The Bold, Brave Bunny

In a bunny burrow brimming with immediate and extended family, Teetu the bunny finds bunnies everywhere he turns—including in the pages of his alphabet book, where even “B is for bunny.” Bugged by the seemingly overabundance of bunnies—and there are so many that “It. Wasn’t. Even. Funny.”—Teetu decides to venture out of the burrow and into the unknown. His secret escape is discovered by the littlest bunny, who instead of ruining his getaway, sweetly says, “Come back soon.” Thus Teetu is off on a new adventure, exploring by “sunlight, by starlight, by moonlight, by flashlight,” determined to show that “B” is also for “brave” and “bold.” As he journeys, he writes and draws pictures of the animals he sees. After some unspecified time exploring and with his book finished, he realizes he’s feeling lonely for some bunnies’ company after all and that it’s time to head home, where he delights his family with his own book of animals. While this book has a tender message about finding a personal identity but also discovering that “B” is for belonging and valuing one’s heritage and family, it falls short of Ferry’s other works, recognized for their wit, cleverness, and original rhymes (though this is not a rhyming book). The brave bunny promised by the title and almost forebodingly depicted on the cover page by the wispy, gray branches of a tree never clearly materializes—Teetu is bold in wandering out on his own, but he never seems to feel imperiled enough to require much bravery. Lam’s digital illustrations are uniquely created in varying shades of gray with a splash of red, and his creative depictions of animals from the branches of bushes and trees are a highlight of the story.