A Tuesday Ten: Bunnies!

So . . . Bunnies.  Yep, those hoppy, cottontailed  critters that epitomize Spring.  Today’s ten is all about SF and Fantasy featuring rabbits, hares and all kinds of bunnies!

 

1.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny–Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall  (Schwartz and Wade, 2012)

It’s up to Mr. and Mrs. Bunny to help a human girl when her father is kidnapped by nefarious foxes!  These anthropomorphic bunnies are hilarious in their affectations, but they do manage to get the job done.  This is the first book in an ongoing series, the second book; Lord and Lady Bunny –Almost Royalty! came out in 2014.

2.

The Long Patrol by Brian Jacques (Firebird, c1997)

The Redwall series is full of anthropomorphic woodland creatures.  So hares show up quite often in nearly all the books of the series.  However I wanted to pick one where a hare is the main protagonist, thus this book.  The Long Patrol is the elite hare fighting force that gets called out when needed.  And right now they’re needed to defeat the Rapscallion Army headed for the abbey.  It’s up to a young hair named Tammo,  a lead sword in the Long Patrol, to help win the day in fierce battle!

3.

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman (Henry Holt and Co. ,2014)

One of my favorite reads with my son, this particular bunny is Isabel, a master of bunjitsu and  quite a wise young bunny overall.  This young reader chapter book is broken up into several short stories that convey clever bits of wisdom, along with a good dose of humor.

4.

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (Dutton Juvenile, c1926)

Oh the beloved Rabbit from the 100-acre Wood!  The hyper-organized bunny who despairs of Pooh and his inability to focus or plan.  Poor  rabbit!  So often he sets out to teach his neighbors a lesson or demonstrate his own knowledge only to have things fall out badly for him.  We love him despite –and maybe because of –his flaws and foibles.

5.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Candlewick Press, c2000)

Edward Tulane is not a real bunny, but a china rabbit who is loved and well cared for until one day he is lost.  His remarkable journey teaches this unusual rabbit how to love and lose and love again.

6.

Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (Puffin, c1944)

Humans are coming once more to Rabbit Hill!  And the local animals can’t possibly be more stirred up by the news.  The rabbit family is particularly excited, but reserved as well.  Human folks aren’t always the wonderful thing that some beasts imagine them to be, and when the youngest rabbit goes missing one day . . . the family assumes the worst.  This heart-warming tale enchanted me when I was eight, I still love it now.

7.

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, illustrated by William Nicholson (Doubleday, c1922)

What list is complete without the toy bunny who dreams of becoming REAL?  Our Velveteen rabbit is a new toy to the household when he first encounters the skin horse and learns about what it takes to become real.  But can one stuffed bunny really be loved and believed in enough to realize his dream?

 

8.

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe (Atheneum, c1979)

Two children find a tiny bunny abandoned at a movie theater and bring him home.  The little fella has black markings like a cape across his back and two pointy fangs.  Might this seemingly cute and fuzzy cottontail really be a bloodsucking vampire?  Well maybe he’s a veggie sucking vampire bunny–but he makes for one unforgettable story!

9.

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Du Bose Heyward, illustrated by Marjorie Hack (Houghton Mifflin, 1939)

A particular Easter favorite of mine.  Little Cottontail is told she’s no kind of candidate to be an Easter Bunny –but she’ll prove them all wrong.  Small, female and a mother of twenty-one bunnies she may be, but she’s still as fast, and wise and clever as an Easter Bunny needs to be!

10.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel (Barnes & Nobles, c1865)

This one belongs on the list as the anchor since it’s the rabbit’s fault that Alice ever winds up in such a mess.  Spying a peculiar creature clutching a pocket watch and muttering how he’s late, Alice will follow the white rabbit down the rabbit hole and into the wild and wacky whimsy of Wonderland.

Any rabbit books you can add? Comments Welcome!