Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny [Hardcover]

Bill Grossman (Author), Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2001 | Age Level: 4 and up

Timothy Tunny
Swallowed a bunny.
The bunny got stuck in his throat.
"That bunny looks funny,"
His mom said, "but Honey,
Be thankful it isn't a goat."

In the best tradition of children's poetry, Bill Grossman has created a delightful collection of verses. Each poem is accompanied by a witty and whimsical illustration by celebrated artist Kevin Hawkes. From Kevin I Moses, who has seventeen noses, to Walter Lackwards, whose head is on backwards, these poems are full of hilarious characters who will tickle the funny bones of children and adults alike.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a riotous collection of rhymes about such unusual characters as Old Ned, who walks with a horse on his head; squeaky-clean Keith, who brushes his teeth--and his head--right out of existence; and Mr. McFyfe, who has been sitting on his wife for a long, long time, Bill Grossman keeps his readers rolling in the aisles. Take "The Barber," for instance.

She was cutting his hair,
But he slipped in his chair,
And she lopped off his ears as she cut.
She shouted, "My shears
Have lopped off your ears!"
And he looked up and said to her, "What?"

There's nothing like a dose of slapstick poetry to inspire kids to read--and maybe even write--more. Outrageous and quirky color-soaked paintings by Kevin Hawkes, prominent illustrator of My Little Sister Ate One Hare (also by Grossman), Weslandia, and many others, add immeasurably to Grossman's hysterical, verging on the bizarre, verses. (Ages 4 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Grossman and Hawkes, the team behind My Little Sister Ate One Hare, serve up a collection of short verses about characters with silly names who meet equally silly fates, including the titular Timothy; Hannibal, who encounters a cannibal; and Harold B. Bound, whose eyeballsAwell, never mind. Grossman's creations have the infectious jump-rope rhythm and tongue-in-cheek humor of classic nursery rhymes ("You're walking, old Ned/ With a horse on your head/ Why? That can't be much fun./ 'I'm walking,' says Ned,/ 'With my horse on my head/ Because I'm too tired to run' "). Many of the poems trade on anomalies like multiple noses and ballooning waistlines for their laughs. "Walter Lackwards/ Head on backwards/ Tripped on things he passed" starts one; others star characters skinny enough to slide down drains, or flattened by passing trucks into Frisbee-sized discs. Hawkes's full-bleed acrylics playfully exploit these oddball characters. His illustrations, peopled with pop-eyed, slack-jawed innocents who never know what is going to hit them next, provide satisfying visual counterparts for Grossman's topsy-turvy world. Kevin T. Moses, the man with all the noses, stumbles in pinstripes through a field of tulips, reaching for his Kleenex; John Paul Mullers, the victim of a paint explosion, floats crazily inside a carved wooden frame on a museum wall, as two bespectacled visitors peer at him. The happy combination of wildly exaggerated illustrations and cracked humor make this a promising read-aloud choice. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Laura Geringer Book; 1st edition (March 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060280107
• ISBN-13: 978-0060280109
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,799,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculous rhyming fun!, July 5, 2001

By 

Chess Heart "paxbear" (Canton, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny (Hardcover)

Timmothy Tunny may have swallowed a bunny that got lodged in his throat, but his mother (who notes that the bunny does look funny) points out that at least it's not a goat!

So begins this fun and nonsensical book of short, limerick-like poems for young children. We meet characters with fantastic names like Walter Lackwards (who's head is on backwards) and Mr. McFyfe (who sat on his wife) who have some delightful misadventures through the book. My personal favorite, which demonstrates the silliness of the rhymes, is this one:

THE MAN WHO INSISTS THAT HE DOENS'T EXIST A man who insists That he doesn't exist Keeps jumping in puddles of mud. "I'm glad I'm not here," He says, "for I fear "If I were, I'd be covered with crud."

The illustration shows a man positively COATED with gooey brown mud slipping through a pigpen while holding a dainty cup of afternoon tea. Such are the absurdities of illustrator Kevin Hawkes.

As a teacher, I have found that poetry generally leaves students and young readers cold. Given a choice, most students would prefer to clean out their desks than to write poetry. This is not the case when Mr. Grossman and Mr. Hawkes enter the classroom!! The easy, flowing rhyme and simple A,A,B,C,C,B rhyme structure of the poems makes them lots of fun to listen to and read over and over again. After reading the book, many students, even WITHOUT my prompting, ask if they could write their own "Timmothy Tunny" poems. For a teacher, any book that encourages or inspires students to write creatively of their own accord is worth it's weight in gold!!

The illustrations by Mr. Hawke are large and colorful, filling the whole page to the edges. The colors are vibrant and lively so each page seems to sing out to the reader. I have even seen an art teacher use this book as an example of characture: how to draw peoples' faces to show different emotion and perspective.

Older students and children will like the play on words and the inspiration to create their own poems, and younger children will love the splashy, fun illustrations of Squeaky Clean Keith (who always brushed his teeth) or Skinny Young Jane (who managed to go down the drain). Readers who enjoy this book should also read the other Grossman/Hawkes picture book, "My Little Sister Swallowed One Hare".

Highly recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-Out-Loud Fun, April 21, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny (Hardcover)

Bill Grossman has written a rip roarin' collection of funny, silly rhyming poems that will delight and amuse youngsters of all ages. From the woman in town who's afraid that she'll drown... and Bill Hackbar who worked in the snack bar..., to Old Ned, who walks around with a horse on his head..., these poems are full of great, unrivaled characters and hilarious situations that will charm both children and adults. His marvelously witty text is captured in Kevin Hawkes vivid, colorful and very expressive artwork and together they've authored a wonderful read aloud book of poems the whole family can share. So find out what happened when Timothy Tunny swallowed a bunny... and enjoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but maybe not appropriate for young children, November 14, 2004

By 

Bedtime Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny (Paperback)

The book has a total of 18 short fun rhymes, that I am sure most kids would love.
The illustrations are very fun, even though the colors are a bit too "muddy" for my taste.
Some of the rhymes *might* not be appropriate for young children (there is one about an ear getting cut off while cutting hair, one about a man with 17 noses (the image is a bit creepy) and one of a kid with his eyes inside out (not as bad as it sounds, but still a bit creepy).
If you have very young children, I would recommend you check out the interior pages before purchasing the book.