The Runaway Bunny [Hardcover]

Margaret Wise Brown (Author), Clement Hurd (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 1942 | Age Level: 4 and up

Clement Hurd redrew some of his pictures for this new edition of the profoundly comforting story of a bunny’s imaginary game of hide-and-seek and the lovingly steadfast mother who finds him every time.

"Best of the Best" Children's Books 1966–1978 (SLJ)
Outstanding Children's Books of 1972 (NYT)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Since its publication in 1942, The Runaway Bunny has never been out of print. Generations of sleepy children and grateful parents have loved the classics of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, including Goodnight Moon. The Runaway Bunny begins with a young bunny who decides to run away: "'If you run away,' said his mother, 'I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.'" And so begins a delightful, imaginary game of chase. No matter how many forms the little bunny takes--a fish in a stream, a crocus in a hidden garden, a rock on a mountain--his steadfast, adoring, protective mother finds a way of retrieving him. The soothing rhythm of the bunny banter--along with the surreal, dream-like pictures--never fail to infuse young readers with a complete sense of security and peace. For any small child who has toyed with the idea of running away or testing the strength of Mom's love, this old favorite will comfort and reassure. (Baby to preschool) --This text refers to the Board book edition.

About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, is one of the best-selling children's book authors of all time. Her unique ability to see the world through a child's eyes gave a new and enduring dimension to picture-book writing. Another Important Book is the companion to her classic picture book The Important Book, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard and first published in 1949.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (June 5, 1942)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060207655
• ISBN-13: 978-0060207656
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (195 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,073,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION, October 14, 2000

By 

Soaring Heart - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Runaway Bunny (Board book)

This was the FIRST book I bought when I was pregnant with my first child. I was browsing in a bookstore and recognized it IMMEDIATELY from childhood. I have read this book to my daughter since she was 1 month old and it is still one of her very favorite books! (She is 2 years old now.) Margaret WISE Brown was definitely WISE to write this endearing book which demonstrates the depth of a mother's love for her child.

The storyline is simple yet spellbinding--the bunny wants to run away from his mother. Each time he imagines he is something different and his mother matches his imagination by becoming whom or whatever is needed to find him: he's a fish, she's a fisherman; he's a rock, she's a mountain climber; he's a flower (crocus), she's a gardener; and my personal favorite (as a child and still today) he's a bird, and she's the tree that he comes home to; and more.

This is a very special book in so many ways. The bright colors on every other full page spread make the book more captivating because of the contrast from the black and white illustration on the previous full page. (In other words, the color alternates with black and white.) But the story of the mother's love which makes the bunny realize how lucky he is to have a mother who would literally follow him to the ends of the earth to be with him and protect him and just love him...THAT is what touches me the most.

Bottom line, this book should really be available in a gold edition because that is what it will always be worth to me and my daughter. I highly recommend this to all--both young and old. (Check out GOODNIGHT MOON as well.)

Thank you, Margaret for such a heart-felt story of love; and thank you, Clement for your bright and joyful illustrations!

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A heartwarming, beautifully written book, a MUST-HAVE !!!, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Runaway Bunny (Board book)

I first heard a few lines from this book on a T.V. show, and I was in tears! I ran straight to my computer and ordered it. This book is a must have for every child (and parent!). I have never read a book expressing the love of a mother for her child so beautifully. The mother bunny becomes whatever it takes for her to "find" her little bunny as he dreams of different things to be to run away from her. The mother bunny doesn't condemn him, but conforms to his thoughts and dreams and "chases" after him as he tells her what he will become and how he'll run away. I loved the way the mother spoke so lovingly to her little bunny, letting him know that no matter where he went, she'd find him. My son loves the brilliantly colorful images on every other page. It is a nice contrast to the black and white writing in between. This has become a favorite in my home and I intend to give this book as a gift to any and every mother (or mother-to-be) that I know!

63 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Neither perfect Nor horrible, March 14, 2006

By 

DR Culp (dayton, oh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Runaway Bunny (Board book)

Creepy? I wonder about people who use the word 'creepy' when something is far less than 'creepy'.

Too many reviewers presenting bad reviews pretend they have a great understanding of the child psyche or literature - or both. One reviewer goes so far as to suggest that it is wrong to associate non-rabbit traits, such as swimming, to a rabbit. If you are one of these reviewers, find something more useful to do with your time. Another reviewer suggests that the book is teaching children to runaway in the grocery store.

The book is actually a simplified and child-oriented version of Voltaire's Candide, where after travelling the world looking for personal freedom and adventure and a more interesting place to live, Candide ends up back at his old home by his OWN free will to tend his garden, having survived all other misadventures.

Although I don't find the book remarkable, it is guilty of none of the overstated negative traits -- even if the overprotective Parent who fears a book with a message of an "overprotective Parent" may see it this way.

Yes, the subject is running away - it is the title of the book.

And yes, almost all children at almost any age entertain the idea at least once. And many parents fear the child's thought almost as much as the unlikely juvenile act itself.

The mother does NOT always chase down the little bunny. Sometimes she places herself in a position of passive access or support, at the expense of her own freedom. This is natural for a parent. And the mother is not forcing her will on the child or breaking the will of a child - the book clearly illustrates that the bunny has come to his own decision to stay at his home, even if the rationale is unclear. You might say that it is because he can't get away from his mom -- EXCEPT for the illustrations where he is going TO his mom. If the book were longer, and without a mother, then maybe the bunny would give detailed descriptions of why being a fish is not fun. But this is a book for a child, who does not yet depend on reason but on seemingly arbitrary boundaries defined by adults. And he finally decided his current boundaries aren't all that bad.

If you are an adult, and you are reading this book and feeling oppression, get some counseling.