited Trixie and her orangy-haired Dad on a sidewalk. The sidewalk is part of a photo that includes a very 50's looking black and white photo of the "Clever Barber Shop." The plot begins happily enough:

"Trixie was excited because she was taking her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny someplace very special ... [turn the page] school!"

More black and white photos appear, enlivened by Willems' superimposed, computer-aided drawings of teachers, parents, and students. The merging of photo and drawing is both appealing and skillful. Willems's bright colors and mastery of physical expression ensure that the photos are always subordinate to his computer colored hand drawings (well, except in one magnificent two-page photo spread).

The book is also more talky than the simpler Willlems' fare. Here, Trixie and her very special Knuffle Bunny meet another girl, Sonja, who also has a Knuffle Bunny! Imagine wearing the same new clothes to a wedding and discovering someone wearing the same outfit: Trixie's mortification must feel 10 times worse! They fight and squabble (including a wonderful scene in which they disagree whether the "K" in "Knuffle" is silent) until the teacher takes both bunnies away.

Fast forward to night time, and Trixie somehow KNOWS that the two Bunnies got mixed up. The bunnies may look alike, but Willems seems to suggest that kids have a cerrtain bond with their special playthings, and can sense when a switcheroo has happened. Apparently, Sonja senses this too, for her dad calls Trixie's just as the latter is about to call. After a tense exchange, both girls are happy again, and they forge a strong friendship based on their mutual understanding of what it means to lose a Knuffle Bunny!

This is a more complex book than I've come to expect, and it takes a different kind of reading. His other books are straightforward and unapologetically silly, these have some serious feelings behind them. There's not as much humor, but the story-telling skill is not at all diminished--it's just more subtle. The interactions between husband and wife over whether he should get up at 2:30 am to call Sonja's family (of course he will!), the facial expressions that show dismay, relief, tension, friendship and mutual Knuffle Bunny love, all these show Willems' consummate skill as illustrator and author.

Although this is a larger-formatted book, with more words, and a more complex plot, I think that Knuffle Bunny Too is more suitable to family reading than to the classroom. It has a certain intimacy of emotion that may best be acknowledged and shared in a small group. While I have a bias towards Willems' other books, Knuffle Bunnny Too encompasses a wide range of emotions, and the creative illustrations are new and exciting.

I can't honestly say who looked forward to this sequel more - me or my 2.5 yr old daughter! We both loved Knuffle Bunny, and the poor book is dog-eared by now...its been read so many times that my little one can 'read' the words even before I say them out loud, she has it memorised, words, sounds and all!

In this follow-up, Trixie is in preschool, and thinks Knuffle Bunny will be a success at school, only to find another girl has a Knuffle Bunny too! Well, I won't give too much away [the synopsis provided by Amazon is sufficient], but this sequel retains the humor & wit of its predecessor. The wonderful blend of photographs and illustrations enhance the simple story, and it is fun to read a book that truly encapsulates what it means to be a young child. Highly recommended for the very young, and young at heart!

My 3-year old daughter loves her book, Knuffle Bunny. So what greater gift than the sequel? Mo Willems has a knack for capturing the emotions, the expressions, the feelings conveyed by really smart kids to their befuddled parents. I love the blend of real photos and drawn characters. It's almost like what kids think in their own minds as they move through the adult universe. Try reading this book! Your kids will love it and you will love reading it to your kids!

We have enjoyed this sequel. My kids enjoyed hearing about Trixie's new adventures as a "big girl." But I sooo wouldn't be going anywhere at 3am to return a lost stuffed animal. I think it is cute and fun but hold back slightly for the overindulgence bit there. Kids will love the silly theme that they can relate to though!

Sometimes a book can leave the reader cold. Sometimes a book can reach the reader deep inside. "Knuffle Bunny Too" reached me deep inside, in that place where few books reach: the funny bone. I never know just what will set off that funny bone, what will kick it into high drive, when that bone will make me spontaneously laugh out loud. "Knuffle Bunny Too" does it.

I love Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)) by Mo Willems, but I do believe the sequel is twice as good (and certainly twice as long). I realize I am writing from an adult viewpoint instead of a child's, but adults must read these stories to those children. For the adult to love the story makes it so much more enjoyable in the sharing experience. (There is one book that my great-niece insists I read over and over and over. I detest that book because I don't like the story, the art, or anything about it.)

