Don't Despair Little Hare, You Are Perfect Just The Way You Are!
Written: Nov 28 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Extremely cute book, easy for kids to read, nice illustrations.
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: I am not a bear, possum or skunk he thunk, I am a hare so beware as I dare not to care!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Marilyn Sadler - It's Not Easy Being a Bunny |
The Dr. Seuss books were some of my boy's favorites. They all started reading early and thrived on the series of books. My oldest would sit and read this one over and over again and with each turn of the page I'd hear him gasp, giggle and groan when he'd read the words. With limited space on the moving truck I'm trying to figure out which books make the cut and which ones will get sold or donated. After emailing my boys and asking them which ones they wanted to keep my oldest, Simon, replied and said "If you ever get rid of my Seuss books, I'll take the sandpaper to all your CD's". That was enough of a threat for me and I started packing up his collection. My boys are rather strange; they are all eggheads that love school, are passive about sports and would rather read a good book than "waste" their time outside. As I mentioned in my recent book reviews, this type of behavior was hard for me to handle because I always wondered if I should have pushed them to be a little more "normal". After chatting with my son a few minutes ago I asked him why he wanted to keep these books since he outgrew them nearly ten years ago. "Mum, I want my kids to read the same books I did.". It was at that moment I actually felt ten gray hairs start to sprout. His kids? Oh come on now, cut me some freakin' slack.
It's Not Easy Bing A Bunny
If you have read any of the other "Cat In The Hat" books you'll be familiar with how things go. Words that rhyme, cute illustrations and a great way to jump start kids into loving to read on their own. This one is part of the "I Can Read It All By Myself" bookins in the Seuss line, loosely called a beginner book; it's a funny story that has a lot of meaning to it. Kids might not get "the point" of it, they'll read it and think it's funny that this silly rabbit goes around trying to live like other animals but under the humor there is a greater lesson. Being happy with who you are and not trying to being something that you're not. The story revolves around P.J. Funnybunny, a hare that just doesn't like being a rabbit anymore. He didn't like that he had to eat cooked carrots everyday or that his ears were long or that he had to many brothers and sisters. He was an unhappy rabbit and I know nothing sadder than a frowning and depressed rabbit.
No, he wanted to be something else so he set out to explore the forest to see if he could find another animal family to fit in with. No matter which animal family he tried, there was always something that he found wrong with them. The bears slept too much, the beavers worked too much and the skunks, well, they were too smelly for P.J. to be around. He found that he couldn't make the calls that the moose made or hang upside down like the possums, nor could he fly like the birds. Each animal had their own skill and poor P.J. couldn't adjust to them. The skunks were the last straw, that's when he started thinking that maybe, just maybe, being a bunny wasn't all that bad.
He made his way home to be welcomed back into the family with open arms. He ate his carrots with a smile on his face, played with his bothers and sisters then looked in the mirror and said "At least everyone can see I am a bunny". As I said, this helps kids to understand that no matter how odd they feel at times or how much they might hate something about themselves, it is truly better to be who you are than to try and be someone that you are not. In a lot of ways this reminds me of the book Weslandia and how one little boy changed the mindset of the other kids in his neighborhood simply by being himself. If you can instill that in a child at a young age then they'll remember that lesson their entire life.
Outside of the obvious lesson of being happy with who you are this book is a gateway to learning in other areas. Children will be exposed to bears, birds, beavers, pigs, moose, possums and skunks, as well as P.J.'s brothers and sisters. They'll learn little things like how the bears go into hibernation and that pigs really do like to play in the mud. You can work in small things like why the pigs "play" in the mud [to cool themselves off] and why beavers build dams. If your kids are anything like mine they'll start asking more and more questions about the animals, where they live, what they do and why some animals can't do what others can do. This was the case with Annabelle, "Why can't moose fly?", that might sound like a silly question but you have to remember that kids aren't privy to things that you don't expose them to. My youngest sat down and gently said, "Now Annabelle, how silly would a moose look if he had wings?". Today was the first time she'd read the book but I can see that there's one less copy on the sale stack. She picked one of them up and gingerly slid it into her little pink and purple Princess backpack, zipped it shut, patted the top of it and said, "It's ok P.J., you can come live with me."
The Bottom Line
Since we had several copies of this book I decided to only keep the one that Simon had written his name in. As I added them to the stack of books to be sold or donated my youngest grabbed it and yelled for Annabelle. "Oh, you are gonna love this one, why don't you read it to me!". So there they sat, like two peas in a pod, turning pages, laughing at the different animals that P.J. tried to live with and making me smile all the while. If you have as younger child that is a little different then this is a great book for them to read. They might have glasses or be shorter than other kids, maybe they are in a wheelchair or feel left out because they are the youngest - regardless - this book will help them realize that they are perfect just the way they are. If I had the power to create a "required reading" list for kids, the one would definitely be on the top ten.
As always, thanks for the visit ...
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
Other great early learning books ....
Junior Academic Series - Kindergarten Math
Easy Wipe-Off Printing: Kindergarten Grade 1
Homework Helper Series Alphabet Puzzles & Games
Learning Horizon Getting Ready for Math
Snacktime With Blue!
Early Learning Concepts: Weather
Recommended:
Yes
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