Bunnies
E has a shelf of books at Grammy's house. The books used to be for Grammy and Grandpa to read to her, but now she reads them herself. The other day she wanted to read to me. She read I Love You, Bunny Rabbit. Which got me thinking about the number of picture books that feature bunnies.
At the top of the list, of course, are Pat the Bunny and Goodnight Moon, which are absolutely lovely books that just happen each to feature a bunny. But think about it: why a bunny?
Bunnies seem to be particularly lovable, as in Bunny, My Honey, or goofy a la Knuffle Bunny. Of course there's the distinction between the stuffed bunny, featured in I Love You, Bunny Rabbit and Knuffle Bunny, and the anthropomorphic bunny of Bunny, My Honey.
But any seasoned picture book reader knows where this is heading: toward the most horrifying bunny book around--nay, one of the most horrifying picture books around--The Runaway Bunny. I wish I could find the full text, but a superficial search does not reveal it. If you think there's a copy on your bookshelf, find it and take a good look. If not, you'll have to be satisfied with a few choice quotes:
"If you run after me," said the little bunny, "I will become a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you."
"If you become a fish in a trout stream," said his mother, "I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you."
"If you become a tree," said the little bunny, "I will become a little sailboat, and I will sail away from you."
"If you become a sailboat and sail away from me," said his mother, "I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go."
Calling Dr. Freud, anyone? WHEREVER YOU GO, YOUR MOTHER WILL FIND YOU. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!
The only book scarier is Love You Forever, in which the mother climbs through her adult son's window to snuggle him while he is sleeping. Let's not even go there.
But this all begs the question: why bunnies?
I can venture some answers: they're cute and snuggly; spring and Easter and rebirth all that; reaching back to our pastoral origins; um...I'm running out of answers.
The weird thing is: how many kids hang out with bunnies these days? Not a lot (though there is a family in our neighborhood that keeps bunnies in a hutch in their side yard). So bunnies have become some weird kind of fictional avatar for our snuggly, newborn, pastoral imagination?
Help me out here, people. Bunnies?
At the top of the list, of course, are Pat the Bunny and Goodnight Moon, which are absolutely lovely books that just happen each to feature a bunny. But think about it: why a bunny?
Bunnies seem to be particularly lovable, as in Bunny, My Honey, or goofy a la Knuffle Bunny. Of course there's the distinction between the stuffed bunny, featured in I Love You, Bunny Rabbit and Knuffle Bunny, and the anthropomorphic bunny of Bunny, My Honey.
But any seasoned picture book reader knows where this is heading: toward the most horrifying bunny book around--nay, one of the most horrifying picture books around--The Runaway Bunny. I wish I could find the full text, but a superficial search does not reveal it. If you think there's a copy on your bookshelf, find it and take a good look. If not, you'll have to be satisfied with a few choice quotes:
"If you run after me," said the little bunny, "I will become a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you."
"If you become a fish in a trout stream," said his mother, "I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you."
"If you become a tree," said the little bunny, "I will become a little sailboat, and I will sail away from you."
"If you become a sailboat and sail away from me," said his mother, "I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go."
Calling Dr. Freud, anyone? WHEREVER YOU GO, YOUR MOTHER WILL FIND YOU. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!
The only book scarier is Love You Forever, in which the mother climbs through her adult son's window to snuggle him while he is sleeping. Let's not even go there.
But this all begs the question: why bunnies?
I can venture some answers: they're cute and snuggly; spring and Easter and rebirth all that; reaching back to our pastoral origins; um...I'm running out of answers.
The weird thing is: how many kids hang out with bunnies these days? Not a lot (though there is a family in our neighborhood that keeps bunnies in a hutch in their side yard). So bunnies have become some weird kind of fictional avatar for our snuggly, newborn, pastoral imagination?
Help me out here, people. Bunnies?
posted by Becca at
8:51 PM
7 Comments:
This is no help, but you must read it anyway. I mean, Hannibal the hungry rabbit. God, I love Laura.
By
Anonymous, at 10:23 PM
I think bunnies are probably easy to draw...
Meanwhile, you've got to read Rosemary Wells' 3-picture book set, Voyage to the Bunny Planet, about bunnies who are having bad days until they get to experience "the day that should have been" on the Bunny Planet. They are brilliant.
By
Caroline, at 10:53 PM
Hey, what about Peter Rabbit, perhaps where it all began? Could the coziness of rabbit holes have something to do with the appeal? I agree with you about Runaway Rabbit, which my daughter nonetheless loved as a baby.
By
Margi, at 7:40 AM
I'm so glad you hate The Runaway Bunny, and Love You Forever. I find The Giving Tree creepy in exactly the same way. I'll give and give until I'm a stump...NOT!
I do think it probably began with Peter Rabbit. But I take your point that kids today probably don't meet many bunnies (as Beatrix Potter did). Same thing, though, for other animals: most kids learn that ducks quack, cows moo, etc., even though the animals they are most likely to encounter are dogs, cats, and --um--pigeons, maybe? The whole pastoral=innocent=child thing is still very strong in children's lit, even if some authors are willing to play with it.
By
Libby, at 11:46 AM
I vote with Libby-- the Giving Tree is the creepiest kids' book ever. That last image of the little stump, with that ungrateful brat, makes me so angry every time.
And yes, I Blame Beatrix Potter for the bunnies :).
By
jackie, at 5:43 PM
In our version of The Runaway Bunny, the sailboat sentence ends six words earlier than yours.
I always had difficulty reading it without snorting with laughter.
The Runaway Bunny didn't bother me like Love You Forever and The Giving Tree did. I think because it's a child complaining that he'd run away, but he doesn't really want to run away from the safety of home, and his mother is letting him know that she'd always protect him and have a safe place for him to come to. As a child, you know. As opposed to Love You Forever, where the mom sneaks into the adult son's window -- arghhh! And the Giving Tree, where the mother figure is left with nothing and the kid is tremendously ungrateful.
Runaway Bunny for me feels more like those kids who want to put a pack on a stick and "run away" down the street, but want to know that their mother will watch them do it, so they're safe.
By
Anonymous, at 12:37 PM
Never mind the bunnies, what about the MICE?
By
Anonymous, at 5:17 PM
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