Knuffle Bunny

Willems, Mo. (2004). Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. New York, NY: Hyperion Books.

Genre: Realistic Fiction Picture Book
Award: Caldecott Honor Winner
Lexile Measure: 120L
DRA: 18
AR: 1.0

Mo Willems Website

Summary: Trixie and her dad are off to the laundromat. While walking through the park and past the school, Trixie holds on tight to her beloved stuffed animal, Knuffle Bunny. At the laundromat Trixie helps her dad to insert coins in the machine and load the laundry. On their way back home, Trixie realizes she left poor Knuffel Bunny in the laundromat. She is too young to talk and has a hard time explaining to her father what has happened. She tries everything from pointing, making facial expressions, body movements, and throwing tantrums to get her point across.

Reader Response: This is a perfect story for reading together. The speech bubbles are simple to read, but contain so much expression, specially from Trixie. The black and white photographs of New York City complement the color illustrations of the characters, a great combination of art and text. Readers of all ages will identify with the characters and mirror themselves either as Trixie, trying to articulate words, or as Dad, trying to understand a toddler.

Knuffle Bunny Free is the sequal that shows Trixie at pre-school age.