Review: Knuffle Bunny

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Hardcover), by Mo Willems. Another gem by Mo Willems. Knuffle Bunny tells the story of a child's visit to the laundromat with her father, and her favorite stuffed animal ("Knuffle Bunny") in tow. As they leave the laundromat, the girl becomes increasingly upset, babbling nonsensically to her father, who fails to see what the problem is. My favorite part of the book is when they come home, and the mother opens the door, saying immediately, "Where is Knuffle Bunny?" Moms always know! They all race back to the laundromat and a frantic search ensues. When they (of course) find it, the little girl speaks her first two words: "Knuffle Bunny." A charming and funny book, it went right on my "wish list" the first time I read it.

Excerpt:

"Not so long ago, before she could even speak words, Trixie went on an errand with her Daddy . . . "

Bookworm's interest at 21 months: He sat on my lap and read the whole thing, in the middle of a busy store, next to an enticing train table that he had been playing with moments before and immediately after. Despite the surroundings, he seemed to enjoy the book, and understood, at least somewhat, what was happening. He likes to say "hop hop" for bunnies, and he could see that the book starred a "Dada" and baby. I'm not sure that he saw the humor in the babbled words yet, which struck my husband and I as funny, because he's been babbling (in addition to real words) many made up words lately. The longest one, which he started this morning and has said about 30 times, is "Ha-bee-do-dah-di!," always followed by raucous laughter.

Has anyone read Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity? Did you like it?

As I was looking up the name of the sequel, I spotted this stuffed Knuffle Bunny -- so cute! (Although apparently not available anymore). I'm such a sucker for those types of gifts paired with books. There's a shop near us that does a wonderful job of displaying stuffed animals with companion books. I haven't bought any yet, but it's only a matter of time. I know he'd LOVE holding up the animal, pointing to the book, holding up the animal... this could go on for quite awhile. I nearly caved there when I saw this Pigeon from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Love it, paired with a couple of the Pigeon books, but $23.50 for the stuffed animal alone seems a little steep. Maybe for Christmas...