That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell, Illustrations by Neal Layton, copyright 2007

This is a review I wrote for Children's Literature.  I was surprised to see it promoted heavily in the Publisher's Weekly daily email, both paid promotions by the publisher and notations of positive reviews.  It's a fun picture book, and I recommend you look for it at the local library (or recommend it to your librarian!).

Emily Brown loves to go on amazing imagined adventures with her special stuffed animal friend, the brave rabbit Stanley; unfortunately, their trips to such exotic locales as the Amazon rain forest, the laceName w:st="on">SaharalaceName> laceType w:st="on">DesertlaceType>, and the Great Barrier Reef are constantly interrupted by a rat-a-tat-tat at the garden door.  Emissaries from her Most Glorious Royalness Queen Gloriana the Third arrive with offers to exchange “Bunnywunny” (the Royal Name given to Stanley) for a succession of toys: a golden teddy bear, ten talking dolls, fifty rocking horses that rock forever, and finally, all the toys Emily Brown could ever desire.  When Emily still refuses to give up her precious Stanley, the Queen’s Special Commandos take drastic action.  Undaunted, Emily marches to the palace to rescue Stanley and teach the Queen how to create a “real toy” of her very own.  Cressida Cowell’s lively tale of persistence and loyalty, creatively illustrated by Neal Layton with a mélange of photographs, drawings, paintings, and clip art, has loads of kid-appeal with its outlandish royal staff, visual humor, and universal themes.  In the classroom, ties to geography, habitat, transportation, and imagination can be made, while also exploring friendship and how to handle wanting something that belongs to someone else.  Emily’s intrepid explorations of land, sea, and space will encourage girls to do more with their stuffed animals than have tea parties, and inspire all readers to take good care of their friends.
Posted by Keri Collins at 4/5/2007 8:11 PM
Categories: picture book
 

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  • 5/16/2007 8:40 AM brian herring wrote:
    you could be a little more up to date and write about How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse.
    Reply to this
    1. 5/16/2007 3:21 PM Keri Collins wrote:
      I love getting new recommendations.  Thanks!  As it's fourth in a series, I will have some catching up to do.  Interesting that both books were published on April 1, 2007 -- how many authors can claim that? 

      Cheers,
      Keri
      Reply to this
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