Customer Reviews

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

My daughter who is 6 loved this story. It was easy for her to read and she enjoyed the fact the little girl wanted to keep her favorite stuffed animal and not trade it in for a new one. I would recommend this story to anyone.

My niece (who is named Emily Brown) loved this book! I also found her a stuffed rabbit and she loves to hold it and have the book read to her:) I look forward to more Emily Brown books!

I teach preschool and my classroom loves this book! It keeps them captivated throughout every page! The light repetition lets them know what's coming next and invites them to read along but isn't overbearing and boring.

Reviewed by Three Silly Chicks -- Readers, Writers, and Reviewers of funny books for kids.



Emily Brown loves Stanley and Stanley loves Emily Brown. Emily is a little girl and Stanley is an old gray rabbit. They are best friends. Best adventurers. Best EVERYTHING. Life is great for this pair until the Queen "kindly" notices Stanley and decides she must have him for her own. She tries to bribe Emily Brown with a teddy bear, talking dolls, rocking horses, and all the toys Emily could ever desire. Emily will have none of it and when that spoiled, greedy Queen goes too far and kidnaps Stanley, Emily marches right back to the castle to get him back. Nobody steals Stanley and gets away with it!

Layton combines a mix of art styles using childlike illustrations and photos of the jungle, sea and sky to bring us into Emily and Stanley's world. Emily's fierce devotion and loyalty to Stanley in this delightful book will ring true with anyone who ever had a rabbit (or teddy bear or stuffed cat or . . .) of their own.

I bought this for our granddaughter, who is a stubborn little girl---just like Emily Brown who is fiercely protective of her raggedy old stuffed bunny Stanley. Very colorful and whimsical. She loves it! (She's five years old.)

My kids love this book, and I agree it's really cute.

But on the night before tax day, I am reading this book and realizing what a perfect metaphor it is.

A little girl has something good -- a rabbit. She has ideas and plans for adventures with her rabbit, and she knows that her rabbit belongs to her. It even has a name. It is HERS.

Rat-a-tat-tat -- representatives of the faraway and snobby Queen arrive one by one to try to get the rabbit. The Queen wants it. They offer to trade for the rabbit, and the goodies they promise in trade become bigger, sillier, and more useless. Emily wants to keep her rabbit, because it is HERS. She sends away the footman, the army, the navy, and the air force. Finally, the Queen's commandos sneak in and steal the rabbit.

The very next day, Emily goes to the castle, storms in and gets her rabbit back.

The pompous and self-righteous Queen, who demanded what did not belong to her, had already ruined the rabbit. Too silly to see what was good, the Queen wrecked it while she tried to improve it: turning it pink, changing its shape, and getting rid of its smile. Emily took it back, handed the Queen one of the goodies the Queen already had in a cupboard, and told her majesty to play with what she already had and be grateful.

Emily is my hero.

This is a wonderful story for a child who has a very special stuffed animal. She won't give it up to the queen despite offers of new toys, etc. In the end she shares her knowledge so the queen can make her own toy "special"