Blog Entry #8

Knuffle Bunny

Written and Illustrated by Mo Willems

Hyperion Books for Children, 2004

32 pages

Fiction

            I chose this book because I came across it in a kindergarten classroom library, and it seemed very appropriate for that age. I knew that if it was by Mo Willems, it was probably a good book. Trixie and her daddy went down to the Laundromat, where they left Knuffle Bunny, her favorite stuffed animal. Trixie did not realize it right away, but when she did, she tried to tell her daddy. Trixie’s daddy could not understand her babbling, and when they got back home, her mom noticed she did not have Knuffle Bunny. The whole family rushed back to the Laundromat to search for it. When Trixie’s daddy found Knuffle Bunny, she said her first words.

            The illustrations in Knuffle Bunny are unique, because photography and expressive cartoon art are combined. The media is digital photography and drawing. The background photographs are sepia style, and the characters are sketched in ink and then shaded with color by computer. The illustrations look very real, because the background is composed of actual photographs of the city. The contrast in the illustrations is striking, but it really brings the characters to life in this book.

            This book is appropriate for early readers, most likely kindergarten through second grade. This book could also be great for a preschool class. If I were using this book for a lesson in a kindergarten class, I would read it aloud, and then talk about the illustrations and how to make predictions from them. After the lesson, the students could share similar stories or even draw a favorite toy of their own. In a first or second grade class, this may be a very simple read, but I would talk about characters, setting, plot, or sequence. There are some very good examples of elements in English Language Arts that could be discussed in this book. This book received a Caldecott Honor in 2005.