KNUFFLE BUNNY TOO: A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTIY Review

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Willems, Mo. 2007. Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. New York, NY: Hyperion. ISBN 1423102991

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this story picture book by Mo Willems, Trixie brings her beloved toy Knuffle Bunny to school for Show and Tell. Trixie finds that another girl has the same bunny, arguing ensues, and the teacher takes up the bunnies. At the end of the day the bunnies are returned, but when Trixie goes to bed that night she realizes that her bunny is not hers. In the end Trixie makes a new friend.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Willems’s writing is simple and easy to understand for any young child, but does not talk-down to the reader. The plot is fairly predictable, but interesting for a younger child to read. There are underlying messages of friendship and the importance of a cherished toy, which are not directly stated in the text.

The illustrations in this book are a unique mix of black and white photographs in the background and brightly colored cartoon characters in the foreground that capture the reader’s eye. The background photographs range anywhere from cityscapes to the classroom to a house. They all have many details that can capture the eye, but also easily disappear in comparison to the cartoon characters and the real action that is happening in the drawings. Readers are also able to predict the text by looking at the illustrations of the different bunnies and realizing that one has a bow and one does not.


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
BOOKLIST- “This has much of the charm of Knuffle Bunny (2004), a Caldecott Honor Book, but the premise is stretched here.”
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE - “Willems' text and illustrations are very good-humored”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Read Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems. ISBN 0786818700
*Discuss the importance of special toys and how to get along with others when playing with toys.
*Have students predict what will happen in the story by just looking at the pictures before reading the text and then discuss those predictions after the book has been read.