School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Brown's exemplary tale of an inquisitive bunny exploring his world is just right for sharing. The young animal awakens to quiet morning sounds such as fluttering, chirping, "Cock Cock Cock-a-doodle Doo," and "bzzzzzzzz," and then identifies them, asking readers, "What was that?" Then the focus shifts from recognizing noises to making them, such as munching, scratching, and sneezing. As the sun goes down, "the little noises of the night" alert the protagonist that it is time "for little bunnies to be safe in their hole." McCue's brightly colored, detailed illustrations depicting a warm spring day from sunup to sundown are eye-catching and engaging; one can smell the lilacs, feel the sunshine, and thrill to the fireflies' glow at dusk. The affectionate paintings reveal the idyllic life of a carefree rabbit delighting in the woods and fields near his home, populated by numerous animals and insects. This joyful adventure will work well as a lap-sit or storytime selection.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Over the course of a day, Little Bunny puts his long ears to good use and discovers a world full of sounds--birds chirping, bees buzzing--some of them (a sneeze, a stretch) of his own making. Brown's (Goodnight Moon) posthumous text reads more like a draft than a finished product, but there is still plenty here to draw in a young audience: the comforting brevity and gentle rhythm of the prose ("He raised his ears without opening his eyes. He heard all the little quiet noises starting the morning around him"); rhetorical questions after each sound is introduced ("What was that? Yes. It was a bumblebee. Two bumblebees"); and a close-of-day wrap-up that radiates a snugly warmth. McCue (The Perfect Christmas Gift) renders nature in the aesthetic tradition of vintage Golden Books. The colors of nature have a sweet, luminescent quality, like light shining through translucent candy, and the animals' eyes sparkle with vitality. Ages 3-7. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved