The Cutest Brave Little Bunny

by Joy Steuerwald, Joy Steuerwald (Illustrator)

Overview

An adorable bunny tries to prove to everyone that there's more to her than just being cute.

Everyone agrees—Little Bunny is just the cutest little thing. Well, everyone agrees except for Little Bunny herself. Why doesn’t anyone ever notice that she’s also brave, clever, and helpful? She’s at her wit’s end, until she meets an understanding new friend who makes her finally feel seen for her whole self.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593462706
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.31(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.32(d)
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Joy Steuerwald (joystewy.com) also wrote and illustrated The Peculiar Pig and illustrated many books, including Moo (written by Jaye Garnett). She lives in Fremont, California, with her husband and her son, who inspired this story. They all live with their rescue pup, Olive, a rotating bunch of foster pups, and occasional Monarch caterpillars. If not for her husband’s allergies, there would also be bunnies!

Editorial Reviews

Embedded in this gentle tale is a helpful framework for children who have long since grown weary of being patronized by the grown-ups around them. When a litter of rabbits is born, the barnyard animals in attendance can’t help but remark how adorable the new babies are. There’s just one problem—Little Bunny, the story’s protagonist, can’t stand being called cute. . . . If things stopped there, the book would still present a welcome opportunity for discussion about the language well-meaning adults use to refer to children. However, Steuerwald brings balance to the discussion and injects an unexpected note of complexity to the proceedings when Little Bunny lashes out at Little Chick, who never referred to her as cute in the first place—suggesting that a hypersensitive attitude, while understandable, may be off-putting. Ultimately, the new friends agree to shrug off their neighbors’ bothersome adulation. . . . The overall message is a worthy one.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2023-11-18
Even the cutest bunny contains multitudes.

“One lovely spring day, a fluffle of bunnies was born.” All the farmyard inhabitants go to see them, and each marvels at how cute the seven baby bunnies are. The smallest of the bunny siblings disagrees. “I’m not cute,” she insists. After the babies grow a bit, the littlest wants a better view of the barnyard, so she decides to climb a sheep. “Be careful, little cutie,” says the sheep. “You will fall!” “I’m NOT cute!” replies Little Bunny. “I’m BRAVE!” Little Bunny falls several times but eventually makes it to the top. When a goat calls her cute for pushing a bucket of greens, she again denies it: “I’m NOT cute! I’m HELPFUL!” When she meets a small yellow chick, she preemptively shouts out that she isn’t cute. Little Chick schools Little Bunny on accepting compliments and knowing one’s strengths. Though the idea that we are more than our appearances is an important one, it’s slightly undercut when Little Chick encourages Little Bunny to be less “mean” when asking the other animals to acknowledge her other strengths. And it’s only Little Bunny who’s told she needs to make a change; the other barnyard residents never realize the error of their ways. Still, the animals in the digitally created yet painterly illustrations are all cute, truth be told, and many little listeners will identify with Little Bunny’s frustration.

A fine, fresh farmyard fable. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews