Publishers Weekly
09/12/2022
Four long-eared bunnies clad in colorful knit sweaters, hats, and scarves help a white-presenting Santa make his global Christmas Eve deliveries as readers search for hidden gifts in this zippy lift-the-flap adventure, part of the Bunny Adventures series. Santa’s red sleigh, powered by a team of just four reindeer, soars through a starry night sky, winging along a wintry coastline and clipping a decorated Christmas tree in a town square. Along the way, Mumford keeps the energy high, employing a refrain—“We’re going on a sleigh ride./ HO! HO! HO!/”—in the rhyming text alongside plentiful onomatopoeia (“Honk! Honk!”). In one of Zamazing’s festive digital watercolor scenes, the bunnies bound across snowy rooftops as Santa’s lower half sticks out of a chimney. Ages 3–6. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Children will delight in finding and flipping the flaps, and each page invites readers to linger over and absorb the lovely artwork. . . . Charming visuals and manipulatives make this Christmas tale highly appealing to little readers.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Colorful, ink-spattered illustrations by Hughes imbue the text with energy. . . . Lift-the-flap action, onomatopoeic chants, and an array of charming animals have a sweet spring appeal.” —Publishers Weekly on HOP LITTLE BUNNIES
“Vibrant . . . Intriguing illustrations, classic story structure, and irresistible rabbits add up to a winning Easter-themed treat.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review, on WE'RE GOING ON AN EGG HUNT
“Young listeners will be entertained by the recognizable pattern from the classic bear hunt and the holiday-adjacent material.” —School Library Journal on WE'RE GOING ON AN EGG HUNT
School Library Journal
09/23/2022
PreS-K—The bunnies are back! Mumford's newest addition to the "Bunny Adventures" series, this book is a lift-the-flap, interactive joy. This spirited adventure allows readers to help Santa and the bunnies deliver presents. Children and adults alike will enjoy lifting the flaps and counting the presents while reading this book together, but the simplistic vocabulary and story structure gives children the option to read and interact with the story on their own. Opportunities to learn math and science are interjected throughout; for instance, the anthropomorphic rabbits, penguins, polar bears, and squirrels lend themselves to a lesson on habitats. Colorful and inviting illustrations add to the whimsical nature of the story—for the illustrations alone, the story deserves multiple readings. This book aligns itself with Mumford's We're Going on an Egg Hunt and the other books in the series. VERDICT A must buy for any Christmas collection.—Katie Loomis
Kirkus Reviews
2022-08-17
Rabbits ride along on Santa’s sleigh helping deliver gifts.
The rhyming lift-the-flap book shows a White-presenting Santa and friends flying past penguins and over polar bears, zipping over coastal towns, leaving presents as they go. Every other page invites readers to help find hidden gifts beneath camouflaged flaps—in a grandfather clock door, on a boat, and behind a shuttered window, for example. Though these gifts are spread throughout the book, the text beneath the flaps keeps a running count, ending with 10 presents beneath the tree. Though it doesn’t inhibit the flow of the book, this addition might be tough for little readers to follow and keep track of. Zamazing’s illustrations are darling. The bunny helpers are oh-so-sweet, each with an individually designed scarf and sweater. Each page is full of fun details, like a penguin pulling on the sleigh’s string of Christmas lights, the dwindling pile of gifts as the team flies on, and the squares on the quilts of the sleeping bunnies as Santa delivers presents to the little ones. Children will delight in finding and flipping the flaps, and each page invites readers to linger over and absorb the lovely artwork. The pages are extra thick, so while this title isn’t as sturdy as a board book, it should endure some rough handling.
Charming visuals and manipulatives make this Christmas tale highly appealing to little readers. (Picture book. 3-5)
