That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown [Hardcover]

Cressida Cowell (Author), Neal Layton (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2007 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Emily Brown’s rabbit, Stanley, is NOT FOR SALE.

Not even to her Most Royal Highness Queen Gloriana the Third.

Not even for all the toys Emily Brown could ever desire.

So when naughty Queen Gloriana steals “Bunnywunny” away, Emily Brown sets out to get him back. Along the way, she shows the queen how to love a special toy of her very own.

 

The popular author of How to Train Your Dragon teams up with the author/illustrator of Oscar and Arabella in this irresistible picture book.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2—One day, Emily and her rabbit are launching themselves into outer space to look for alien life-forms when they are interrupted by the Chief Footman to Queen Gloriana. He offers to trade a golden teddy bear for Bunnywunny. " 'No, thank you,' said Emily Brown. 'This rabbit is NOT for sale. And his name isn't Bunnywunny. It's STANLEY.'" But Queen Gloriana will not take no for an answer, and repeatedly sends her military staff to offer undesirable toys to Emily in trade for her rabbit. After several more refusals from an increasingly irritated little girl, the special commandos sneak into her bedroom at night and steal Stanley. Emily Brown storms the palace and confronts the queen, who cannot understand why Bunnywunny looks so miserable. So Emily takes pity on the silly queen and whispers the secret of how to have a happy toy. This gem of a book features a spunky child with a terrific imagination. The wacky illustrations, done in collage, pen and ink, and watercolor, perfectly depict the joy and energy of the companions' playtime activities. The exuberant text makes use of various fonts and cartoon-bubble dialogue. This book has loads of child appeal. Emily Brown clutching Stanley brings to mind Mo Willems's equally expressive Trixie and her beloved Knuffle Bunny. Pair these two books for a delightful storytime about favorite bunnies.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Emily owns an old stuffed rabbit named Stanley. One day, a footman appears and informs her that the queen has noticed her bunny and is offering a brand-new teddy bear in exchange. Emily isn't interested even after the queen ups the ante, offering dolls and rocking horses in addition to the bear. Then Emily wakes up, and Stanley is gone. Very cross, she runs to the palace, but when she confronts the queen, she decides to share the secret of how to love the new teddy into the perfect shape: "Play with him . . . sleep with him . . . hold him . . and be sure to have lots of adventures." Adventures make up much of the book here, as Emily and Stanley go to the rain forest and the desert in artwork that is sometimes collage and sometimes squiggly drawings, dabbed with color. Pair this satisfying story with Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny (2004); with her fried-pancake eyes, Emily could be a cousin to Willems' Trixie. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (April 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423106458
• ISBN-13: 978-1423106456
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cressida Cowell grew up mostly in Central London. She has a BA in English Literature from Oxford University, a BA in Graphic Design from St Martin's and an MA in Narrative Illustration from Brighton. Cressida loves illustrating her own work, but also loves writing books for other people to illustrate as the end result can be so unexpected and inspiring. Cressida has written and illustrated eight books in the popular Hiccup series. The unique blend of child centred humour and sublime prose made Hiccup an instant hit. How to Train Your Dragon has reached over 100,000 sales and is now published in over 30 languages. A Dreamworks feature film is due to be released in 2010. Also the author of picture books, Cressida has won the Nestle Children's Book Prize 2006 and has been shortlisted for many others. Cressida lives in Hammersmith with her husband, three children and two cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review for "That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown", October 14, 2007

By 

Elizabeth Considine (Santa Rosa, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown (Hardcover)

Ages 3-7. "Emily Brown" is a very successful book. It is funny and imaginative. Emily Brown and her well-loved stuffed bunny Stanley spend their days going on fantastic adventures together. They go to outer space and the Amazon rain forest and deep-sea diving off the Great Barrier Reef. These activities are interrupted by representatives of Her Excellence Queen Gloriana the Third. The Queen has seen Emily's wonderful bunny, whom she refers to as Bunnywunny, and wants him for herself. First, Emily is approached by the Chief Footman to the Queen who offers her a brand-new teddy bear in exchange for the bunny. Emily politely explains that the bunny is not for sale and that his name is not Bunnywunny but that it is, in fact, Stanley. In the ensuing days, Emily is approached by representatives of the Army, the Navy, and the Air-Force whose requests for the bunny become increasingly more extravagant and progressively more hostile with each successive visit. Finally, Emily awakes one morning to find that her beloved Stanley is gone! He has been stolen by the Queen's Special Commandos. Emily heads straight for the castle to find both the Queen and Stanley miserable. Emily rescues Stanley and shares with the Queen the secret to having a real toy of her own. Giving Queen the brand-new teddy bear she says, "play with him all day. Sleep with him at night. Hold him very tight and be sure to have lots of adventures." This story harkens back to messages learned in "The Velveteen Rabbit" about truly loving a toy and making it real. Neal Layton's illustrations in "Emily Brown" are childlike and evocative. He uses what looks to be a mix of line drawing and photographs to make wonderfully detailed collages. The book is a delight and would be a good addition to any public or school library collection. - Elizabeth Considine, Children's Librarian, Sonoma County Library.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This bunny has bounced into our heart., August 8, 2008

By 

Sheryl Johnson "sheryl" (Lehi, Utah) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown (Hardcover)

We checked this book out at the library so many times that I finally decided to just purchase it. My children love it. The story is whimsical and creative. It was a spring board for my children to daydream. It inspired new games and even made them prone to carrying around their own favorite toys. It is a must own book that celebrates childhood and imagination.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great strong role model for little girls, June 27, 2008

By 

Mom from Miami - See all my reviews

This review is from: That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown (Hardcover)

We love Emily Brown. She is imaginative, creative, fiercly loyal to her bunny, adventurous, and is polite but stands up for herself when necessary. Great characteristics for a little girl to emulate. The story is fun and teaches a great lesson. The writing is creative and the illustrations are great. My 2 year old adores this book and acts it out as we are reading together. Highly recommend this one... I buy it for everyone I know!