A great many children's illustrators are now giving hints of the story with their cover art, art on the end pages and on the title page. This use of visual foreshadowing and narrative back story is so clever of them that I tell my little students in the library to look for that. Sure enough, right there on the end pages are two knuffle bunnies leaning against each other. Two? Well, yes, that's the foreshadowing.

Then the back story on the double title page layout: a repetition of the marriage and birth of Trixie, who now talks. We first meet Trixie at the washateria with unobservant Dad who doesn't realize that knuffle bunny doesn't go home with the two of them. But the story ends well when Knuffle is found in the dryer--unharmed.

Now Trixie is going to to Pre-K with her one-of-a-kind bunny--until she spots Sonja with HER one-of-a-kind bunny! After arguing all morning over their bunnies, their teacher puts the pair (the bunnies) on top of a cabinet, giving us that end-page image that foreshadowed this very event!

The day ends, bunnies are restored to their owners' arms, all is well--until 2:30 am when both girls realize that neither has the right bunny. This section is the laugh out loud part. Both daddies with daughter and wrong bunny MUST rendez-vous with the other daddy and daughter and wrong bunny and make an exchange. Willems handles this like a kidnapping and ransom. Funny, funny.

How it ends is expected, but I'll let you consider what that is. If you have children in your life and give them the great gift of books, make both Knuffle Bunny books a priority. It's not the themes or even the artwork that make these books so dear. It's the surprise element, the Aha! experience, the poking at the funny bone that make these books winners.

A "laugh out loud" example? At the playground when Mom comes to take Trixie home, the look of dismay on both faces makes me laugh. I work in our After School Care two days a week. It no longer is surprising to me when either parent comes to pick up the child and the child cries to leave. It's not because the child fears the parent or doesn't want to go home. It's because the child is enjoying so much PLAYING and just wants to stay and PLAY! When I saw Willems's illustration of this situation, I laughed. I shared in his understanding. As written, my example is not funny. The humor comes in the surprise element, the unexpected when the reader first sees those facial expressions!

As for Willems's art: at first glance, it seems so elementary. On a quick study, it becomes brilliant: the use of black and white photography for the settings with comic book type colorful characters superimposed on the b/w images. It works because of Willems's use of the unexpected, the surprise element that jars the imagination.

"Knuffle Bunny Too"-- a definite must-have for your little one! It will work for you too!

My 2.5 year old daughter received this book as a gift and we have never read the first one. The story is wonderful, funny and cute and the illustrations are a very creative mix with real photography. My daughter has this book memorized now and reads it to me which is priceless. I'm getting her the first one for her 3rd birthday and I'm sure it will be a great addition to our home library.

Really, if you've read and liked the first, you'll probably like this one too.

I just have a single qualm about it. The layout of the first few pages makes it hard to read - I'm not sure where to break in with Trixie's chatter, that sort of thing.

And the midnight switching of the bunnies is a little contrived-looking.

But all that aside, it's (almost) as great as the original.

This is a fun, funny sequel to Mo Willem's masterpiece, "Knuffle Bunny," one of the finest children's books in recent memory. Here, Trixie (and Knuffle Bunny) are a little bit older, and going to pre-K school... Of course, taking your toys to school can have unexpected consequences, and that's especially true when Trixie runs into another little girl... with the very same rabbit!! Willems captures the 3-4 year-old mindset as well as he did for toddlers, and this book will be a favorite of families that fell in love with the first book. Recommended! (ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)

I loved the first book as it's short and the kid is not able to speak. It's so funny when she noticed that the bunny is not with her! This second episode is nice and deals with the problems our children can face in school.
The story is also nice but a little bit stressed. I liked more than one but I am happy to have this one. If your child liked the first I think it's a good idea to buy this book and I wil buy the third.

While it's not as great as the first one, this book is very funny, and perfect when, like us, you have a "knuffle bunny" in the house. Our 3 year old completely identifies with Trixie, as her own Eeyore never leaves her side. We can TOTALLY identify with the need to exchange the bunnies in the middle of the night - we'd do it too!!! Thanks Mo, for this sequel!