Thinking Thursdays.

I was reading a girl's blog somewhere and noticed she did a post on one day of the week where it was the same each week. For hers it was called "Wordless Wednesday" and she only posted pictures and no text. Thought it was rather clever and cute. Thought I'd do my own version. Sorry, mine won't be wordless. Wordless? Me? C'mon!

So mine will be a review of something on Thursdays. This week I'll do a book review and my take on it. Hope you enjoy "Thinking Thursdays" . . . .

Book Review: "Knuffle Bunny" & "Knuffle Bunny Too" by Mo Willems
First these two books both were awarded the Caldecott Honor Award. The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the United States during the preceding year.

The book is amazingly creative in both content and pictures. The illustrations of the main characters are set on a background of actual photos of New York buildings, and such that go along with the story. It's quite unique and very interesting. The best show of this is in "Knuffle Bunny Too" where there is a 2-page spread of a picture of a wide view of the Washington Square Park Arch and the building diagonal to it. You have to look closely on the first page to see a tiny illustration of the characters and then the second page with an illustration of the second set of characters discussed. It's truly a work of art.

The books are also very imaginative and show true emotion on the faces of the illustrated characters. The stories are delightfully empathetic to any parent.

The first book is about Trixie a little girl who can't quite talk yet and only babbles things you can't understand. She goes with her daddy to the laundromat and of course takes her plush bunny "Knuffle Bunny" with her. The bunny accidentally gets tossed in the dryer with the clothes and dad doesn't realize it, neither does Trixie until they are almost home. Trixie begans to throw a fit and dad can't figure out why or what she's trying to say. As soon as the mom opens the door she says, "Where is Knuffle Bunny". I laughed as only a mother would notice what is gone--the most important thing to the child. I also felt a connection as I always say this to David when we are in the car and I say, "Where is Stewart?" So I loved that mom noticed this right off, of course she did she's mom. . . . So they go back to the laundromat and look and look and finally find the bunny in the dryer. Trixie is so happy and then her first words are "Knuffle Bunny". The End.

This one may just pull at my heart due to the amazing artistic creativity of this book as well as the way it reminds me 100% of Sophie's current best bud, Stewart the bear.

The second story is Trixie all grown up and in preschool. She still hauls Knuffle Bunny around and decides she's going to take him to show and tell. She's so proud and then finds out when she gets there that a little girl across the room has a Knuffle Bunny too. This is where the funny emotions come in and creativity. The illustration is of the girl across the room hugging her Knuffle Bunny tightly. Then the next still is a closer look at the bunny, then a closer look. You can hear the music in your head like a dreaded horror film. It's just great.

The girls begin to argue about the bunnies and then teacher takes the bunnies away because they can't be nice. So at the end of the day the teacher gives them back. Later that night in the night Trixie wakes up and realizes that she has the wrong Knuffle Bunny. She goes to wake mom and dad and as it says, "Trixie's daddy tried to explain what 2:30 a.m. means. . . " With the illustration of a guy with bags under his eyes. Of course he gets out of bed and goes to the phone and oddly enough the phone rings. It's the other little girl's daddy calling first. He picks up the phone and a voice says, "We have your bunny . . ." So they go to meet each other in the wee morning hours to exchange and get the correct bunny to the correct owner. The little girls then become friends as they both hug their bunnies and exchange how they were worried about each. And the end states . . . "And that is how Trixie found her first best friend . . ." The End.

I'm just touched by these books with their great creativity both with the storyline, the illustrations and pictures and the way they relate to parents and kids alike. Great stories, short, fun and to the point. I know I'll have these stories forever in Sophie's library . . . and I bet Stewart will sit next to them one day on the shelf . . . .
The End.