Emmaline and the Bunny

Hannigan follows "Ida B.", her critically acclaimed debut, with this environmental fable, which she has illustrated with tender watercolor art that often displays deft touches of humor. Lonely Emmaline wants a bunny most mostly (one picture shows her watching a bunny on TV, its legs lining up with the set's, its ears with the antennae). But messy pets are prohibited in her town, Neatasapin, where ornery Mayor Orson Oliphant has outlawed dirt, weeds and puddles. She follows a wild bunny into the underbrush where she learns that in order to keep the rabbit in her company, she must make her world more inviting to wild creatures, i.e., messier. The resulting unruliness of her yard riles the mayor, but brings about his overturn. The green message is kid-empowering; the prose stylewhich favors verb constructions like scoot-skedaddling and scimper-scampering, and exclamations like dungleberrydoo, and hoopalala!will divide the audience, who will find it charming or twee. Still, the text, art and compact trim size add up to an overall package that young animal lovers will likely find irresistible. Ages 712. "(Mar.)" Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Gr 24The town of Neatasapin is no place for an exuberant child like Emmaline. Fastidious Mayor Orson Oliphant has banned anything that might cause a mess, including grape juice, spaghetti, mud pies, and even trees ("leaf litterers," the mayor declares). Yet Emmaline loves to dig in the dirt, hop in puddles, and yell "Hoopalala!" and "Dinglederrydee!" to show her delight. Shunned by the tidy kids, she longs for a friend, particularly a wild bunny. "Too untidy," she is told. Early one morning, Emmaline visits neighboring Untidy, full of grass, weeds, trees, and, yes, wild bunnies. After befriending one, she comes to understand why Neatasapin is not a bunny-friendly place. Upon her return home, Emmaline is determined to make the town more welcoming to wild creatures. Kids are sure to cheer at the happy ending in which Emmaline's wish comes true and the bully Orson Oliphant gets his comeuppance. The book's most distinctive feature is its delightful, inventive language: Emmaline "skoot-skedaddles," and Orson Oliphant's belly is "bobbalobbing." Hannigan also utilizes unusual sentence structure ("Dirt she dug," "Sleep Emmaline couldn't"). Even though the protagonist is a spirited heroine, this is a quieter story than Sara Pennypacker's Clementine (Hyperion, 2006) or Peggy Gifford's "Moxy Maxwell" books (Random), and the author's soft watercolors enhance the tone. It would make an ideal read-aloud or recommendation for readers who are ready for transitional chapter books.Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"An ideal read-aloud." — School Library Journal