Alex's Grandma gives him a sweet easy reader about a bunny for his birthday: "To my little birthday bunny." But Alex decides to turn the book into something awesome: Battle Bunny.
Laugh-out-loud hysterical. The original book, Birthday Bunny, is about a bunny excited about his birthday is disappointed to the point of tears when no one remembers (only to be surprised with a party in the end). However, Alex's revised book is about Battle Bunny and his efforts to enact an evil plan. When the president's special agents can't stop Battle Bunny, Alex must save the day. While Birthday Bunny's story is in oil paints, Battle Bunny's is drawn in with pencil. As you can see, Bunny is given a scar, a helmet, an eye-patch, and an ammo belt. He eats brain juice instead of carrot juice and goes chopping through the trees instead of hopping. Illustrated pebbles become grenades, and a acorns become attacking bees.
One of my favorite moments is this scene on the stump/throne. In the original text, Bunny is sad because no one remembered his birthday, but in Alex's version Battle Bunny's feeling strong and laughing, "ha ha." So while he sits on his throne (which reads "Power is good. Power is mine"), he also has a tear streaming down his face. This is one of the remarkable things about the book they've constructed: there are two complete stories, one layered on top of the other that both contribute to the humor and joy of the book. The illustrations have the same effect: the original Birthday Bunny illustrations are soft and pretty, and of course the added pencil drawings are messy, chaotic and hilarious. There are so many funny things to discover in this book. Fantastic.
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| (there are tree stumps and saws all over the book, because Battle Bunny doesn't hop, he chops.) |
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